The Big Picture
Roots for Success
Travel Express is one of the largest and best-known travel agencies on the Polish market, operating since 1994. Hyland says, "We've had great success over 10 years due to my excellent staff. They are very customer-oriented, well-trained, experienced and bilingual." He adds, "There are international travel agencies on the market with global agreements with their large corporate accounts. We have no such agreements. We have to earn the confidence of every client which we have through our hard work, and we have to do this every day." Hyland highlighted that 'service' is easy to promise, but actual delivery of high service distinguishes his agency from others. When asked what does 'service' then mean, Hyland points out three key factors at Travel Express: professional contact with the customer to quickly respond to clients needs, a commitment to provide lowest possible fares, and offering several travel options where possible. "Ultimately 'service' means to us a satisfied and loyal customer."
Introduction of Transaction Fees and New Tariffs
On March 1, a big change occurred: Lot drastically reduced the commission of all travel agencies in Poland to one percent. As a result, all agencies must now collect a transaction fee from all clients, whether corporate or individuals. Hyland says, "There's no choice, I'm afraid. Each travel agency must earn money on its operations, and the only way to do so now is to collect a transaction fee from our clients. Lot also charges a transaction fee." Hyland tells us that the transaction fee is determined by each travel agency. The actual level of transaction fee generally reflects the level of service which you can expect and demand.
This brings up an interesting point: in this world of cost-saving, why not go with the travel agency that quotes a low transaction fee of, say zł.60, when market average is nearly double for international tickets? But Hyland warns, "If it's really low, then you have to ask yourself 'Why is it so low?' An agency may simply set a very low fee in order to attract a new client, but the fee does not cover the agency's costs. And basic mathematics say that any company not covering its costs will get into serious trouble. It goes without saying that a client cannot expect a high level of customer service in return for such a small fee."
Corporate clients should also ask themselves some other questions: If an agency isn't making any profit from my business, how can I expect to get their best ticketing agents on my account? Why would they spend a lot of time hunting for the best deals? If I'm a client which loses them money, why would they do me any favors? There must be more to a corporation's decision than just the impact of the transaction fee on their budget.
Hyland provides an interesting example. A company recently wanted round-trip tickets to Frankfurt. The client cooperates with a large travel agency with a lower transaction fee than Travel Express - and a ticket price of zł.3,700. When the company called Travel Express, however, they arranged the ticket for zł.1,800. As Hyland explains, "In this case, the savings that we obtained for the client with only one ticket covered the difference in transaction fee by over 90 times! With an unrealistically low transaction fee, I cannot afford to keep highly qualified staff who will take the time and personal interest to get the client the best deal out there. A higher transaction fee can actually be a good thing - you have to look at the total price, not just the transaction fee."
There is actually one very good thing about the changes on March 1: Lot also introduced new tariffs, so it's now possible to fly economy without a weekend stay, which is an ideal situation for traveling businesspeople. Hyland says, "Since March 1, all airlines have reduced their weekday prices between 20 and 45 percent when compared to the normal business class fares. And so, although we had companies react negatively to the transaction fee, thinking it would only add to their costs, we could assure them that, in reality, the net result is substantial cost savings. The point is that corporate clients have to ask themselves what is the total price of their ticket. The corporate client must look beyond the transaction fee to make a good, informed decision. Corporate travel just got less expensive due to availability of new Lot tariffs, yet whether a business will be able to take advantage of these new offers or not will solely depend on the commitment of the agency to give its client the best possible service of providing choices."
Travel Express is one of the largest and best-known travel agencies on the Polish market, operating since 1994. Hyland says, "We've had great success over 10 years due to my excellent staff. They are very customer-oriented, well-trained, experienced and bilingual." He adds, "There are international travel agencies on the market with global agreements with their large corporate accounts. We have no such agreements. We have to earn the confidence of every client which we have through our hard work, and we have to do this every day." Hyland highlighted that 'service' is easy to promise, but actual delivery of high service distinguishes his agency from others. When asked what does 'service' then mean, Hyland points out three key factors at Travel Express: professional contact with the customer to quickly respond to clients needs, a commitment to provide lowest possible fares, and offering several travel options where possible. "Ultimately 'service' means to us a satisfied and loyal customer."
Introduction of Transaction Fees and New Tariffs
On March 1, a big change occurred: Lot drastically reduced the commission of all travel agencies in Poland to one percent. As a result, all agencies must now collect a transaction fee from all clients, whether corporate or individuals. Hyland says, "There's no choice, I'm afraid. Each travel agency must earn money on its operations, and the only way to do so now is to collect a transaction fee from our clients. Lot also charges a transaction fee." Hyland tells us that the transaction fee is determined by each travel agency. The actual level of transaction fee generally reflects the level of service which you can expect and demand.
This brings up an interesting point: in this world of cost-saving, why not go with the travel agency that quotes a low transaction fee of, say zł.60, when market average is nearly double for international tickets? But Hyland warns, "If it's really low, then you have to ask yourself 'Why is it so low?' An agency may simply set a very low fee in order to attract a new client, but the fee does not cover the agency's costs. And basic mathematics say that any company not covering its costs will get into serious trouble. It goes without saying that a client cannot expect a high level of customer service in return for such a small fee."
Corporate clients should also ask themselves some other questions: If an agency isn't making any profit from my business, how can I expect to get their best ticketing agents on my account? Why would they spend a lot of time hunting for the best deals? If I'm a client which loses them money, why would they do me any favors? There must be more to a corporation's decision than just the impact of the transaction fee on their budget.
Hyland provides an interesting example. A company recently wanted round-trip tickets to Frankfurt. The client cooperates with a large travel agency with a lower transaction fee than Travel Express - and a ticket price of zł.3,700. When the company called Travel Express, however, they arranged the ticket for zł.1,800. As Hyland explains, "In this case, the savings that we obtained for the client with only one ticket covered the difference in transaction fee by over 90 times! With an unrealistically low transaction fee, I cannot afford to keep highly qualified staff who will take the time and personal interest to get the client the best deal out there. A higher transaction fee can actually be a good thing - you have to look at the total price, not just the transaction fee."
There is actually one very good thing about the changes on March 1: Lot also introduced new tariffs, so it's now possible to fly economy without a weekend stay, which is an ideal situation for traveling businesspeople. Hyland says, "Since March 1, all airlines have reduced their weekday prices between 20 and 45 percent when compared to the normal business class fares. And so, although we had companies react negatively to the transaction fee, thinking it would only add to their costs, we could assure them that, in reality, the net result is substantial cost savings. The point is that corporate clients have to ask themselves what is the total price of their ticket. The corporate client must look beyond the transaction fee to make a good, informed decision. Corporate travel just got less expensive due to availability of new Lot tariffs, yet whether a business will be able to take advantage of these new offers or not will solely depend on the commitment of the agency to give its client the best possible service of providing choices."
