Can you imagine a life without technology? A job without email? Organising a social event without your mobile? Not needing to “log in” somewhere.
According to Gary O’Riordan, it affects the day to day of the Travel Agent.
“It’s amazing how many people are confused about what’s out there… unsure about the best solution for their business…what’s going to integrate.”
Gary O’Riordan
Back when I was a boy… okay, we’ll stop there. Technology has evolved, advanced, shrunk, sped up and become more powerful and far reaching. The speed of change is phenomenal. Years ago tech geeks said it would slow, but its flavours have multiplied.
As soon as you get the hang of the tech its then challenging to get everything to work together. Integrating systems is challenging, expensive or plainly impossible. So the options are invest in mega systems that have everything, including 80 percent of which you don’t need, or compromising your productivity by sticking with your faves.
Fortunately a new wave of systems have emerged which in their own right, down do anything, but do connect your favourite tools to make them work more productively. The benefit of investigating this approach to business is it helps you think through the processes of your business, understanding how it fits together with respect to information flows.
On this basis, I strongly recommend (not because I am on a kick back scheme, but because it makes good sense) every agent to look at “IFTTT” and “Zapier”, two platforms which can connect your favourite apps and hardware to work more effectively.
So this is great, the technology is doing everything for you.
But then is there too much technology out there. Well, for the most part, yes, and it controls peoples lives, they become a slave to it:
– Incessantly checking email
– Bringing your mobile phone to the dinner table
– Chasing “likes”
– Failing to disengage from work
The promise of robots and computers was that they would make our lives easier. Instead, we are cramming more in. So instead of using that free time for leisure, the extra time goes into work, meaning the time we liberated through technology is being spent with more technology.
Websites can do that.
Travel Agents, people, need more time with more people.
Humanity will win the day against machines, not more machines.
Travel has lost the human touch. Find it.