Quoting – poor practices spoil sales
THE relationship
between travel agent
and tour operator is
perhaps never more critical
and inter-dependent than
when it comes to requests
for quotations. What
transpires at this point can
determine whether a sale is
closed or not and, as such,
can affect the bottom lines
of both travel agencies and
wholesalers.
Yet, it is at this juncture
that travel agents and tour
operators feel the most
frustration – travel agents
with tour operators because
of slow response times for
tailor-made quotations, and
tour operators with travel
agents because they don’t
quiz their clients sufficiently
on their travel requirements.
This often results in tour
operators having to re-quote
several times – by which
time the agent’s client has
shopped around and the
chances of closing a sale
are vastly diminished.
Lucinda Tyler, Club Travel
product manager, says the
failure of agents to obtain
comprehensive information
from their clients is an
industry-wide problem.
“Agents often just send
client emails on to tour
operators without actually
consulting.”
She adds that Club Travel
solves the problem by
providing its consultants
with a template that
prompts them to request
specific information from
clients. “Our consultants
have to complete this
template before requesting
quotes from tour operators,
which avoids a lot of
backwards and forwards
between agent and operator
and saves valuable time for
all concerned,” she says.
Johann Strydom,
World Leisure Holidays
md, says the better an
agent translates client
expectations to a tour
operator, the more the
operator can deliver it
realistically.
Ethienne Smit, gm of
Tourvest Leisure Travel
Group, suggests that
where travel agents don’t
provide tour operators
with sufficient information,
the wholesale consultant
should refuse to assist
the retail agent. “When
wholesale consultants are
working on complicated
quotes and are spending
a lot of time on them, they
must have the information
they require.”
For agents, first prize is to
receive the quote virtually
immediately after the
request has been made.
But for tour operators this
can prove problematic when
there are many destinations
in different time zones.
Alet Steyn, Wendy
Wu Tours’ business
development manager,
understands the urgency
and the need for same-day
quoting but says this is not
always possible.
“With destinations like
Vietnam, Cambodia and
China, which are five to
six hours ahead of us, if a
request for a tailor-made
quote comes through
after 11 am, it is just not
possible to provide a sameday
quote because of the
time differences.”
Ethienne says operators
have very different
standards when it comes to
quoting. “Some operators
are able to quote while
you’re on the phone without
keeping you waiting, while
others insist on emailing
you quotes without
committing to specific
turnaround times. This
leaves our consultants
having to follow up on a
regular basis until they
actually get the quotation
they’ve requested.”
He says this type of
situation is untenable in
the world of online booking.
“In the online environment,
taking even a day to get
back to a client is too long.
If we don’t get back to our
clients quickly, they start
shopping around. And some
wholesalers take between
24 and 72 hours to
respond to a request when
we’ve promised our clients
same-day feedback.”
Linda Steenekamp, gm
of XL Rosebank Travel,
says with the technology
available today and with
much travel bookable
online, she does not
understand why it takes
24 hours or longer for
tour operators to provide
quotes.
These operators are tops!
IN INTERVIEWS with
leading travel consortiums,
Beachcomber Tours and
The Holiday Factory received
high praise from travel
agents when it came to
requests for quotations.
Lucinda Tyler says
Beachcomber and The
Holiday Factory tick all
the boxes. “Their quotes
are easy to read, easy to
use and they provide good
turnaround times.”
For Ethienne Smit,
Beachcomber is tops: “They
have an online booking
tool that our consultants
love using because it has
everything they need.
Their consultants are
knowledgeable and friendly.
When you call through
they send you the quote
immediately. They also give
you the options you want
plus additional options.
Their quote formats are also
very good and easy to read
and understand.”
Flora Fubbs, The Holiday
Factory’s senior manager:
contracting, marketing &
operations, explains why
travel agents like dealing
with her company when
it comes to quotations:
“We have invested in a
great reservations system
that allows consultants to
quote and book quickly.
