Q & A with Paul Smith, owner of World of Transport Travel!

Sujester
Sujester
Jul 24, 2017 · 5 min read

This is our first interview within the travel agency community, and Paul graciously spared us time to give us some insight into his business, the industry and advice for people interested in entering the industry.

  1. Tell me more about World of Transport Travel. How did you get started?

I was bought into industry by my late parents in 1983, when I left school, I went into the family business and had to learn from the bottom upwards. My parents insisted I had to get qualifications, and geography was of the utmost importance at the time. I have been in the business ever since and worked in every aspect, from hand writing tickets to picking up the phone. I’ve negotiated the evolution from fax machines, dial up modems to modern day internet. We previously had a retail store, however I know operate as an individual due to the rising rent demands.

2. How has the industry changed in the last 20 years? What are the main challenges and opportunities that have arisen?

The biggest change is that everything is computerised. We no longer have what I call ‘proper tickets’, which were in the form of coupons that you pull from a booklet. It all looked more real than today’s “piece of paper”, and tickets were revalidated by the means of revalidation stickers (akin to mini post it notes). Obviously, the speed of how things are done and ease of booking has come on leaps and bounds in most of the world. With e-mail, its become much easier to communicate with and between countries, with the exception of the USA, who really don’t understand it, at least in the hotel sector that is.

20 years ago, everybody went to travel agents for bus tickets, flight tickets, rail tickets and package holidays. Before you had to book a hotel via a phone call or fax, which made things slower if you had to wait for a response. Travel agents were much more dominant in the market.

On the flip side, today I was able to book tickets on a supplier website on my phone in just a few minutes, for a client going out to New York tomorrow. Technology has evolved to make it much more efficient for agents, giving us more time to look after clients needs.

3. How are customers behaving differently to then? Have their preferences changed, and have you seen new destinations emerge in popularity?

Long-haul trips such as to the USA, Canada, the Far East and Australia used to be once in a lifetime. Nowadays, air travel is taken very much the same as a bus service! Europe was the main destination without question, now it’s the case that anything goes. Long haul trips have now become more requested than European enquiries.

Some stalwart customers still want ‘all inclusive’ package holidays to Caribbean, but I now have many others which want to explore their destination and have a stronger sense of adventure. With the rise of the Low Cost Carrier, travel has become much more accessible; you can now go to NY for the weekend or Singapore for a few days, for a relatively decent price at times.

5. Tell me your best/worst customer story!

One of the most demanding clients arrived in their destination and rang to say they didn’t like colour of carpet in the bedroom! I suggested that I fly out a carpet fitter for the carpet of their choice but the couple would have to pay for everything for the transport, carpet and fitting costs.

At the time, they were new clients, but because I made positive comments they have become long standing clients. I now know their demands and idiosyncrasies, so am prepared to come back with a reply that more often than not, meets their needs. It’s part of the nature of dealing with bizarre enquiries!

6. What has your secret to success been in the past 20 years?

Having a sense of humour and perspective that you can’t win every client, and trying to offer the best service that you can.

A customer may come in for a flight only booking and later return for a high end cruise. It’s important to treat all customers well as you don’t know where business will come from one day to the next.

7. What words of advice would you have to young people thinking of entering the travel industry?

Have a sense of perspective, and a sense of humour. Stay grounded and be realistic. Its important to do your homework; know your market, suppliers, and destinations. Be a self starter, own the booking and run with it!

8. Why do your customers book with you?

I mainly have clients (40–50+) who don’t like, don’t trust or don’t have the internet, along with preferring the personal service I offer. My customers don’t want to repeat mistakes they’ve previously made, they can’t find what they want over the internet, and they value the knowledge I have that I can impart in person.

9. What do you think the future trends will be that will affect the industry?

Its hard to say. I think the likes of travel agents will become fewer and fewer with more DIY travel. I’d also like to hope that there will people fed up of using the internet and will go back to travel agents.

The like of Amazon Echo will become more interactive in peoples lives and how they make travel enquiries.

Both humans and technology are not infallible, but I see a mix of both will enhance the travel industry even more.

10. Why do customers come back and book with you year after year? How do you retain them?

I provide consistent, quick and reliable service. I’ve built up trust over years and many clients have become my friends. For my older clients, dealing with me has become a key aspect of social interaction that they enjoy.

I’m also proactive and use social media to engage with my customers. I put on information about different destinations and pieces of advice ensuring that I stay in the forefront of their mind when they want to book their next holiday.

11. Given the huge marketing budgets that larger travel agents/tour operators have, how do you get new customers?

I’m part of a local business networking group, where I’m able to meet many people in the Greater London area. If you go talk to people and help them, hopefully they then come back to you. Promotion via word of mouth and customer referrals have been paramount to the success of my business, and have been the best form of advertising I could want.

Sujester has a web platform for travel agents to use with your customers, enabling them to build/create bucket lists and plot these dream trips on a travel timeline at various dates in the next 5 years.

It helps you capture their next 5 years of travel, making it much easier to retain them, and empowers them to share their bucket lists and invite people to trips for real-time planning, helping you organically generate leads.

Check us out at www.sujester.com or e-mail us at sahil@sujester.com

Sujester

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Sujester

Travel has the power to help shape the most exciting, memorable and reward moments of the next 5 years of your life. Its time to start taking it seriously

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