Travel agency consortium Advantage is analysing sales data retrieved from travel agents’ back office systems for the first time to improve commercial deals with tour operators.
Advantage is working with a group of its member agents who use back office supplier Micros.
The agents have given their permission for the information stored about their sales to be passed on to Advantage’s head office commercial team. No personal booking details will be taken, just information relating to sales.
Commercial director Julia Lo Bue-Said said: “It gives us information to understand what members are selling and how they are performing so we are not just reliant on operators’ statistics.”
If agents are selling product of non-preferred suppliers, for example, there might be ways to improve existing deals, she said.
The consortium currently relies on information from operators and agents on sales. This will the first time they have access to exact sales figures.
“At the moment it gets frustrating because we don’t have access to all the information we need to understand the dynamics of the business. This will really help us work smarter and better with business partners, and enhance the overall offering to members.”
The consortium is in negotiations with other back office suppliers that have contracts with its members to roll the system out across the rest of its membership.
“If we were able to get a lot more agents on the scheme within six months then we would be really pleased,” added Lo Bue-Said.