The biggest advantage of
our system is speed and
accuracy. Our investment
in technology and back
office teams ensures our
system is always correctly
populated.”
She says that when
agents call The Holiday
Factory’s call centre and
chat to consultants, a very
high level of efficiency
is achieved. “A quote is
created and emailed to the
agent during the phone
call. We ensure we give
agents exactly what they are
looking for and also provide
alternatives, which reduces
the necessity for a lot of
back and forth.” Flora adds
that The Holiday Factory is
in the process of developing
an online quotation system
for the trade.
Shopping around holds up the works
BEACHCOMBER gets a
lot of duplicate quote
requests because clients
shop around, says Joanne
Visagie, Beachcomber’s
sales and marketing
manager.
“We sometimes have
five or six agencies vying
for the same booking.
This becomes tricky as
we quote from live flight
availability. It can happen
that one agent gets a
better or worse rate
purely because the flight
availability has changed in
the last few hours or they
ask for slightly different
dates or room types.”
Inge Dobihal, owner of
Austria Connection, says
that because agents
request so many quotes
and their clients shop
around a lot, the quote-tobooking
ratio is pretty poor
industry wide.
John Ridler, Cullinan
Outbound Tourism’s media
and pr manager, agrees.
“We are doing the same
quotes for a number of
different travel agents and
in the end only one of
these will convert.”
He adds that agents (or
their clients) also seem to
shy away from discussing
budgets at the time of
the inquiry. “This results
in us having to re-quote
multiple times before we
come to the right package
fit. It would therefore help
everyone if a budget was
determined upfront.”
Alet Steyn says agents
are often unfamiliar with
a destination and don’t
want their clients to know,
so they don’t ask them
exactly what they’re looking
for. “This is especially
true when clients request
Vietnam, Cambodia and
China. We then put in a
good quote but it is not
what the client is after.”
She adds that Wendy
Wu offers agents
destination training, but
such training is often
rejected by agencies that
do not have Wendy Wu as
a preferred supplier.
Trafalgar’s Costsaver: quality at a great price
FOR travellers looking for
quality without the price tag,
Trafalgar’s Costsaver guided
holidays are the way to go.
The guided holidays save
travellers up to 30% when
compared with going it alone.
Travellers get to stay in quality
hotels in Europe, enjoy luxury
coach travel and see Europe’s
iconic sights.
Theresa Szejwallo, Trafalgar’s
md, says the company has
included all the essential
ingredients that make up a
great holiday.
“With accommodation,
transport, daily breakfast and
up to half the dinners included,
Costsaver is designed to
give travellers freedom and
flexibility.”
Theresa recommends
Costsaver’s three top-selling
tours – Italian Dream,
Imperial Highlights, and Britain
and Ireland.
‘Best’ is not the cheapest
DEZY De Lima, Holiday Tours
brand custodian, says agents
should not always think that
price is the only determining
factor in client decision
making and should therefore
give clients several options.
“A four-star hotel that offers
clients a far better experience
than a three-star may only
be R100-R200 more, so give
your clients a choice, and
don’t just take it for granted
that they’re penny pinchers.”
Price is a big contributing
factor, says Joanne Visagie.
“Agents should advise their
clients not to settle for substandard
accommodation just
to save a few rands on their
Mauritius holiday, as they will
end up being disappointed.”
When clients say they want
the best deal, agents should
not presume they mean the
cheapest, says Flora Fubbs.
“Often clients mean the best
value-for-money holiday that
meets all their requirements.”
When clients are not
forthcoming about their
budget, agents can get
around this by asking them
the type of star rating they’re
looking for and the type of
excursions they’re keen on,
says Ethienne Smit.
Alet Steyn says: “If a client
says they only have a
R20 000 budget, they cannot
go to Cambodia and Vietnam
for two weeks. Also, one
can’t tour Cambodia and
Vietnam in five days. Agents
should know that these are
impossible requests.”
To assist her agents
in obtaining the correct
information from clients
before requesting quotes
from tour operators, Linda
Steenekamp has provided
a recommended list of
questions to ask.
