Home Based Travel Agent - May 2008 - (Page 18)

Technology Eyeing Your Itinerary These resources can help you quickly turn around an itinerary for the impulse buyer—with quality NEW ITINERARY TIDBITS I The GDS is quick to highlight its tour software as among the quickest and best itinerary resources. I Steve Matise, Travelport’s director of strategic content, stresses the notes portion of an itinerary as an opportunity to show the customer that you listened to exactly what they talked about and are willing to add your expertise. I Agency owner Diane Dyson relies heavily on community sites such as TripAdvisor to put together a convincing itinerary with as many specific evaluations as possible. I It’s wise to measure your itinerary Creating an itinerary is a proposition that might vary from client to client. For some customers, it’s a slam dunk: They tell you specifically what they want and you put it together effortlessly. For others, it might be a casual thought about “possibly” doing a trip to Europe— now you have to quickly create a possible trip itinerary while the interest is there and make sure it’s strong enough to seal the deal.Travel may not be an impulse buy like that magazine at the grocery checkout counter, but many deals are decided by agents who act quickly, rather than those who sit on their hands and hope the customer will sell themselves. Here are 18 some resources to make that itinerary jump off the screen as fast as you need it. A Selling Proposition An agent can only be as fast as the GDS system he or she uses to create itineraries. Owen Wild, director of marketing for Amadeus North America, believes the Amadeus agency platform is geared toward speedy success. “The Amadeus selling platform is an area devoted completely to point of sale,” he says. “Amadeus Activities and Entertainment is able to find a scope of city information and services that can provide options from top restaurants to sightseeing tours to theater tickets. You effectiveness in clicks—figuring out how many steps it actually takes to complete it for your customer from their initial interest. have to do more than get tickets for customers—you have to give them an experience. [Amadeus Activities and Entertainment’s] quick booking capability for the agent clearly shows the commission opportunities throughout.” Despite Amadeus’ offerings, Wild believes the main problem to be the unprecedented online access that gives the cus- Home-BasedTravelAgent MAY 2 0 0 8

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Based Travel Agent - May 2008

Home Based Travel Agent - May 2008 Contents Editor’s Note: When It’s Just Not Worth It Publisher’s Note: Never Underestimate Your Lifeline: When Things Go Wrong, You May Need To Agent Spotlight: Odyssey Travel’s Michelle Duncan New Technology: Resources That Can Help You Quickly Industry News: Costa Names Field Sales Director Hot Deals: From the Caribbean to Canada and London Success Stories Independent Associations Southern Swing Mexico Dominican Republic Cover Story: Australia Family Trips Theme Tours New Products: Urban At Ease Laptop Messenger Bag

Home Based Travel Agent - May 2008

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