ADVANTAGE Business Travel Centres has signed a deal with ICCTravel Systems to give members new technology which allows them to make bookings and run their offices more efficiently.
Under the deal, agents can install ICC’s quality-control system, called Corre, for about £360 a month.
Advantage business travel development manager Norman Gage said:”The system allows members to effectively outsource quality control to ICC.
“It helps save a person within the agency having to check everything so that they can be redeployed doing something more profitable.”
Every time a booking is made, the agent sends a copy of the details to the central bureau. The Corre system then does a number of checks, such as passport and visa requirements.
For example, if a business traveller is going to Israel and has already been to Saudi Arabia, it will highlight the fact that a new passport is required.
If the form of payment is by credit card, it will check all the details and return it if there any mistakes. Additionally, if a requested aircraft seat is unavailable, the agent will book an alternative but the bureau will continue to check if a better seat becomes available. The system will also check a request to book a certain class of seat in order to get a lower-priced fare which is not initially available.
Gage said: “The system can also provide pre-trip analysis, telling the agent the cheapest way to book a client to a certain destination. There is a lot of talk about airlines bringing in net pricing and no commission. We don’t want that to happen, but if it does this system will be able to look at the books every month and do the agent’s cost management for them.”
The ICC system has been launched to Advantage members who already use theGalileo global distribution system. Agents who use Worldspan, Sabre and Amadeus will be able to use Corre shortly.