by Laura Del Rosso

Agent Profile: Susan Parr

When Susan Parr puts a "help Wanted" ad in the local classifieds, it's likely that "travel agent experience preferred" does not appear in the ad copy. The fact is that experience is not necessary at her agency, Susan Parr Travel, Port Angeles, Wash. Parr hires most of her young staff right out of travel school.

"I have an affinity for young people," she says. "In our area, there are a lot of people who go to travel school and have a glamorous idea of what it will be like to be a travel agent. They're starry-eyed and ready to conquer the world."

When interviewing for new hires, Parr looks at experience, but she considers a good personality and high motivation to be as important. She has found that younger candidates are often more upbeat about the travel industry than the seasoned agents she interviews.

"Agents who have been in the business 20 years and more are sometimes burned out and they don't have the same enthusiasm." Parr claims that some older agents have a "mindset in the past" and sometimes have not adjusted to the new era without airline commissions. They are hesitant to charge their clients substantial service fees. And, they are leery about using the Internet.

"I find that young agents are driven to find the best deal and not afraid of the computer or the Internet. When we have meetings about choosing preferred suppliers, the young agents want to use those that have online booking. They would much rather book online than stay on hold on the phone."

It wasn't always like this at Susan Parr Travel. When she opened the agency in 1994, Parr employed several agents with many years of experience. Over the years, they either retired or left the business, fed up with the changes that rocked the industry in the late 1990's. That's when Parr started looking at hiring young, inexperienced agents for her staff of six. "We went from having an office of older agents to a staff, right now, that's all under 36, except for our one veteran agent, who is older," she says.

One of those hires was Bobbi Breithaupt, who joined Susan Parr Travel seven years ago, when she was 29.

Breithaupt believes being a young agent has a distinct advantage: little knowledge of what older agents think of as the "good old days." "When I started here, there were senior travel agents who told me that it was a dying industry and I should be doing something else with my life," she says. "But I disagree. I love it, and I think there's a great future. It's going to be my career."

While she readily lists the benefits of employing young agents, Parr said there are some disadvantages. One is that young agents often have young children at home, which can mean their ability to travel is restricted and they may require more time off for children's illnesses and activities.

The agency has implemented a flexible policy, allowing agents to work at home if necessary or make up time for absences by working evenings or weekends.

The other issue is that young agents, perhaps because they are concentrating on raising families, don't have large social circles. Older agents are often well positioned in their communities because their children are grown and they have time for volunteer activities and hobbies that may bring in clientele, Parr says.

Young agents also have not traveled extensively. To make sure their destination knowledge grows, the agency provides $300 a year each for fam trips.

Parr allows her staff to take as many fam trips as they like, provided they don't overlap with their colleague's trips. "It's important for them to travel and to see the hotels and learn about proper etiquette on fams. They are not there to carouse."

One of the benefits of having a young staff is the ability to attract new clientele.

"We participated in a bridal fair recently and had 41 brides come to our booth and talk to Bobbi (Breithaupt) about their honeymoons. It helps that she is their age and she can relate to them, where they want to go and their money issues."

Parr says the younger agents are a good source of new ideas. "They are like sponges and always absorbing information. They are open to new ideas and new ways of doing things. They teach me new ways of using the Internet and Technology all the time."

Parr understands. She, too, was a young agent, starting in the business when she was 19. Now at 38, a CTC and vice president of the ASTA Pacific Northwest Chapter, she has been a travel agent for almost 20 years.

"I see a little of myself in the young agents," she says.