Just in case you aren’t lucky to have one of those helpful friends to recount some of their personal holiday travel insurance stories, we’ve compiled a list of a few of the more unusual ones.

Bag Overboard!
A man was on a three day trip aboard a small pleasure boat in Thailand. As they were on the return journey, everybody’s luggage was up on deck ready to disembark. Unexpectedly, the seas became extremely rough and the boat was in danger of capsizing. Some quick thinking by the local Thai captain and crew averted a disaster, but not before the entire boatload of luggage had slid overboard with one final terrifying lean! The gentleman in question had thousands of pounds of video equipment in his bag, as well as an engagement ring he planned to present to his girlfriend on the last night of their holiday. But while his bag went to a watery grave, his story had a happy ending. His travel insurance paid for everything including a new ring, and they lived happily ever after, with a great tale to tell! (Some of his new friends from the trip however, who hadn’t purchased holiday insurance, did not fare so well.)

Stop Police!
A hapless tourist on the trip of a lifetime to Israel, was minding his own business crossing the road. Out of nowhere a police car moving at over 80 km/hr came careering over the crossing and struck him. Horrified onlookers watched as he was thrown ten feet into the air before landing on a traffic island. Miraculously his injuries were not life threatening, but he was in hospital for weeks. The local Israeli police were extremely quick in assisting with the police report (surprise surprise!), and his travel insurance paid for a private room, all his medical expenses and his travelling expenses back to the US. Two years later, when the man was fully recovered he returned to Jerusalem to continue his tour of the city – by bus!

Hands in the Air
Two young friends were backpacking through South America on a gap year holiday. Before they left, all their uni friends had clubbed together to buy them some cheap travel insurance. The boys had announced publicly that they had thought it was an unnecessary expense – but luckily their mates disagreed. Half way into their three month holiday, the boys were crossing the border from Belize. They got a taxi from the border at Guatemala to take them to their next town. As the taxi crawled along the heavily potholed road, two masked gunmen leapt from the roadside brandishing their weapons and firing shots in the air. They demanded the driver steer the taxi into a ditch, and made off with the boys’ bags. After a few hours of pushing, the boys and driver managed to extricate the car and drove straight to the police station. Due to the foresight of their friends’ the boys’ considerable expense to replace everything was covered by their travel insurance – and they lived to hear the immortal words – “We told you so!”

Once bitten, twice shy, three times….?
This is a combination of several stories, but a classic example that animals really will bite the hand that feeds them! While in rural India, a girl was patting a gorgeous little puppy that suddenly turned on her and bit her finger and wrist. Although it wasn’t a bad wound, when four days later it was revealed that the puppy had bitten several other people and then had died – she immediately took herself to the nearest big city hospital for a rabies shot. After several anxious days she was given the all clear, and her travel insurance paid for her travel and medical expenses including antibiotics.

In Thailand a man stopped to pet a local man’s pet monkey on a leash. The man handed over the monkey for a cuddle, and as it nestled into the tourist’s arms it suddenly turned vicious and took a large chunk out of his face! Rabies shots, antibiotics and some minor surgery later, the man returned the UK to lodge a rather large claim on his travel insurance.

On a “walk with the lions” tour in Zimbabwe, an elderly woman could not help reaching out to stroke the head of a young lion cub – although she had been told not to. The cub reared its head and caught her arm with its teeth. Twelve stitches and an overnight stay in hospital later, the woman was so shaken she cut short her travel plans. Luckily her travel insurance paid for her hospital and flight expenses, and she returned home to continue her safari at the city zoo!

I agree with the experts that a shakeout is taking place due to the current economic downturn. If you have not positioned your agency at this time either to be a part of the larger travel organizations or to become a “boutique,” then you might want to start thinking about your strategies for the future. Your key starting point is determining your agency’s net worth.

There are four critical areas that comprise an adequate and accurate agency valuation plan -

- operations/resource management,
- market position/agency image,
- financial management, and
- business history

Future articles will include financial management, market position/agency image, and business history. Today let’s consider -

Operations and Resource Management

Automation – Computers and Telephones

As a general rule, the more automated you are, the higher your productivity per employee and consequently the higher your profitability. Additionally, more time for agents to have face-to-face or voice-to-voice contact with customers means better service. Bear in mind that if you’ve been computerized for at least three full years, you are over the start up pains and the equipment is part of your routine.

