Mobile technology provides opportunities for agents
ACCORDING to Wally
Gaynor, md of Club
Travel, as most
customers nowadays are on
smart phones and tablets,
it is becoming essential for
travel agents and TMCs to
have an app to communicate
with their clients. In the
future, he says, apps
will become increasingly
specialised and personalised
to individual travellers’ likes
and preferences. “I believe
we will communicate via apps
that are geared to the client’s
particular tastes.”
Giles Clinton, sales
agent for Digital Trip in subSaharan
Africa, agrees and
says today’s travellers are
looking for a seamless,
mobile experience and many
also demand unique travel
features. He says, for travel
agents, the opportunity lies in
the enhanced travel options
technology can offer.
Giles believes one of the
greatest advantages of mobile
technology is the collaboration
between key players in
the travel industry. “We
are seeing more and more
airports, airlines and hotels
working together to provide
relevant and customised
information to customers.
An example of this is a
passenger receiving local
hotel suggestions following
the delay or cancellation of
a flight, via his or her mobile
device.”
Melissa Storey, executive
head: Strategy, Development
& Marketing at First Car
Rental, says app developers
are increasingly building
location-based services
and object recognition into
their offerings. “Object
recognition will allow phone
users to perform tasks
such as Internet search by
photographing items with their
phone camera.”
She says smartphone
users will increasingly expect
apps to offer location-based
services that tailor content
to the user’s tastes and
location. “Location-based
mobile marketing allows users
to access location-specific
deals and special offers.”
Cloud computing is also a
fast-growing aspect of mobile
technology. Melissa explains:
“The main advantage of cloud
computing for mobile apps
is that users will be able to
eliminate the mobile service
provider from their mobile
app transactions. They will
be able to download apps by
simply accessing the Internet.
However, this has its own
hurdles, such as the speed of
the Internet connection. 3G
networks are available in the
market but connectivity is still
a concern, especially in nonurban
areas.”
Giles says the ability to
manage a trip from start
to finish and beyond from
a mobile device will be
something that customers not
only want, but also expect. He
says: “They want consistent,
convenient and relevant
information at the touch of a
button wherever they are. And
where this innovation takes
us, only time will tell, but the
combination of technology
and collaboration looks set to
create a travel experience that
boldly goes where no travel
experience has gone before.”
Global Fares System sees big savings
CLUB Travel has become
the first consortium in
South Africa to offer all
its consultants, ITCs and
partners access to a
Global Fares System,
says Wally Gaynor.
Wally says the Global
Fares System will allow
consultants to seamlessly
book, access and ticket
fares anywhere in the
world. “This is a huge
competitive advantage
and enables our
consultants to offer a
price match guarantee,
even when competing with
overseas online travel
agents like Expedia with
access to better seat
availability.
“We have seen savings
of over R4 000 on an
economy-class ticket on
the same airline, the same
flight and the same day. In
business class, we have
seen huge savings of over
R30 000.
Great apps for agents
Travelport Mobile Agent
Travelport acknowledges that as much
as travellers want to be mobile so do
travel agents. Travelport Mobile Agent
provides access to Apollo, Galileo
and Worldspan GDS cryptic terminals,
allowing users to change devices
and pick up where they left off. Thus,
users can start a reservation at
Travelport Mobile Agent in their
smartphone and finish it on their
laptop TTS Web without having to
EndTransact before
changing devices.
The original mobile
app, launched in 2011,
has seen over 41 500
installations globally.
The recently launched
upgrade, version 3.0
of Travelport Mobile
Agent, includes
features features
implemented after
the collection of user feedback. They
include a more user-friendly interface,
enhanced content with improved data,
customisable quick keys, a newsfeed
with relevant travel articles and
integration with Travelport ViewTrip
itinerary tool.
Key features:
Can be used on
multiple devices,
such as a laptop,
iPhone, iPad, or other
smartphones and
tablet computers using
Android.
Log in using
the same, secure
credentials.
Configure
programmable keys
to perform complex
commands to work the
way you want to work”
Sabre’s TripCase
The TripCase mobile app is available for
iPhones and Android phones and offers
customers bundled travel information
about their trip.
The latest v3.4 release is now
available on iTunes and Google Play.
New features include push notifications
throughout travellers’ trips, smartwatch
support, deeper Foursquare integration,
updated default times (Remember
This Place feature), and Uber new
user offer.
Key features:
By popular demand, TripCase is now
optimised for viewing on tablets and
other larger screen sizes.
TripCase offers trip notifications about
flights and other scheduled events in
the traveller’s itinerary.
From seat maps and weather
forecasts, to alternative flights and
driving directions, TripCase provides
valuable tools to assist travellers in a
bind.
