Feature: Travel Technology

1 Feb 2017

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Platform hopping wastes agents' time

IN ORDER to offer clients the
most competitive rates and
access the best availability,
agents are increasingly having
to juggle between various
technology platforms – a trend
that can make consultants’
jobs far more laborious and
admin intensive.
Wally Gaynor, md of Club
Travel, says the days of agents
just relying on one system to
access all suppliers and rates
are over. “Without a doubt, an
agent just relying on one GDS
system will often not get the
best availability and fares,” he
says.
“That’s why the Club Group is
the only consortium in South
Africa that has Amadeus,
Worldspan, Galileo and Sabre,
as well as our global fares
and availability system, Fare
Star, along with a number of
other systems to enable our
ITCs and consultants to be
the most competitive in the
industry. It’s impossible to get
it right 100% of the time, but
we rarely get beaten on price,”
adds Wally.
The drawback, he says,
is that this wide array
of technology can pose
a challenge to agents’
productivity, which is why Club
Travel has a fares department
to assist.
Wally says that ITCs and
consultants still have access
to all the various systems, but
in order to avoid a situation
where they rely too heavily on
the fares department, they
have to come to Club Travel’s
fares division with an answer.
“For example, ‘this is the
routing, this is the fare I have
to beat, or this is the fare I
have to come up with – can
you get it cheaper or with a
better option?’.”
Rob Snelson, chief
technology officer for Travel
Counsellors, says the multiplatform
technology issue is
a problem his department is
constantly trying to tackle.
“Having to go from platform
to platform can be time
consuming. An individual only
has so many working hours
in the day, so it’s important
for them to spend as much of
that time as possible looking
after customers rather than
hopping between technologies
and re-entering customer
information over and over
again.
“We are very focused
on delivering an internal
platform that gives our travel
agents the best content
and the best pricing,” he
says. Travel Counsellors
has invested significantly in
the development of its own
software to address this
challenge to productivity.
Another way to tackle this
issue, and something that
GDSs are currently working
towards, is inputting various
platforms into one solution.
Richard Addey, country
director for Sabre South
Africa, says it is essential that
consultants have simple and
productive ways of working,
and this can be achieved by
aggregating all the different
platforms into one. So, while
you may need to pull from
multiple sources of content,
these can all be drawn into a
single user-friendly format,” he
adds.
Jannine Adams, senior
manager Marketing at
Amadeus Southern Africa,
says as a GDS, Amadeus
is constantly improving
content relevant to market
requirements, giving agents
access to a wide scope of
options and competitive
pricing, and less reason for
them to search for content on
other platforms.
“LCCs, insurance, shuttle
services, ancillary services
and fare families are good
examples of new content.
Not only do these services
speed up processes, but
they also help travel agents
provide a better service to
their customers, having it all in
one place as well as additional
revenue opportunities for the
travel agent,” says Jannine.

Beyond the GDS

Six of the most exciting tech development

1. Amadeus Selling Platform Connect

It is expected that this tool will
have an even greater impact
on the way South African travel
agents operate in 2017. “So
far, the solution has been a
huge hit with travel agents in
South Africa,” says Jannine
Adams of Amadeus. “For
travel agents, Selling Platform
Connect has provided amazing
flexibility and customisation. It
is allowing them to automate
manual tasks, save time,
generate more revenue and
work from anywhere. The
feedback from the South
African market has been
phenomenal,” she adds.

2.QuickTrave

Quick Software has
announced plans to
concentrate on changing
the QuickTrav product suite
to a service-orientated
architecture this year, which
means it will be accessible
online using standard
web http technologies.
QuickTrav says this will
facilitate integration with
third-party systems to
access QuickTrav data
and functionality on a live
basis across the web. This
new infrastructure will also
enable QuickTrav to write
new QuickTrav browserbased
clients, giving
users access to relevant
parts of the system’s
functionality via a browser
from anywhere in the world,
24/7.