Ethienne says Tourvest
consultants are trained to
get all the information they
need from a client to quote
adequately.
“They are focused on
conversion, which is
incentivised with performance
measured on conversion and
quotation turnaround times.
So getting all the information
from the client at first point
of contact is the ideal
scenario.”
John Ridler suggests that
agents draw up a simple
checklist for their clients so
that pertinent information is
provided first time round (see
page 13).
Inge Dobihal would like
agents to be more specific
and not to request quotes
for all possibilities. “Advise
us about flight arrival and
departure times as this
impacts the itinerary for any
tailor-made, self-drive tour
with limited time available. It
also impacts suggestions on
duration of nights in a city.
“Agents should also find
out a client’s interests, how
they want to travel between
places, their preferred hotel
category and room allocation
when it’s more than two
people travelling.
“It’s a heavy burden if
requests come in for tailormade
itineraries and quotes
such as ‘please submit some
suggested itineraries and
quotes in three- and four-star
hotels for a family of five for
five to seven nights’ with no
other information,” she says.
Soft refurb at Tamassa
THE four-star Tamassa
Resort on Mauritius’s
south coast at Bel Ombre
has undergone a soft
refurbishment.
The spa has a refreshing
new look, and the Kids’
Club has been refurnished
and offers new games and
new bicycles.
Tamassa’s 214 rooms
have all been refreshed
and feature new soft
furnishings and linens. The
public areas, including the
poolside and bar, have been
spruced up and upgraded
security installed. The
restaurant now features
a wider range of themed
buffets including Tex Mex,
Asian and Mediterranean.
Island Light Holidays is
offering an all-inclusive
seven-night package to
the resort for R17 020pps
(includes R3 846 taxes)
ex-JNB, with fares ex-Durban
from R17 755 and ex-Cape
Town from R18 699. The
package includes return
flights on Air Mauritius,
airport transfers, full board
including local drinks; and
most land and water sports,
including waterskiing.
One child under 12 can fly,
stay and eat free and only
pays for taxes when sharing
with two adults.
The package is valid for
travel from June 1-July 20
and must have been booked
and paid for by May 15.
Thumbs up for Beachcomber
TRAVEL agents interviewed
for this feature have named
Beachcomber Tours one of
the best wholesalers when it
comes quotations. They have
praised the tour operator’s
new online quoting system for
its ease of use, functionality,
speed, easily readable format,
and the ability to quote for
several passengers at once.
The quoting system can be
found within Beachcomber
online – Beachcomber’s new
agent-only online information
and booking portal, which
offers a collection of tools
to help agents close every
Beachcomber enquiry, with
added marketing features
that can be customised, like
flyers and eChats that highlight
special offers.
The new quoting engine
gives consultants access to
live flight and accommodation
availability and displays a
choice of airline and route
options.
Agents can choose the type
of room they would like to
include in the quote or just
select the ‘cheapest’ option in
the drop-down menu, which will
select the cheapest available
room for them.
They can also choose
between quoting on a specific
hotel or generating a quote
for all hotels. All food and
beverage package options are
listed on the results page.
If agents change their flight
or accommodation selection,
prices are automatically
recalculated and displayed.
Another aspect is that once
the quote has been completed
it can be sent instantly to the
agent’s email address and
can then be immediately
forwarded to the client. The
email with the quotation also
includes a separate document
that contains a breakdown of
the commission earned by
the agent.
Access to the quoting
system is free to all agents
registered with Beachcomber.
Accuracy is critical!
ETHIENNE Smit saysETHIENNE Smit says
operators often fail to
accurately take down the
information provided by
agents. “Very often our
consultants will call, give
the information, specify
their exact needs and
client requirements, and
the tour operator will
send a quote with a whole
lot of incorrect variables,
such as incorrect amount
of adults, incorrect
children’s ages or incorrect
room type.