What computerization was to a travel agency five years ago, telephone systems will be for the next five years. Your phone system will make or break you. Chances are if you have an old-fashioned key button system, your productivity is low and your ultimate valuation will reflect that. You should at least have PBX and ACD systems.

Personnel

Regardless of whether a buyer will be managing your business himself or hiring you to stay on as a contract manager, your personnel are the absolute key to success under new ownership. I have seen agencies sold and then watched half the staff leave the next day with their “following” because they were offered a better deal by another agency. The result is usually a bonanza for lawyers and the disintegration of your former business. You can generally avoid such a crisis if your turnover is low, staff experience levels are high, and you have a strong incentive program supplemented by a solid portfolio.

Other Resources

The travel agency business requires an incredible amount of detailed data and consistent, logical operating systems. The question is: Have you been able to maintain an organization that cuts smoothly through all these ancillary materials and procedures? For example:

- the latest work flow changes in your agency;
- staff telephone manners and the way you present your agency to the public;
- your quality control processes before documents go out to the public;
- updating the mailing list; and
- your system to follow up on hotel commissions

And what about your space? Naturally, a buyer will want to see his new business grow. If your space restricts that, or if your lease is about to be renewed at double the cost, any future projections will be impacted and your agency is worth less. Therefore, prior to sale you might want to check with your landlord as to a potential new arrangement with the new owner.

Good management

The common thread in the criteria above is organization. If historically and financially you have done well, but if the key to your success has been your absolute and autocratic management – i.e., all of the company’s records are in your head – obviously, a new owner will not succeed. Therefore, good management not only shows in the results but in the ability to turn the reins over to new management.

Obviously a potential buyer is far more impressed by an organized, well-planned operation in which you can show your original business objectives, the current variances or changes in plan and your rationale behind it.
In all of the criteria above let me stress the most important common element – consistency – as crucial.

Do you really present a credible picture to the buyer? Do you have a dashboard that measures your activities and allows you to make mid-course corrections in the event one of your “instruments” indicates a problem?

Your answers to these questions will help determine your agency’s net worth – and its value in the marketplace.

Contacting a Travel Agency

The original concept of communication among travel agencies is; being on familiar terms with the destination prior to contact. If contact is made prior to your recognition of the destination, the agents’ original business deals are cruises. For the trouble-free reason, cruises are the number one vacation in the Travel Industry. Fortunately you’re not obligated to accept the suggestion, however extremely recommended to safeguard the expense within your mind.

Acquire the Estimate in Writing

The Agent you are communicating through will remain your permanent agent pending the departure date. Remember to retain information, obtain his/her name in addition to the agent number for future contact. A beneficial rule of thumb is to request your estimate to be set to assure the rate will not increase prior to deposit. An additional rule of thumb, request the quote is, emailed, faxed or mailed to your residence by the close of the conversation. The documents you take delivery of are your proof of the quote. Majority of agents are honest, although your subsequent contact may possibly be a different agent and a different quote.

The Importance of an Agency

The importance of using an agency is; the agency completes the entire backbone process or else you would be completing the whole thing physically. The agency contacts the destination and arranges everything for you. The agency reserves the room(s) of the hotel, provided one is necessary and completes the reservation. Then the agent determines and requests the down payment. Upon receipt of the deposit, the balance is set up in payments with the final payment being due ninety days prior to departure. The only thing the agency does not complete for you, they don’t reserve your food, souvenirs or gasoline, provided that you chose to drive instead of fly. In accordance, if you choose to fly, the agency books that as well. Basically everything to do with reserving and paying for is completed and paid by you to the travel agency.

The Vacation

Prior to the departure date, it is necessary to pack your baggage and make certain all is situated for the journey. Subsequently the final thing you ought to complete prior to, for the duration of and following the vacation is remain safe and HAVE FUN.