Channel 9 took to social media last night to talk to the Flight Centre share drop on Tuesday, asking the question “do you go online to book your holidays?”
In case you missed it, Flight Centre’s shares fell by up to 16 percent two days ago after the company adjusted its profit expectations.
The agency group warned full-year earnings for 2014/15 would fail to meet record profits of the prior 12 months.
Following the announcement, shares dropped to $36.43. Today it sits at $34.90.
Flight Centre said the drop in its expected earnings followed a slow down in leisure bookings.
Channel 9 took to social media to share the news of the decrease and asked its followers where they go to book their holidays.
Not surprisingly the post generated a huge amount of discussion and response, including comments from consumers, Flight Centre agents and helloworld agents.
Lisa Phillips, who says she has worked at Flight Centre for 20 years, received over 245 ‘Likes’ on her comment, which defends agents and their roles.
She explained that consultants are responsible for more than just booking flights and accommodation and that unlike online booking sites, they offer a 24/7 emergency service
Jake Hodges, also a Flight Centre employee for around eight years, said consumers need to treat agents as they would hairdressers and doctors – once you find a good one, stick with them.
“I moved from my home town six years ago ( four hours away) and still book half of my clients from there,” he said.
“Can the internet give you personal first hand experience? Of course not.”
Unfortunately, a small portion of Channel 9 followers dubbed agents as ‘rip offs’.
However, this was counteracted by the large number that said they wouldn’t book anywhere other than with an agent.
Like Lisa King who said she doesn’t understand how people can give their money to overseas online companies.
Andrew Viney shared the same sentiment, encouraging others to support Australian companies and jobs.
Speaking to those who claimed ‘online is cheaper’, Steven Pinchen said the Internet has hidden charges, which ultimately make the trip costlier.
And then there were other great comments like these:
Clearly the post was created to spark a discussion and engagement for their own gain, but the question is – do these kind of posts do Travel Agents any favours? Or help Agents explain their worth?
