News of Expedia's plans to acquire Orbitz - mere weeks after its takeover of Travelocity - has left brick-and-mortar travel agents largely unfazed.
Nonetheless, that doesn't mean they are fans of the deal. "Overall, I have concerns about this," said David M. Rubin, owner of DavidTravel, a luxury agency in Corona del Mar, Calif. "I believe the three largest OTAs are Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz, and they will no longer truly compete against each other."
In Rubin's view, less competition is rarely good news for the consumer. "I don't think this is a good thing for hotels, either, because it will give these OTAs too much power."
The verdict, meanwhile, is still out as to how the deal will affect pricing, and whether the acquisition will elevate pricing or result in rates that are more competitive.
"In the luxury market, I think it may lower a hotel's pricing on dates that the hotel is slow because the OTAs can bargain them down if they want the OTA to promote their hotel," said Rubin "For the dates that a hotel is busy, I don't think it will lower that hotel's pricing."
In the end, Rubin believes OTA pricing will have little, if any, impact on his business. "As a bottom line, for the my business as a travel agent who designs high-end luxury and adventure travel worldwide, I don't feel these OTAs affect me because, by contract and personal contacts, I get better deals, extras and upgrades for our clients than Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz."
If the deal does result in lower prices, Trish Mercers believes it is inevitable that her business will suffer, albeit minimally. "There will be some instances, as there are now, where we will lose business for the convenience of the cheap point and click," said Mercer of Georgia Travel Experts, an affiliate of Travel Experts in Columbus, Ga.
But promoting low-ball pricing isn't how Mercer built her client base. "I find that most of my consumers prefer to be able to have someone to answer questions and not have to wait in a long queue to do it," she said.
In fact, agents unanimously agreed that their greatest competitive edge was the ability to provide superlative customer service along with offering products that are often not available through OTAs - and to an audience of travelers in search of just that. "Through our great relationship with Virtuoso, Travel Experts has many wonderful suppliers around the world that aren't available to online agencies," said Elaine Carey of Travel Experts in Whispering Pines, N.C. "Clients that are looking for the cheapest tickets can go get them online. When something goes wrong, let them try to find someone who knows them on the 800 number to fix it for them."
On that same note, Judy Nidetz said her clients prefer working with her because they value her personalized service as well as the value-added benefits she brings to them as a Virtuoso agent.
"Some of my clients will find competitive rates online just in the process of checking pictures or looking to see what activities are offered in the area," said Nidetz of Travel Experts in Chicago. "If they bring it to my attention, nine times out of 10 that rate is not available or offered when my clients are going, or there may be extra fees like taxes and resort fees that aren't included in the online booking site."
In some cases, Nidetz contacts hotels to try to match the rate. "They will usually work with me to make all parties happy," she said.
If anything, Nidetz believes Expedia's acquisition of Orbitz might help, rather than hurt, her business. "I think it helps my case of being able to offer more personalized service than any giant online company can," she said. "Now that Expedia is even larger with this acquisition, I find it hard to believe that their service won't suffer as a result, even though their prices may become more competitive."
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