ANN ARBOR, MI – The internet hasn’t been kind to old-time travel agencies.
But one 60-year-old Ann Arbor company has managed to evolve and thrive as a travel management firm in the digital age.
Chris Conlin remembers the heyday of the evolving industry that travelers once relied upon.
“Deregulation and competition was the way to go, and that’s when the travel industry exploded, in the late 70s and early 80s,” said Conlin, CEO of Ann Arbor-based Conlin Travel.
But in the 1990s, airlines stopped paying commissions to travel companies, and online bookings began impacting the industry.
Many travel agencies folded, but Conlin Travel, 3270 Washtenaw Ave., fought to keep its clients. The company is celebrating 60 years in business.
“What we discovered is that back-to-our-roots of hiring and retaining, and finding the best possible people and treating them with respect, we found our clients valued our service,” said Conlin, who purchased the business from his father Tom Conlin in 2000.
The beginning
In 1959, Tom Conlin bought a small agency on South University Avenue shortly after graduating from the University Michigan.
“I think he was looking for a business that fit his personality, and back then, the travel business was very young," said Chris Conlin, who entered the family business in 1983. "The era of jet travel was right around the corner, and that transformed the industry dramatically. He realized he needed to attract and retain really great people to work with him.”
Vacation packages were the agency’s main focus until the elder Conlin entered into a partnership with the University of Michigan Alumni Association in the early 1960s to arrange group travel.
Things really picked up in the 1970s, when airlines were deregulated, Chris Conlin said.
“It used to be that the airline prices … there were only two, first class and coach -- the prices were set by the government. Every airline had to charge the same amount of money for the same route. All of that changed in the late 70s and early 80s … and it became a very competitive market,” Conlin said.
From there, he said, “the travel industry exploded” in the late 1970s and early 80s.
Conlin Travel would separate into leisure and corporate travel divisions.
“I would say those were the roaring days in the travel industry from the vacation side, and the birth of business travel,” Conlin said. “Into the 90s, even here in Ann Arbor, there were upwards of 36 travel agencies in town, then a series of events occurred.”
The internet
The business model relied on airlines paying agencies a set commission on everything they sold, Conlin said.
“Our vendors were paying us our revenues,” he said. “The airlines somewhat collectively decided to change that model and over the course of five years diminished that commission to zero.”
Then, the internet added more booking avenues for travelers, causing the industry to shift gears and find new ways to garner revenue, Conlin said.
“A lot of agencies just haven’t figured that out," Conlin said.
He said the internet presented challenges and inflicted wounds on the travel industry, but also helped his company grow into a corporate agency.
“We were very current," said founder Tom Conlin. “We were very up-to-date on every computer there ever was … we immediately charged for our services because there were no commissions. Not everybody would do that … we’ve had very loyal customers,”
The partnership with UM allowed the company to create packages for Big Ten Bowl trips and Final Four tour packages for alumni.
Conlin plans major athletic and business events year-round, setting up websites, charter aircraft arrangements, hotels, vehicles, reservations, contract negotiations and more.
Past and future
“I look around my office and have several black and white photos of the travel industry and my father, and grandfather, who wasn’t in the business. It’s fun to look at those and see how much it’s changed,” Conlin said.
The company also has a large image in its conference room of UM athletes donning suits, hats, white gloves and high heels before boarding an overnight flight to Europe.
“They’re getting ready to get on an overnight flight looking like that,” Conlin said.
Conlin said the travel management company negotiates contracts with airlines, hotels and car rental agencies at below-retail rates, offering packages through an online booking tool for each corporate customer.
“We have so many employees here and we are proud of the fact that we just don’t lose them. We have tremendous, dedicated employees," Conlin said. I always have an open door. It’s the only business I’ve ever been in and I expect in the future, things to go well.”
Conlin takes pride in looking after clients throughout their trips. When travelers encounter natural disasters or other potentially dangerous circumstances, Conlin’s employees reach out their customers to check on their safety.
“That is truly an obligation of corporations, is to know where their travelers are,” Conlin said.
The company expanded to East Lansing in 2009 and Grand Rapids in 2014. It also opened a branch office in San Francisco, California in 1984. In 1998, Conlin also formed the Great Lakes Cruise Company.