Travel Agency Social Hubs Invite Passersby to Join the Party

While brick-and-mortar stores of all kinds seem to be facing extinction these days, some innovative storefront travel agencies are bucking this trend. Designed as social hubs, new agencies cropping up on city streets from Brooklyn, New York, to Omaha, Nebraska, are now places where passersby can come in, relax in a lounge-style atmosphere, enjoy a cappuccino, peruse travel books, and chat with a travel advisor.

Owners of these travel agencies say that many of their walk-in customers had never before used a travel advisor or been aware of the services that agencies provide. Many were pleasantly surprised and ended up booking travel. The concept is successful enough that some of these travel agencies are expanding into multiple locations.

It’s good to know that face-to-face connections still resonate and that storefront travel agencies can be a vibrant part of local communities.

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— Maria Lenhart, Travel Advisor Editor

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Skift Travel Advisor Editor Maria Lenhart [mbl@skift.com] curates the Skift Travel Advisor Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Tuesday. Have a story idea? Or a juicy news tip? Want to share a memo? Send her an email.

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