Parts of this kind of system are available today in the U.S.  You can, for example, arrange for a car (not a limo) and driver to pick you up from the Los Angeles airport and take you to where you want to go.  The fees are not much more expensive than renting a luxury car from a car rental service.  However, it is unlikely that your local travel agency will know about this service or how to arrange it for you.  It is also unlikely that you would know about such services.

The concept of this business is to create a network of boutique travel agencies that work with each other to offer personal services to middle and upper class travelers for a fee.  A travel agency in NYC city would provide cars and drivers to pick up customers and deliver them to their departure terminal.  Tickets, luggage handling, even food would be provided to the traveler.  At the destination, another car and driver would be waiting to pick up the traveler and their luggage and deliver them to their hotel.  The hotel would be prepped to receive the traveler and have whatever amenities the traveler desired already in their room.  This might include flowers, foam pillows, liquor, or even a maid to hang up clothing.  A representative from the Los Angeles travel agency would be constantly available 24 hours a day to make reservations at restaurants, plays, or other entertainment venues.  A car and drive would be available on 15 minutes notice 24 hours a day.  For foreign travelers, translator/guides would be provided to show the traveler the city.  Business travelers would be provided secretarial/translator services.

The traveler’s travel agency would profile their customers thoroughly to find out what their travel needs and desires are.  This exists to some degree already on some of the online travel reservation services.  For example, I can book a non-smoking room.  Imagine this being carried to a higher level where the contents of the in-room mini-bar could be ordered in advance without your having to ask for it each time.  Imagine, being able to request foam or fiber fill pillows, a fragrance free room, or a room away from the street in advance without having to ask for it each time you travel.  What would make this system successful would be the customer profile.

Believe it not, these are the kind services that were offered by travel agencies long ago.  If you were British and you planned to travel to a distant land, your travel agency, through a complex network of representatives, would make your journey trouble free.  Everyone along the way knew in advance of your arrival and your needs.

What is amazing is that many of these services are available today at a low cost, but few travel agents know that that they exist.  Most travel agents are trained to issue tickets and not much else.  A few can tell you about which cruise boat is better than another, but this advice is usually heavily influenced by commissions from the cruise line rather than the client’s needs.  The advice that travelers would get if the traveler were paying the fee could be quite different.

The bottom line is that successful future travel agents will be service rather than sales driven.  The first agencies to set up a network of travel agents to deliver exceptional customer specific services will be the next American Express or Thomas Cook Travel agency.

Motorists traveling through a specific geographical regions such as cities or the Finger Lakes of upstate New York would see roadside signs advertising free travel information and offering a toll free number to call from a cell phone.

When motorists call the toll free number they are connected to a local call center populated with knowledgeable travel advisors. The travel advisors would offer the following:

• Hotel reservations
• Restaurant reservations
• Campground reservations
• Information about and directions to attractions
• Emergency road service
• Travel advice

Assumptions

• Travel agencies are seeking new revenue sources as a result of cut backs or total elimination of airline reservation income.
• Travel agencies are already equipped to make reservations.
• Travel agencies have access to travel information, especially about their own cities.
• Visitor bureaus are always looking for ways to increase tourism to their locales. The needs of the visitor bureaus and the motorists could both be profitably satisfied through such a service.
• The service makes use of existing technologies.
• The concept has been proven by General Motors and Ford Motor Company. General Motors offers a fee-based satellite-based communications service to its customers. This service enables their customers to request road side service, travel information, and location information.

Profit

• Reservation fees
• Membership fees

Concept

Aerial and satellite photos of the earth corresponding to flight paths of commercial airlines.

Assumptions

• Airline passengers with window seats, not over the wing, have a wonderful view of the earth as they fly from city to city.
• Pilots rarely identify what geographic feature their aircraft is passing over at any given time.
• Large quantities of free and inexpensive aerial and satellite photos exist of the U.S.
• Airlines generally follow strict flight paths.
• News stands in airports represent an excellent point of sale.
• Airlines may want to purchase the guides for inclusion in in-flight magazines.

Because of the convenience of the segway themselves, we were able to go to nice places where people usually walk through (petco park, next to the USS..midway? I think it’s the USS midway) so we get the best of both worlds; speed to be able to see most things in downtown san diego/gaslamp district and the ability to see things you can’t just see by “driving by.” Bring your camera…it’s well worth it.