Travel Agent - October 15, 2007 - (Page 98)

BUSINESS OPER ATIONS Customer Relationship Management Tool The free OpenTravel CRM solution gains ground BY JENNIFER MERRITT TECHNOLOGY TRAVEL SCIENCES (WWW.TRAVEL SCIENCES.COM), A TECHNOLOGY COMPANY BASED IN HARTFORD, CT, RECENTLY DEBUTED a web-based customer relationship management and backoffice tool for travel agents, entering a market already occupied by the likes of ClientBase Plus and others. How will Travel Sciences’ OpenTravel CRM (www.opentravelcrm.com) stack up against the legacy competition? Well, for starters, it’s free. “We looked at Google, and what they are doing is putting out software tools for free that people can leverage and that model is rapidly changing the market,” says Joseph Mazzarella, president and CEO of Travel Sciences. “We said we’ve got to come up with a solution that’s headed in the direction of what the rest of the world is doing, which is moving more towards an open model with people buying best-of-breed components of software.” And so OpenTravel CRM was born. The tool offers customer relationship and profile management, e-marketing, trip planning, custom itineraries, commission tracking and reporting and accounting-interfacing functions, using what Mazzarella deems unobtrusive supplier advertising to monetarily support the venture. OpenTravel currently is plugged into a number of suppliers, including Galileo Cruise ABOVE: The home page of OpenTravel CRM at www.travelsciences.com “ ” 98 | TravelAgent Octiber 15, 2007 Social Networking Functionality Another unique feature of the tool is its Web 2.0 social networking capabilities. Integrated into OpenTravel CRM is blogging software; Skype, an Internet-based telephone service; and instant messaging capabilities. “Part of being successful is interacting with the people who you want —JOSEPH MAZZARELLA to do business with,” Mazzarella explains. (www.galileo.com) and the 70,000 hotels Mazzarella says the solution already has offered by Pegasus Solutions (www.pegs. roughly 500 users and continues to grow day com), as well as various airlines and car rental by day, despite a lack of advertising. “We’re companies. flabbergasted at the response we’re getting, “Part of being successful is interacting with people who you want to do business with. but I guess the price is right,” he jokes. That doesn’t mean the tool isn’t in need of fine-tuning. OpenTravel CRM is still in betatesting mode, so Travel Sciences is currently pursuing feedback from users. “People want more training, which is expected,” Mazzarella says. “We’ve started doing some online training and we’ve had a couple of webinars set up, plus we have how-to videos set up on the web site, but we know we’ve got to do more.” At press time, dates for further webinars had yet to be set, so continue to check OpenTravel CRM’s web site for more info. I CONNECTING YOU For more ideas on how technology can help your business, visit www.travelagentcentral.com/tech http://www.travelsciences.com http://www.travelsciences.com http://www.opentravelcrm.com http://www.travelsciences.com http://www.galileo.com http://www.pegs.com http://www.pegs.com http://www.travelagentcentral.com/tech

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Travel Agent - October 15, 2007 Online Now Contents From the Editor From the Publisher Contributors Europe Central & South America Special Supplement: Ski University Pacific/Asia Las Vegas Caribbean Romantic Getaway and Honeymoon Packages Jamaica’s New Minister of Tourism Talks About the Country’s Future Special Package Deals Cruises Hotels Ski Multi-Generational Travel Tours Cover Story: Luxe Life of the Stewart Clan Business Operations - Agent Profile Technology Transportation The Industry - Agenda Caribbean News PATA Travel Mart ITME Report Latest Cruise and Hotel News Travel Week In the Spotlight Editorial Index Advertising Index Classified Marketplace Trendwatch

Travel Agent - October 15, 2007

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