Amadeus Mobile Messenger
Amadeus Mobile Messenger
allows travel agents to
locate, communicate
and assist passengers,
especially during a
travel disruption or crisis
situation. The tool allows
traveller tracking and
communications on iPhone,
Android, BlackBerry and
Windows.
Key features:
Locating travellers instantly:
Itineraries are represented via a
dynamic map interface, allowing
consultants to quickly pinpoint a
traveller’s exact location.
Focus on relevant data: Traveller data
is automated and updated in realtime,
ensuring users always have the
latest information to work with, which
is critical for incident management.
Effortless communication:
The app provides message templates
to facilitate the communication of
critical information to travellers.
Workflow optimisation:
A number of intelligent features are
incorporated that allow consultants
to optimise the workflow for incident
management, delivering real-time
saving and making the process more
cost efficient.
GDSs are ready for ancillaries
AIRLINE ancillary revenue
skyrocketed last year, with à la
carte ancillaries for services
such as more leg-room,
luggage and early boarding.
IdeaWorks, an organisation
that researches customers’
expectations, recently
projected that total global
ancillary revenue would be
US$49,9bn (R580bn) for
2014, 6,7% of the total
projected airline revenue of
$746bn (R8,7trn). Of the
$49,9bn, $28,5bn (R332bn)
will likely come from à la carte
services, and the remaining
$21,4bn (R249bn) from sales
of frequent flyer miles.
In the light of these
numbers, GDS companies
are incorporating the sale of
ancillaries on their systems.
Gary Broomberg,
spokespreson for Sabre
in South Africa, says:
“Twenty-seven airlines are
merchandising and selling
ancillaries through the Sabre
travel marketplace today. New
ancillary implementations are
occurring regularly.”
Jannine Adams, senior
manager marketing at
Amadeus Southern Africa,
says: “Today thousands of
ancillary services are booked
by Amadeus travel agents in
more than 110 countries.”
Jannine says 52 airlines are
enabled for ancillary services
in SA. “Each airline prioritises
its own merchandise and travel
agents need to make a simple
entry in Amadeus to check
which services are available
per airline. With this, Amadeus
Light Ticketing is also enabled,
making ticket sales on LCCs
easy as pie!”
She says the GDS offers
travel agents an easy tool
for improved customer
service and retention, as all
transactions are easy to track
and commissions can easily
be added for each item sold.
Selling travel in 2015, and beyond
NOT all travellers are price
sensitive and looking for the
best deal. Customers can
no longer be segmented
strictly into ‘corporate’
or ‘leisure’ bookings.
Customers’ needs are
changing and, thanks to
technology, travel agents
and suppliers are in a better
position to give them what
they’re looking for.
Technology has
empowered customers
booking travel – they can
shop around, they know
more about what’s out
there and as a result they
have more demands, says
Sabre’s vp for Eastern
Europe, Middle East and
Africa, Dean Bibb.
He was speaking at a
round table breakfast
session hosted by Sabre
to discuss travel trends in
2015 and beyond.
But technology has
also empowered service
providers who now, with Big
Data, have the necessary
information to tailor make
travel experiences, offering
the client more in the value
chain. “Technology allows
agents and suppliers to tap
into different segments and
market product to clients
according to their needs,
driving good deals to those
who are price sensitive and
offering a more personalised
service to those that aren’t.”
“The sale of airline
ancillary products has
rocketed in recent years and
we can expect to see more
options become available,”
says Harold Eisnacher,
Sabre’s senior vp for EMEA.
“When we talk about
ancillaries we refer mainly to
the sale of seats and bags,
but this is changing. As a
result of data mining and
analyses, service providers
have more information on
clients than ever before and,
what’s more, they’re able to
capture and use this data to
tailor their offering.”
It won’t be long before
travellers are receiving all
travel information via their
mobile apps, making the
experience easier and more
convenient. For example, if
a flight is delayed, they will
receive options via their app
to rebook on another flight,
he says.
The line between corporate
and leisure customers has
also become blurred. “Travel
is becoming an experience
again,” says Dean. Business
travellers want to make
the most of their trips by
booking add-ons and taking
their families along. These
customers are also less
price-sensitive because the
company is paying a portion
of the trip. TMCs are in a
good position to service
these clients as they have
already profiled them and
can tailor packages based
on this info.
The devices travellers
use to book travel also
provide suppliers with useful
information. Generally,
people use their computers
to book travel 21 days in
advance. They’re more
inclined to use their iPads or
tablets when booking seven
days before travel and their
mobile phones 48 hours
before. More suppliers are
using this information to
push special deals to clients
accordingly, for example
offering mobile users lastminute
deals.
