Agents’ feedback has led to a new booking tool, simpler access to marketing material and specialist knowledge of products through The Global Travel Group’s agent panel.
The Global Advisory Panel (GAP) was set up in spring 2015 to represent the interests of independent agencies, sole traders and larger agencies in the Global network.
Between ten and 15 members attend quarterly in person, and the information is fed back to other members verbally and through Global’s Horizon access point for more than 350 members.
So far, it has invited agents to roadshows – sponsored by suppliers – dedicated to specialist topics such as cruise and produced how-to guides for marketing material.
Chairman Andy Stark, managing director of The Global Travel Group, said: “Rather than being very generic, we’re focussing them on specifics like cruise and plan to do ski and tours.”
Other developments over the first 18 months of the panel included revising the starter pack given to new members including details of rates offered by preferred suppliers, creating a bank of 650,000 high-resolution royalty-free photos that can be downloaded and modified for marketing and a stock of 3,500 videos for agents to embed onto their websites.
New agent training workshops, tightening-up of back office procedures and more training days have also been introduced while members get a business update from Global, which has seen a 34% jump in new memberships since launching the panel.
Stark added: “Over the last year and a half our agents’ views and specialisms are always factored into every decision we make. Having created an environment where our panellists can act as a sounding board for new ideas and industry issues, we’ve been able to reshape activity before launch to better reflect their on-the-ground insight.
The Global Travel Group is looking to recruit new members and interested agents can email commercial@globaltravelgroup.com or call 01244 521226.