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Agencies battling to attract business. (travel agencies)(Business Travel)

Crain’s Cleveland Business November 25, 1991 | Schrimpf, Paul Life is getting complex for Cleveland travel agencies.

The economy is slow. Businesses are watching their travel budgets more closely than ever; some even are creating their own travel departments to save money. And large, out-of-town travel agencies continue to expand in Cleveland.

What these ingredients add up to is a fiercely competitive fray when agencies bid for corporate travel accounts. Industry sources say some of the largest accounts in Cleveland can represent up to $2 million a year in sales volume for an agency — so the stakes in the bidding wars are high.

To remain competitive, agencies are improving their technology and offering clients more and more personalized services. Because of the array of services and options available to clients now, the formal bidding process for a corporate account can take from six months to a year, according to industry sources.

The battle over new accounts is constantly raging. Agents say companies typically review their travel agreements every two to three years.

“Some go out every year, but that is happening less often,” said Kent Vinall, executive vice president of Prescott Travel Inc. in Cleveland. “Travel is getting more and more sophisticated, and it becomes very hard to adjust to a totally new system, especially when you have multiple offices and multiple departments.” A company “bidding out” its travel account will choose from four to as many as 15 agencies and send them a request for proposal, Mr. Vinall said. Then, the company usually will call in three to make presentations. go to website bidding for travel

Sometimes, bidding for business means marketing the intangible notion of quality service.

Neil Sass, president of Traveline Travel Agencies Inc., based in Mayfield Heights, said that for him, the key to closing a deal often is to have potential clients walk through Traveline and see the kind of operation that will be working on the account.

“The last thing we want to do is to send a slick salesperson to a potential client,” he said. “To get a realistic picture of an account in all aspects, we have to get the account to see us.” Industry executives said bids are growing longer and more complex as businesses demand more services designed to suit their individual needs.

The executives said some agencies still base most of their pitches on price and offer rebates on commissions. For example, if a client gives an agency a certain volume of business, it will return a portion of the commission paid to the agency.

Mr. Vinall said that could be misleading to the client, because if the agency knows it will be granting a rebate in the future, it may not work to get the lowest possible fare for the client upfront. here bidding for travel

Mr. Sass said his agency doesn’t compete purely on price.

“If a company is purely basing its decision on dollars over service, we would come to a point where we could not do it, and we would turn and walk away,” said Mr. Sass.

Cynthia Bender, president of Meridian Travel Inc. in Brooklyn Heights, also said price is only one part of the her agency’s pitch.

“Some agencies offer the sky with rebates and incentives, but in the end, they don’t pay, or the service level drops off, and as a result, they lose the account,” she said.

The services travel agencies are offering are changing rapidly. For larger accounts, many travel agencies are offering automated, remote ticket printing. With this system, clients can receive their own ticket printers which can deliver tickets after they’re ordered from the agencies.

Larger accounts also are opting to provide office space for travel agents to operate inside the companies. An agent operates a computer terminal linked to the system at the agency office and performs all the functions of an agent.

Robert Lydon, president of Higbee-Lydon Travel downtown, said this is an alternative for companies considering setting up internal travel departments.

While new technology is a tremendous asset to an agency, local travel executives say giving their staffs additional training in order to upgrade service also is important to gaining and keeping business.

Schrimpf, Paul