Many also don’t think
to provide added value
by making suggestions
instead of just taking down
the inquiry. “By adding
value, they can help agents
with the conversion of the
inquiry,” he says.
Linda Steenekamp, takes
issue with tour operators
that send quotes that
include the commission
she is earning on the
quotation.
“My clients do not need
to know the amount of
commission I am earning.
Why can’t tour operators
send me two quotes,
one for my back-end that
includes my commission,
and one for the client
without my commission
reflected?”
She adds that she’d
also like tour operators to
provide a list of excursions
and pricing with the
quotations they provide,
which will allow for more
business and increased
revenue.
Earn extra comm with Trafalgar online
TRAVEL agents can earn an
extra 1% commission by using
the Trafalgar online quoting
system.
The system provides realtime
availability, is simple to
use and enables agents to
create as many quotes as they
want. These can be emailed
directly to their clients from
Trafalgar’s website and agents
can copy themselves in.
The online quote also has
return functionality (a simple
button that links back to
Trafalgar’s site) enabling
agents to proceed straight
from quote to booking without
having to start the process
from the beginning.
“Booking can proceed from
this click through and the
system has built-in reminders
when payment is due. Our
online payment system makes
this a seamless transaction,”
says Theresa Szejwallo,
Trafalgar’s md.
She says agents who request
a quote from Trafalgar should
know the tour name and the
proposed date of travel, as
this makes the process that
much smoother.
Phone vs email vs online
Many tour operators
still take requests for
quotations by phone or
email. Developing an
effective online quoting
system, especially for
operators that offer a
wide range of products in
many destinations, can be
challenging.
Where the choices and
selections are finite, or
an operator offers set
departure tours, then online
quotation tools seem to be
the way to go.
Inge Dobihal says the
bulk of her business is
tailor-made quotes for which
it’s difficult to set up an
online quotation system
to accommodate her wide
product offering in seven
countries.
Dezy De Lima says Holiday
Tours has 19 dedicated
agents who take requests
for quotations by phone
and email. They also do
bookings and receive
payment.
She says agents can
utilise Holiday Tours’ online
booking and quotation tool
for domestic, Mauritius,
Thailand and selected
point-to-point international
travel. For more tailor-made
itineraries and destinations
or properties not featured
on the website, agents can
phone or email Holiday
Tours for quotes and
bookings.
Tourvest’s leisure
consultants always go the
online route first, where
tour operators offer online
quotation tools, says
Ethienne Smit. “Online tools
work well for point-to-point
but as soon as it becomes
complicated you have to go
through to the wholesaler
consultant, because most
tools don’t cater for complex
routings.”
He adds that, because
Tourvest’s leisure
consultants work in a call
centre environment, it’s not
always possible for them
to stay on hold waiting for
a tour operator for long
periods of time. “So if
utilising an online booking
tool is not an option, they
prefer to email but if the
quotation is urgent, they will
still call through.”
Joanne Visagie says,
although email enquiries are
high, Beachcomber gets far
more calls from agents for
quotes and consultations.
Quotes are sent as soon as
the call is completed. She
says agents are increasingly
using Beachcomber’s
recently launched online
quoting tool.
Linda Steenekamp
says she would only trust
online quotations for
destinations like Mauritius,
which comprise just one
destination, a flight in,
flight out, transfers and
accommodation. “If you’re
going to destinations like
Florence, Rome and various
other cities in Italy, for
example, then you need the
expertise of a wholesale
consultant to put it all
together.”
Club Travel’s agents prefer
to request quotes by phone
because of competition,
says Lucinda Tyler.
“We have clients who
send quotation requests
by email but have sent the
same request to six other
agencies too. So we use
the phone because we
know that if we only reply
this afternoon, or tomorrow,
we’ve already lost that
client.”
Flora Fubbs finds that,
with email enquiries, travel
consultants do not always
send through all the detail
required.
“We therefore prefer the
opportunity to consult with
the agent on the telephone
to ensure we offer the
correct quote for their
client.”
