Making the Web Work

by R. Scott Macintosh

When other kids were out playing ball or watching television, Steve Orens was in his room with his computer. “He’s always been into computers, even before there was a www,” said Nobby Orens, Steve’s father.
 

Now, as vice president of Plaza Travel – the Encino, Calif.-based travel agency, owned and operated by the Orens family – Steve Orens has put his technological know-how to work directing Internet and technology operations.
 

“Technology has become extremely important,” said Nobby Orens, both the president and director of golf research for Plaza Travel. “As it became more evident that technology could work for our agency, Steve put it to use. Now we have technology that works fro out clients – 24 hours a day.”
 

Just The Facts Agency: Plaza Travel Location: Encino, Calif. Owners: The Orens family: Nobby Oens, president, Steve Orens, vice president. Web site: PlazaTravel.com Tips from Steve Orens: Service is the most important thing Offer the most up-to-date, state-of-the-art technology to supplement that service. Always be available. Tips for Success from Nobby Orens: Care for people’s needs and give them what they want. Be honest and good to clients and employees. Know the product.

Steve Orens has been building up the agency’s Web site for several years now. It has become a vital tool for both marketing the agency’s product, as well as a resource for booking travel and keeping up-to-date on trends.

“We want to make it a one-stop shop,” the younger Orens said.
 

The web site, http://www.plazatravel.com, not only offers special deals on getaways, it also offers travel tips and articles about destinations written by travel agents who’ve been there. Visitors can request information directly from the specialists.
 

“Knowledge is important,” Steve Orens said. “You need to be able to tell someone about that little restaurant around the corner in Rome that sells great pasta.”
 

At Plaza Travel, the Internet is used to enhance the most important product the agency is selling: service.
 

“Everyone is selling the same product,” he said. “If you want a Big Mac, you are going to get a Big Mac. It’s the same thing everywhere. We’re all selling the same ticket on American. So I have to do something different to make people want to come here.”
 

People have been coming to Plaza Travel since the Orens family bought the agency in 1985. Then it had a staff of six agents and three computers. Today, the staff has grown to 60 agents and dozens of computers line the walls of the two office floors occupied by the agency.
 

Plaza ranks in the nation’s top 2 percent in sales volume for independent agencies.
 

The company credits its growth to retaining its client base over the years – an effort that extends to its Internet operations, designed to lure clients to the site and keep them there.
 

Every other week, the agency sends out a newsletter to its corporate clients, which is filled with travel news briefs, information on attractions, special deals and details related to corporate travel.
 

Steve Orens feels that it’s important to offer his corporate clients the business information that they need but also information that they can use in their personal lives.
 

“People like to talk about travel,” he said. “It’s not about corporate travel, but personal. They like to talk about vacations and the places they’ve been.”
 

Visitors to the Plaza Travel Web site will find a consistent look and feel throughout the pages, even on links that go to third-party vendors.
 

Instead of just acting as a host for links to vendors’ Web sites, Steve Orens requires them to load all of their information on the Plaza site. He believes that forcing a potential client to go to another site might jeopardize that business.
 

Technology also has freed Plaza Travel to offer clients a selection of how to book and to track their travel, which has been especially important for the agency’s business clients, Steve Orens said. Corporate travel now makes up 65 percent of the company’s business.
 

Plaza offers a suite of programs and software that help with quality control and give clients more service options. The agency offers file finishing, online reporting and other record-keeping tools.
 

Clients can also search for the lowest fares through the agency’s search engine, which is powered by various computer software programs. Or, they can ask an agent to do the booking by massaging through the Web site.
 

“I don’t want to tell someone how to do something,” the younger Orens said. “So I have a service that meets every need.”
 

This article reprinted from TravelAge West • June 2, 2003

and TravelAgeWest.com