| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 10/07/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 41 |
| Copyright: Other |
On-line bookings by Jane Archer
Companies target agents in drive to boost Internet sales
Web sites to develop dedicated retailers’ sections
CAR-rental companies are pressing forward with plans to make their Internet sites more user friendly for retailers, despite news that the trade has shunned Holiday Autos’ agents’ Web site.Avis launched its UK site in April for consumers but is still developing an agents’ section, while Budget is launching a UK site later this summer, which it hopes retailers will use for bookings.
Avis group marketing manager Oliver Rait said: “We heard what Holiday Autos had to say but we are not put off as we think the Internet is the way of the future.
“Agents can book on the site now using their Avis Worldwide Discount number but it is not perfect. We are developing a site that is more agent friendly.”
Holiday Autos chairman and chief executive Clive Jacobs told the Advantage conference in Tunisia in May that developing an agents’ extranet on the site had been a waste of money because agents were not using it.
The company gets an average 20 on-line bookings a day through agents, compared with an average 100 direct bookings a day – even though Holiday Autos does not promote the site to the public.
Managing director UK and Ireland Tony Seaman said:”We did not expect huge numbers from agents but we are disappointed. It is a very small percentage of our total bookings and mostly from flight-only specialists.
“Much of the problem is that front-end staff do not have Internet access. Where that is the case, they need to make a bigger attempt to get on-line as that is the way the Internet revolution is going and agents will be isolated if they don’t join in.”
Hertz vice-president leisure sales and marketing Bill Jones is confident agents will embrace the Web despite the fact agents do not use the Hertz site atpresent.
“I am sure it will happen quite suddenly but for now, multiples do not even give counter staff access to the Internet and there is a reluctance to move away from the comfort of the phone, which is disappointing,” said Jones.
“Agents are still clinging to a brochure with printed rates but these days they are out of date before it can be distributed.”
Jones said Hertz has set aside millions of dollars to continually upgrade its site. For agents, one idea is to develop specially negotiated rates for different agents.
All the car-rental companies agree that using the Internet is a far more useful tool for agents than viewdata because of the huge amount of information each site can hold.
All have pictures of sample cars in their fleet along with the size of each vehicle, plus detailed company information. Most also have guidelines for driving overseas.
National Car Rental has a mapping service while Europcar has brief details about various destinations with links to tourist office sites for more information.
Europcar is now upgrading its site to enable clients to make changes to a reservation on-line.
It is also developing an on-line how to drive abroad guide (see story page 42) and introducing a fast-track booking service for regular renters.
This will store the client’s details, including their preferred vehicle and give then an ID code.
A new booking can be made by inputting a date and the code.
Suncars expects to start testing its new Web site this month. Rather than on-line bookings, it will quote a rental rate.
To process a bookings, agents can e-mail a booking form to a Suncars reservation agent who will confirm the rental by e-mail or phone.
Limited: the fact many front-end staff do not have access to the Internet has restricted the growth of on-line car-rental bookings
verdict
SEAT-ONLY specialist Manchester Flights uses the Holiday Autos site regularly to book car rental but would not bother if there were not a genuine benefit, said commercial director Steve Sergeant.
“There is a faster response time than on viewdata and there are a lot of points to click for additional information,” he said. “You can’t do that on viewdata.
“Also the site actively helps agents – for instance it will not let you make a reservation if the client is not old enough to hire a car in the country in question.”
Sergeant said it also makes commercial sense to use the site as each Web booking qualifies for a £5 discount which can either be passed on to clients or added to the profits.
He also likes to have the ability to print a voucher immediately for clients.
“It looks impressive and offers a high level of service,” he said.