Ticketing became a commodity. Agency value lives in advice, exception handling, policy and technology. By Patrick Tytgadt.
By Patrick Tytgadt, travel tech specialist
Let me start with the sentence that makes industry panels uncomfortable: issuing a ticket is no longer a competitive differentiator.
What used to be scarce — fare content, ticketing capability, fare-rule knowledge — is now available in software. And what software provides stops sustaining price.
What is still scarce
- Exception handling. A cancelled flight at 11pm, a traveler mid-connection, an agenda that changes mid-trip. No automation solves that alone.
- Spend advice. Reading buying behaviour: chaotic routings, poor advance purchase, off-standard hotels, recurring exceptions.
- Policy management. Turning travel policy into something applied at the moment of purchase instead of a PDF nobody reads.
- Technology and data. ERP integration, reconciliation, reports finance can actually audit.
The problem with living off the fee
An agency defending itself on the transaction fee enters a fight it cannot win: margin. Worse, the fee is about 1% of trip cost. Defending 1% while staying out of the conversation about the other 99% positions the agency as a task vendor, not a results partner.
The repositioning already underway
Once final-price comparison becomes automatic and recorded, procurement stops evaluating agencies by fee and starts evaluating service quality, policy compliance and real financial outcome per trip. That is good news for strong agencies.
The sector will get smaller in operational tasks and bigger in service, specialization and technology.
What I would do as an agency owner today
- Sell documented results, not fees.
- Specialize the team in exceptions and critical support.
- Invest in proprietary data that shows clients what they cannot see.
- Accept competition per quote. Whoever delivers wins volume.
FAQ
Will corporate agencies disappear?
No. The role moves from ticketing to advice, exceptions, policy and technology.
Why is the fee no longer a differentiator?
It represents roughly 1% of trip cost and does not explain the company's financial outcome.
How does an agency differentiate in a marketplace?
By the final price it presents, the rules it offers and the quality of its service — measured on every quote.
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Patrick Tytgadt is a travel tech specialist, founder and CEO of Loupit. Studies at [/estudos/patrick-tytgadt](/estudos/patrick-tytgadt).
