Travel agency C Travel plans to downsize its Queen Street office and have many of its staff working from home via the Internet by early next year.

The company's chief executive officer, Carl Paiva, said the plan marked a "revolutionary shift in our business model".

C Travel will maintain its office in Bermudiana Arcade, with a new look but at a reduced size, staffed by some 19 travel associates, to meet demand for face-to-face business, while 13 others will "go virtual".

The firm is also in the process of bolstering its online presence with four new online facilities to operate alongside its quickertix.com and cruises.bm booking websites.

Mr. Paiva said the company was moving with the times, but that the impact of the economic downturn had probably speeded up the timing of the change. He announced the plans to employees last Thursday evening.

Around half of the 6,000 square feet of office space the business currently occupies in the Bermudiana Arcade [EmDash] the entire upper floor [EmDash] will be offered for rent. The space is owned by C Travel's parent company, C Holdings.

"This will help us to increase productivity and decrease expenses," Mr. Paiva told The Royal Gazette. "It's about giving the public what they want and giving the company what it needs."

Many travel agents have only an online presence, but Mr. Paiva said it was clear that many Bermudians preferred doing their business with a representative.

"We will still have a bricks and mortar presence on Queen Street, the busiest street in Hamilton," he said. "We will maintain a strong team of approximately 20 travel associates there who will look after walk-in business and those customers who prefer face-to-face service.

"But we no longer need such a large office. Our business has changed and so must we."

Some of C Travel's associates particularly those dealing with corporate clients who do the bulk of their business via e-mail or over the phone, and those dealing with the accounts are already doing much of their work from home.

No longer having to keep a desk free for those staff members will free up office space for the company to rent out.

Mr. Paiva said the company had seen more impact from the reduction of commission paid by airlines on tickets sold through the agency than from the recession itself.

Some years ago, those commissions made up 90 percent of the C Travel's revenue now that figure was down to below 50 percent, he estimated. Delta Air Lines, US Airways and Air Canada continued to pay attractive commissions, he added.

"Corporate travel is also well down as a result of travel budgets being reduced," Mr. Paiva said. "Fortunately C Travel has over the years focused heavily on selling leisure travel.

"Cruise and tour sales continue to grow. Group business, especially family reunions and wedding and anniversaries celebrated at sea, is on a serious upward swing. C Travel also has the lion's share of the ethnic travel business predominantly from Portuguese, Filipino and Indian clients here in Bermuda."

Leisure business had been unaffected, the CEO said, and clients were making the most of bargain offers.

"The suppliers have suffered," he said. "A lot of the operators are offering prices that I've never seen in my entire career."

Mr. Paiva says C Travel's quickertix.com site has already proved popular and was recently enhanced with improved hotel and car rental display content. He said the site was sometimes able to offer lower airfares than the websites of the airlines themselves, because it had access to "distressed inventory".

Cruises.bm is a relatively new addition to the C Travel stable, allowing travellers to book cruises online around the clock.

"Clients can do their own research on what's available on the website any time they want to and then they can talk to an agent to check what's best for them before they book," Mr. Paiva said. "So they're getting the best of both worlds."

With a three-pronged strategic focus on the new premises, an increased number of virtual associates and more use of online booking tools, Mr. Paiva anticipates a leaner and more nimble travel business next year.