Travel & Hospitality Tech Outlook | Thursday, August 13, 2020
Travel agencies are gaining the attention of travelers by replacing their offices with lounges that serve drinks and act as a party spot.
FREMONT, CA: These days, travel agencies are setting up shopfronts on busy streets, to draw the attention of travelers while convincing them that they still exist. One of the travel agencies Tafari Travel in Brooklyn, New York, tried this as it opens to the historic Dumbo neighborhood with four-windowed garage doors. It delighted the passersby to a mid-20th-century-style lounge with modern touches stocked with coffee, wine, and vintage Holiday magazines. Most were caught by the sight of the resort photos posted in the windows, and they think the converted warehouse is a real estate office.
Later on, partnering with Austin’s Departure Lounge, the travel-agency-and-bar mix serves complimentary drinks in a glossy lounge that often shifts into an event space. Departure Lounge and the Tafari agencies sit “front and center on the street,” where locals are likely to stumble upon them. Almost 90 percent of the people who pop into Departure Lounge have never used a travel advisor. They explain how everything works to those who had been wrangling their own holiday plans. They do not charge fees for their custom-made trip plans. Owing to these advantages, over 80 percent of people who meet with a travel advisor end up booking a trip.
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Customers create a strong bond with their travel advisors over Departure Lounge’s signature coffee blend. A face-to-face connection is much stronger than anything done via phone and email because people were not comfortable using the touch screens. To offer a tripsy experience, Travel Design Lounge, an offshoot of Travel and Transport attracts travelers as a neighborhood meeting spot that brings free live music to its patio on summer weekends. The space buzzes with events, from Italian wine tastings to bridal showers. Further, it provides them with various options where families and bridal parties can gather at communal tables stacked with travel books.
Thus instead of one person getting all the information, a group of people can come in and plan together with an advisor. It is all about creating an authentic travel experience by obtaining more of a sense of the person.
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