Checklist: questions to ask your client
Which destination(s) are you interested in visiting?
Have you been there before?
How much time do you have available?
What time of year do you want to travel?
What are your preferred dates?
Are you flexible with departure dates?
What type of holiday are you after (beach or cultural,
for example)?
What is your budget?
What type of activities do you enjoy?
How do you want to travel between places – train,
self-drive, coach, fly?
Are you travelling for a holiday or a special occasion?
What are your expectations for this trip?
What are some of your previous travel experiences?
What star rating do you prefer for accommodation?
Who are you travelling with?
Where are you travelling from?
How many adults are travelling together and what are
their ages?
How many children are travelling and what are their ages?
Would you like to share a room with your children or do
you want inter-leading rooms?
Trendy Ambre appeals
WORLD Leisure Holidays’
Ambre resort in Mauritius is a
popular choice among South
Africans seeking a trendy,
upmarket Mauritian hotel that
caters for the adult market.
“Since the hotel reopened
in October 2012 following a
massive refurbishment, the
uptake from the South African
market has been beyond
expectations,” says Johann
Strydom.
Ambre, he says, represents
a new concept for the
South African market. “It’s
contemporary, romantic, trendy
and only for guests who
are 16 years and older. The
resort offers affordable, allinclusive
packages and with its
evergreen seasons – meaning
one doesn’t have to wait for
schools to break up to go –
we often see double-income
earners in the hotel.”
While the average stay is
seven nights, South Africans
are also popping over for
shorter mid-week and weekend
breaks.
An all-inclusive seven-night
package to Ambre starts at
R17 400pps (including R3 400
taxes) and includes transfers.
A R500 discount is on offer on
certain set departures to all
WLH hotels in Mauritius.
A host of new tours from Wendy Wu
WENDY Wu Tours is offering
great new tours in China,
Vietnam and Cambodia.
The operator has created
new fully inclusive Deluxe
River Cruising & China
Holidays packages from
its most successful group
tour itineraries. The tours
have no more than 20
passengers and clients
stay in luxury properties
and boutique resorts
and sail on the luxurious
Victoria Cruises and
President Cruises ships
along the Yangtze River.
Also on offer is an
extensive range of cruising
options in Indochina. The
new three-day Halong Bay
in Focus cruise in Vietnam
travels along Halong Bay
to Hanoi aboard the luxury
Au Co cruise boat. Also
new is the Discover the
Mekong overnight cruise on
board a Bassac vessel in
Vietnam, while in Myanmar,
travellers can cruise the
Irrawaddy River on Pandaw
River Expeditions’ luxurious
ships.
Thompsons Holidays highlights hotspots
NEW hotspots for the coming
European season are Turkey,
Greece, Italy and France, says
John Ridler.
John recommends some of
the must-see places in each
destination:
In Turkey, spend a few
nights in Istanbul followed
by a coach tour to ancient
sights like Cappadocia,
Bodrum and Kusadasi.
In Greece, take in the sights
of Athens and then do some
island hopping to Mykonos,
Santorini and Crete. A Louis
Cruises cruise, which takes
in all these islands, is a
great option.
Italy is popular with couples
travelling by train or on
escorted coach tours and
there is growing demand for
self-drive packages.
In France, Paris is an old
favourite matched with
train journeys into the
countryside as well as
escorted tours and self-drive
packages.
Holiday Tours specials
Holiday Tours is offering
seven nights at the five-star
Outrigger Mauritius Resort
& Spa from R16 995pps,
valid from June 27-July
21. A 30% discount on
accommodation and an
early-booking discount of
10% have been included in
the price.
In Thailand, Holiday Tours
is offering a seven-night
B&B Phuket and Phi Phi
package from R12 188pps.
It includes four nights at the
Sea, Sun & Sand Resort
& Spa in Phuket and three
nights at the Phi Phi Erawan
Palms Resort, return flights,
airport taxes of R813,
return airport transfers and
daily breakfast. The package
is valid for travel from April
1 to October 31.
