Travel talk: Travel agents who make it in today's economy say it's all about service Travel talk: Travel agents who make it in today's economy say it's all about service (February 25, 2004)

By Jane Knoerle

Almanac Lifestyle Editor

The Awana, Uniglobe, Condo Vacation World, and Venture travel agencies have all gone out of business in Menlo Park. That's the bad news.

The good news is Ladera Travel just opened new offices in Sharon Heights Shopping Center. Meridian World Travel operates a busy 18-desk office in downtown Menlo Park. And Anita Douglas is celebrating her 20th year as the owner of Travel Now at 713 Santa Cruz Ave.

What's their secret? In three little words: service, service, service.

Since the double whammy of September 11 terrorist attacks and the economic downturn in Silicon Valley, the travel agencies still in business are those that cater to their customers.

"We have very loyal clients and a nice mix of leisure and corporate business. They even out," says Les Burger, who owns Ladera Travel with his wife, Nancy. The agency moved into the Sharon Heights Shopping Center this month after 14 years in Ladera.

Mr. Burger is a former general manager of the Stanford Park Hotel in Menlo Park and manager of Hyatt Rickeys. Originally from New York, he and his wife liked the Bay Area and wanted to stay here rather than make the frequent moves the hotel business requires.

When they bought Ladera Travel from the late Claire Nealis, the Burgers were impressed with the agency's well-to-do leisure clientele and its proximity to Stanford University and the headquarters of some of the world's largest tech companies. With 3000 Sand Hill Road just up the street, their clients soon numbered venture capitalists and executives of local law firms.

Today many of these top executives use Ladera Travel for their leisure travel, as well as corporate travel. The agency's seven employees, plus four independent contractors, can handle both for a client. "It's a nice carryover," says Mr. Burger.

The Burgers offer service 24/7, giving clients their home and cell phone numbers. They also subscribe to an after-hours service with a toll-free number and access code throughout the world.

For example, if you needed an emergency flight back to California from anywhere in the world, the after-hours agents could access your records with Ladera Travel and make immediate reservations for you, even in the middle of the night.

Do people actually use this service, other than for emergencies? "Our corporate people use it a lot, often to just confirm or make an earlier reservation," he says.

As it was for all agents, September 11 was a nightmare for Ladera Travel. "We had people stuck around the world. We would book them on anything that was going," says Mr. Burger. After the attack, business people started traveling right away, because they needed to. Leisure travel took much longer to come back, says Nancy Burger.

Today, she says, people who have the means to travel are doing so. There is a resurgence in European bookings, especially for Italy. "People are shifting away from the Middle East or Africa," she says.

The Burgers plan their own getaway this summer on a Mediterranean cruise on the Radisson Diamond, which accommodates 350 passengers. "We like smaller ships," says Ms. Burger.
Travel Now marks 20 years

When Anita Douglas greets friends and clients on Thursday, February 26, at her annual party, she will be celebrating 20 years as the owner of Travel Now in downtown Menlo Park.

Ms. Douglas has been in the travel business since 1975, first working at European World Travel, now known as Meridian World Express.

Today she and Joyce Miller Ricktor are Travel Now's two full-time employees. Four other independent agents, who do not receive a salary, work for commission.

Ms. Douglas was born in Sweden and lived in Turkey and Libya when her former husband, a geologist, worked there. The family also traveled to Portugal, France, and Bolivia.

"Those were good days," Ms. Douglas says of her early days in the travel business. "Customers needed agents then and airlines were paying commission. Now so many use the Internet."

Ms. Douglas' base is made up of longtime clients, mostly leisure, who recommend her to their friends. She says they come to her for her knowledge. "I've been to all the continents. When I reached 100 (countries), I stopped counting."

Her clients want value, but veer to the top-of-the-line tours, such as Tauck. Abercrombie & Kent tours also appeal to affluent clients.

She has seen a resurgence in travel to Hawaii and Alaska since September 11, 2001. "People love Hawaii because it's in the United States, yet it's a tropical destination all year round." She likes the Hawaii World and Happy Vacations tour packages.

Australia and New Zealand are big draws now, because of the ease of the language. As for Europe, everyone wants Italy, she says.

Since airlines no longer give travel agents a commission, Ms. Douglas charges a ticketing fee: $25 to $75 for a domestic flight; $25 to $125 for an international flight. She also charges $50 an hour for a consulting fee "to pick my brain."

While many of her clients opt for ready-made tours, she enjoys doing custom trips, making all the transportation and accommodations reservations. "It's fun. It doesn't pay as much, but I love it."
Meridian World Travel

Don Freeman of Meridian World Travel knows about travel from the passenger side. He was an executive with Ernst & Young accounting firm for 23 years, traveling 90 percent of the time. "When I got into the travel business, I thought, what could I do better than what's being done to me?"

At the time he bought the agency, formerly known as Peninsula World Travel, in 1998, the travel business was touted as one of the great growth industries. He ruefully admits his timing wasn't great.

Despite the terrorist attacks, economic downturn, increasing use of the Internet, and the fact that airlines no longer offer commissions, Meridian World Travel opened a second office in Redwood City two years ago.

It also recently merged with two other agencies: Atherton Square Travel and San Antonio Travel in Los Altos. The Menlo Park office, at 830 Menlo Ave., deals mostly with leisure clients; the Redwood City office, with corporate clients. Meridian is an authorized American Express agency.

You have to be larger to survive and cover the fixed expenses, says Mr. Freeman.

Like other agencies, Meridian now charges a commission for airline tickets. Has the Internet hurt? "It really can't compete on service," says Mr. Freeman. He says many using the Internet formerly employed 800 numbers to make their own airline and hotel reservations.

Mr. Freeman is optimistic about the travel business, which he calls "a massive, changing industry. In 2004 people are starting to feel better about traveling. Business is just taking off. Every month it gets better."

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