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American Morning

Interview with Mark Orwoll, 'Travel and Leisure'

Aired June 06, 2002 - 07:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Along with the peak summer travel season comes the great travel debate: book your trip online or use a travel agent. More and more travelers, we are told, are using their computers. And one survey says that 53 percent booked their trips online last year, up from 47 percent the year before.

Mark Orwoll, the managing editor of "Travel and Leisure," our guest here in New York City -- good morning to you.

MARK ORWOLL, MANAGING EDITOR, "TRAVEL AND LEISURE": Good morning.

HEMMER: Is that an exaggeration, 53 percent? It seems very high to me.

ORWOLL: It seemed very high to me too. I have heard that 17 percent of the American public at one time or another has bought travel online. It may have been something like people doing research online could be up in the 50 percent, 60 percent. But it is increasing. Every year more and more people realize...

HEMMER: I like your honesty, Mark. The recent survey also indicates well over 70 percent of Americans still think their dream vacation, the islands of Hawaii.

ORWOLL: Hey...

HEMMER: Best deal right...

ORWOLL: ... I am one of them.

HEMMER: You are one of them, yes. I'm probably right behind you. Best deal to get to Maui now is what?

ORWOLL: Well, I found one -- talk about online -- at a company called OneTravel.com. They have a deal going to Maui from San Francisco, round trip air fare, your stay at the Royal Lahaina Hotel in Ka'anapali Beach for seven days, $885. Now, if you think about it, the average air fare from the West Coast right now to Maui is $700. We are talking $885 for your hotel and your round trip air fare.

HEMMER: Wow!

ORWOLL: So it's a great deal. HEMMER: That's a heck of a package deal. Let's go online right now to our four major companies really making some headway. Let's look at Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz and American Express. What are these companies doing right now?

ORWOLL: Well, these companies are approaching the business from the traditional travel agent point of view. They are full-service agencies. They can book you a car or give you a hotel room, put you on a cruise ship, give you your air fare, give you a whole package together. And they are offering everybody one-stop shopping. That's what the basic approach is here.

HEMMER: You're going to pay a higher premium on those sites, correct?

ORWOLL: Well, you can get good prices, but not always the very best prices.

HEMMER: OK. So if I am looking for a good deal, and 63 percent of travelers say price is their No. 1 priority, there are three Web sites where I can go if I want to save some cash. What makes these special?

ORWOLL: Well, the sites that I like, Site59, 11th Hour Vacations, Last Minute Travel, they buy what's called distressed merchandise from the airlines, the cruise ships. The unsold hotel rooms, the unsold cruise births that the travel supplier wants to unload that these Web sites buy the extra merchandise, the inventory at a real steep discount and then resell it to you and me at a really good savings, sometimes the best price you can get. There are restrictions. You might not get the variety of selection of hotels, travel dates might be limited. But in exchange for that drawback, you get a really good price.

HEMMER: Mark, you are painting a picture for me that tells me a lot of research may be involved in this. If I don't have the time, if I'm making last minute travel plans, where do I go then?

ORWOLL: Well, there are some sites that will actually take care of that for you, Bill. They will collect the best of the best deals, put them on their Web site, so that -- you talk about one-stop shopping -- you can look at all of the great deals for any current week right there on one site. There is Site59. That stands for like the 59th minute -- you know, you wait until the last minute, get it? -- 11th Hour Vacations, Last Minute Travel, et cetera, and you can get some bargains there. I found three nights at the Tremont Hotel in Chicago for $229 on Site59.

HEMMER: Well, see you know what you are doing. Listen, are travel agents going to be a thing of the past?

ORWOLL: No, they are not.

HEMMER: It's a big fear and has been for some time.

ORWOLL: It has been, and a lot of the ticket sellers did go out of business. But travel agents have evolved into travel consultants, and if you need a vacation that's going to entail air fare, hotels, a rental car, maybe tickets to the theater, advice about your destination, you really should consult a travel agent. At the very least, they'll give you a price quote that you can use as the basis of comparison when you go online.

HEMMER: Great advice there. I have some friends who went out to Vegas. They are going to watch the fight on Saturday night in Vegas that's taking place in Memphis. To go to Vegas now, best deal is what?

ORWOLL: Well, I found one on United Airlines. Now, most airlines have Web sites. They also have package vacation branches. I found a deal on United Airlines. You will fly down to the Bellagio Hotel, three nights at one of the top hotels in Vegas.

HEMMER: Yes.

ORWOLL: This is a deal that includes your air fare from Seattle to Vegas, $379. The hotel is generally going to cost you around 200 bucks a night, so this is a deal indeed. Go to any of the airline Web sites. You can find similar deals from your own city.

HEMMER: Got it. Thank you, Mark -- "Travel and Leisure" magazine.

ORWOLL: Pleasure, Bill.

HEMMER: I think about 48 hours in Vegas, and I have had my fill. Thank you, Mark -- we'll talk again.

ORWOLL: OK. The expensive part is not the air fare. It's at the table.

HEMMER: So true, and I never win.

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