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When choosing a travel agent, consumers depend on the experiences of other travelers. They get referrals from friends and family and read ratings and reviews on sites such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Virtuoso. Unfortunately, while there are many good, reliable travel agents out there, there are also those who are unscrupulous and are scamming on innocent people and do not provide the services they advertise.
To help combat this, the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) will unveil a system of their own later this year where consumers can rate ASTA members. "It's a positive move for ASTA, who is an industry voice for us, to be transparent about the performance of their members," said Richard E. Shore, Jr., president of Aladdin Travel in North Carolina.
Peter Aziz, CEO of Empire Travel, also thinks the new rating system is a good idea. "Hopefully, it will be something large enough to attract a good amount of consumer ratings and give credibility to travel agencies," he said.
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The rating system is still being developed, according to Jennifer Michels, vice president of communications at ASTA. "We do not have a final plan yet," she said. "It might be a thumbs up and a thumbs down with a comment field or it might be a 1 to 4 stars type of system."
"The hospitality industry is very accustom to rating systems, as well as several on-demand apps that use ratings to assure the best level of service for clients," said Katelyn O'Shaughnessy, National Director of the Young Travelers Association. "We should have had this a long time ago. Every hotel agents' sell is rated on TripAdvisor, it seems only natural that the agents that book those hotels be rated as well. It will give agents the opportunity to stand out among their peers and highlight their destination expertise."
Some agents do have concerns about the legitimacy of the program though. Shore says that he has more questions about the system. "Virtuoso has their rating system - travelers can come in and rate the agent, but it's only a Virtuoso agent, so it's a narrower window," he said. "It's positive that ASTA is doing this, but I don't quite understand how it's going to work and whether it could be manipulated at all."
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In addition, members are also concerned about the legitimacy of a client's complaint. "There are always going to be clients who, no matter how good of a service you provide, will somehow find something to complain about," says O'Shaughnessy. "It's just a matter of getting your clients to consistently rate your service after they've worked with you, so there's a broader spectrum."
Lynn Atkins, an agent with Cruise the Seas, is concerned about possible negative reviews from other travel agencies. "Someone can get me off the ASTA website, whom I have never known and have no relationship with and do not do business with, may be a plant to bad mouth others," she said.
Michels assures members that, "there will be safeguards installed so that people cannot abuse the system (e.g., a competitor can't go in and just put a lousy rating for someone)," she said.
ASTA is assuring members that they are working out those issues before its launch later this year.
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