The negative affect of trends in the leisure industry. In the following essay, the researcher will be concentrating on the negative affects which arise when following the trend in the hospitality industry, in particular online bookings versus the gold old travel agency. Over the years, it can clearly be seen that a trend towards online bookings has been established. Nowadays, all major airplane companies as well as mile collection corporations allow every individual to book trips online. According to Sonja Heller (2007), Customers lured by convenience and romises of the best deal are booking more vacations and trips online.
Though, is online booking always the better way to go ahead? Clearly this depends on the type of traveler and the attitude of him. Jane E. Fraser (2008) mentions in an article, that the general rule is that the more complicated and expensive the itinerary, the better it is to book through a travel agent. Bookings made through travel agencies, give the customer the advantage of meeting the agent face to face. This will give a sense of the agent's professionalism and may be more likely to take good care of you than omeone who could be behind some customer service line.
Especially, the older generations, who have not really been face with the exploration of internet, are negatively affected by the trend of online bookings. According to USA Today (2006), customers who want a been - there, done - that knowledge should consult a real person, rather than a website, as it naturally will show the best pictures. Though as travel became more and more vital to the lives of many of us, travel agents in contrast are not able to put up with high demand volume and do not allow enough ime to evaluate an offer.For example during peak seasons, bank holidays and general holidays. Following the trend of moving more towards online bookings also leads to the fact as mentioned by Kaukab Smith (2007) many online travel sites advertise for low fares and low prices, but actually at the end of the day, all the attention which has been made to attract you disappears as there are hidden fees such as booking costs, etc.
In addition to this, travel websites cannot handle complicated or numerous bookings. Such as Lufthansa or any company in the StarAlliance, does not allow you to book a few tickets at ones as well as 8 months or more in advance. In particular during those economically tough times, customers are interested in spending the least but keeping their living standards high or at least the same. Therefore to conclude, when considering the fact that life expectancy is increasing and the older generations have the monetary finance available as not all of them are affected by the economic crises, concentrating too much on online bookings, will results in wasting profits for some leisure companies.
