This posting relates to the news byebye,com, a consumer site, now actively tries to create deals with travl agents, to service the on-line customers. The message below is the answer I send to a colluge who forwarded me a press release. What do you think?

>1. Travel agents already have deals with all the suppliers mentioned >in their system. > >2. Travel agents already have access to a dedicated CRS system like >Worldspan to process airline bookings (or their competitors). The >new airline web sites will most likely be responsible for the >decline of the GDS as it's technology is outdated. > >3. The call center sounds great, but in practice many home based >agents already run,multiple phone lines, and have been able to >survive without a call center support. > >4. The Humanclick button on travelcompass is a free customer service tool, >that is just as useful. Any telco system agents might need is >available on the web for peanuts. > >5. By running bookings through the BB system the agents will under >the franchise contract have to pay for the privelige of being part >of the set up. > >6. Presure from the Internet is arguable, as even byebye has to >admit they can not survive without the local corner store, i.e. >byebye could be byebye if they don't sign up enough franchisees soon. > >One problem they have in this is the fact that they started of as an >agent UNFRIENDLY web service. This is something agents do not forget >lightly, and I can't blame them. > >7. There are just a few really travel agent friendly alternatives >that offer just what agents need, like http://www.thor24.com. >Special prices, 24 hour customer service, dedicated agent booking >policy, call center, emergency service desk etc. Well established >and used by many thousands of travel agents as well as major >corporations. > >Q&A systems have the same probblem as this storry indicates. This >nice man is never going to save respond from loosing in the long

>run: https://www.respond.com/apps/seller? >action=successstory2&_sid=1&_li=m83139669373 > >Travel agenets have been unsubscribing from Respond in an allarming >rate, yet travel is still the major source of potential revenue for >these type of services. There may be a few people in the business >smart enough, to get some decent bookings, but as we already >concluded travel agents lack marketing skills, this will never be >enough to create a breakthrough for Q&A as a buyer/seller matching >tool. > >Still, I am convinced "think community" is the most easy to >implement answer to WWW.

-- Ben (ben@travelcompass.net), June 29, 2000