Technology: Wanna be in my gang?

IT’S expensive, it’s complex and it never stops evolving. What else can it be but technology?

Love it or loathe it, technology is playing an increasingly crucial role in shaping the travel industry.

With systems suppliers falling over themselves to develop dynamic packaging solutions, online developments and web-enabled booking systems, it seems only progressive agents will survive.

But what of the consortia? What do they offer members – or prospective members – in terms of technology?

Travel Weekly gives you the lowdown of each consortia’s offerings.

Freedom Travel Group Freedom members have access to a raft of technology from Vertical Systems when they join the consortium. Central to the offer is TASK, the reservation front and back-office system and centralised payment facility. This enables all payments to and from operators to be handled by head office, reducing administration and overheads for members. The package includes viewdata, Internet access, e-mail and a basic shop window website.

Vertical Systems sales and marketing director Kerry Costello said: “In the ideal world all consortia would have members operating on one system. We offer that uniformity.”

In addition, there are optional extras available to members. These include a full consumer-bookable website with automated links to the central payment system, and dynamic packaging software allowing agents to package their own holidays from a range of suppliers, including low-cost carriers. The system also searches similar off-the-peg packages, allowing direct comparisons to be made between dynamic packages and traditional operator product.

Global Travel Group Globalrooms.com and Globalairfares.com lie at the heart of the consortium’s technology, which has equipped members with a dynamic packaging solution.

Globalrooms contains around 32,000 units in 64 countries, including 5,000 centrally contracted properties, and pays 15% commission. Stock is also available from numerous suppliers including Hotelbeds, Lowcostbeds, Holiday Brokers and MedHotels. Meanwhile, Globalairfares gives members access to more than 75 airlines. Elements of both sites are brought together in the virtual tour operator Global DP system, which produces legal documentation including ATOL receipts, and allows for members to add extra commission. All the sites are available in a white-label version.

In addition, the consortium offers members an online presence through GlobalTravelWeb, where agents can individually tailor their own sites for a monthly fee. Packages, flights, accommodation, car parking and car rental come as standard, with the Global DP facility added free of charge. Global also provides two intranet and two corporate websites and a forum for member discussion.

Worldchoice The consortium has unveiled a range of initiatives focusing on communication and profitability, while exploiting the speed of the online arena.

Among developments is 24/7, a live online facility that enables agents to search tour operator information and offers, as well as download posters and window cards.

Similarly, members can use the Yourbrochure site to search through all major operator brochures, print off those of relevance, add a contact number and send it to clients.

Both these projects have been brought under one portal, Getitquick.net. Members have one password and user name.

Recognising the mind-boggling choice of technology, Worldchoice has also designed a quarterly Which? style report that provides impartial advice on systems in the market.

For its dynamic packaging solution, the consortium has joined forces with Thomas Cook to provide content under a white-label deal. The system, which went live two months ago, links members to Flexible Trips, Thomas Cook’s dynamic packaging operation, enabling agents to access flights, accommodation and transfers.

Travel Trust Association The Travel Trust Association recently unveiled its online Profit 2 booking management system following six years of exhaustive research and testing.

For £35 per month, members can receive a raft of new technology that management believe is faster, cheaper and easier to use than anything else on the market.

The Profit 2 front-office system enables agents to work with viewdata (and other reservations systems) and will automatically place booking information into the back-office database. This, in turn, allows tools for credit control, monthly returns, ATOL receipts, marketing, invoicing and accounts. In addition, Profit 2 can generate mail-outs to clients and send invoices by letter or e-mail.

Head of operations Gary Lewis said: “We have taken six years of experience through Profit 1 to create the latest online technology.”

Other TTA technology includes Webzone, a centralised dynamic packaging system with access to 180 business partners. Suppliers can also access their own ‘webzone’ where they can post special offers which can be downloaded by agents.

Travelsavers Travelsavers has launched a product to cater for business travel agents called CorpXpress. The technology enables agencies to build a corporate booking site that complies with a company’s travel policy, lists preferred suppliers and negotiated fares as well as producing management information reports.

Travelsavers chief operating officer Jim Mazza said: “It places Travelsavers agencies of all sizes on a par with the multi-nationals when competing for the most lucrative global travel accounts.”

After a successful roll-out in the US Travelsavers will launch its CruiseXpressPRO technology to the European market in December. The aim is to help agents market and sell cruises. It has access to the inventory of major cruiselines as well as special tools, for example allowing spa charges to be pre-paid or to alert the cruiseline to a special occasion such as an anniversary.

Travelsavers chief marketing officer Anne Marie Powell-Moebes said: “It gives agencies the practical tools to upsell to more lucrative categories and close cruise sales on the spot, directly from their desktop at home or in the office, making the entire transaction process shorter and more cost-effective.”

Advantage Advantage is poised to launch an intranet site that can be tailored to members’ needs. Head of development Ken McLeod explained: “We will use it to get information to members and they can post messages and news on the site.

“Members can also adapt the system to set up intranet sites for their own businesses and even for individual branches,” he said.

It will contain news from the industry, details of commercial deals and special offers. Each member of staff will have a password with suppliers also able to access part of the site.

The consortium is also offering agents a dynamic packaging solution in partnership with Lowcostbeds founder Paul Evans, technology supplier Top Dog Solutions and a fulfilment call centre. It currently offers flights and accommodation with car rental. Other products and content will follow, including scheduled seat-only product, Advantage For Fares.

“We will add more and more content,” said McLeod. Further technology advances include the launch of scheduled seat-only product, Advantage For Fares.

Midconsort The consortium is currently working on two projects to further strengthen its offering to members.

The first, e-learning, is essentially on-line training with suppliers able to put new brochures or training manuals on the consortium’s intranet site. They can monitor who has completed the half-hour programme and reward them accordingly.

Midconsort chairman Charles Eftichiou said: “Agents sometimes don’t have time to attend training centres but can usually afford to spend half an hour in the office doing some product training.”

In the second development, members will be able to personalise operators’ special-offer window posters by selecting images from a photo library and inserting their own text on to a template.

“It will enable members to put a personal and professional touch to their window posters,” said Eftichiou.

Both will be launched in the next six months.

The consortium has already made a number of technological advances in the past few months including Targets Worth Chasing which enables head office to monitor individual member sales to ensure group targets are hit.