3. Travel Experience Platform

Launched by Sabre in
October last year, the
Traveler Experience Platform
integrates a suite of travel
technology products in a
consumer-grade mobile
experience, delivering
self-service in-transit
travel bookings, itinerary
management, payments,
expense integration
and safety capabilities.
According to Richard Addey
of Sabre South Africa,
the platform provides
every service a business
traveller could need. The
platform includes a travel
risk management solution,
SafePoint, which addresses
duty-of-care concerns and
helps travellers to check in
with their employers via a
GPS location and request
assistance in case of an
emergency.

4. travelport Smartpoint

Travelport has upgraded its itinerary management Solution

Mid-2016, Travelport
upgraded to Travelport
Smartpoint 7.0 which
included a number of
enhancements and upgrades
to its itinerary management
solution, Travelport ViewTrip
and changes to the flight,
hotel and car graphical user
interface. The application
now also includes a ‘Grid
View’ mode that enables
the travel agent to open
four windows instead of
one when using Travelport
Smartpoint. Other benefits
include changes to the
start of message interface,
allowing agents to improve
their car-rental searches
and have easier access to
relevant sponsored flight
promotions based on agent
search criteria.

5. Bookking.com for Ttravel agents

initial test pilot of Booking.
com for Travel Agents,
which it describes as an
iteration of a new platform
designed specifically with
the needs of travel agents
in mind. Agents will be able
to generate commission
on bookings, provided they
use the search box on the
homepage of the Booking.
com for Travel Agents tool.
These commissions range
between 15% and 20% of
the total transaction value,
which will be split between
the agent and Booking.
com. The percentage split
differs, depending on how
many bookings the agent
has made.

6. TripCase

Developed by Sabre,
TripCase is an itinerary
management system. Wally
Gaynor of Club Travel says it
allows clients to have their
live itinerary on their phone
or smartwatch, which is very
helpful in the case of flight
delays or gate changes, as
it automatically notifies the
traveller. The mobile app
is available in a variety
of languages, and provides
a single place for travellers
to manage all their trip
information.
It is predicted that
TripCase will manage more
than 40 million trips for
travellers this year.

Technology: friend or foe?

IT’S DIFFICULT to imagine
a time when consultants
didn’t have the benefit
of being able to email
itineraries, check availability
and rates online or pull
up instant reports. But
with these advancements
have come various threats,
particularly in terms of
customers opting to book
direct due to their ability to
easily compare rates and
weigh up options online.
Dangerous tech
There have been major
advancements in booking
and price comparison
technology in the airline
industry, with a range of
platforms available that are
able to do things that some
GDSs don’t – for example
compare prices between
various low-cost carriers.
Wally Gaynor of Club Travel
says good agents know
about these tools, which
are available to both the
consumer and the trade,
and are using them to their
advantage.
Rob Snelson of Travel
Counsellors, says there has
been a huge amount of hype
around artificial intelligence
on technology blogs and
at the latest technology
trade shows, and there is
the suggestion that these
systems will change the
employment landscape as
systems and technologies
become capable of the
activities that, up until
now, people have had to
carry out.
“We recognise this, and
while artificial intelligence
technologies may pose a
threat in some areas, at the
same time we are working
closely with our digital
specialists, strategists and
consultants to look at how
it can be incorporated into
our relational business
model to enrich it without
making interactions robotic
or automated,” he says.
He adds that, for now,
artificial intelligence only
has a role to play in terms
of very simple transactions.
“We are all about creating
personalised, customercentric
interactions, where
our consultants understand
their clients and tailor
experiences to suit their
specific preferences.
Technology will be able to
replace some things, but
from a Travel Counsellor
business perspective, it’s
very difficult to replicate
others.”
Helpful tech
On the other hand, there
is a vast selection of
technology now available
that can facilitate
richer relationships
with customers, greater
personalisation and
improved productivity.
Jannine Adams of
Amadeus Southern Africa,
says business intelligence
will become increasingly
important for travel agents
in 2017. “They will need to
tap into the technology at
their disposal to transform
the increasing amount of
raw data into actionable
insights.”
She says agents need
to gather and analyse raw
data across the entire travel
cycle, from inspiration,
search, booking, in trip
and post trip, in order to
anticipate trends, adapt
their offers, better monitor
their performance and
provide a more personalised
experience for the traveller.
“This kind of intelligence,
which Amadeus technology
can offer, will allow travel
agents to better assess
their market performance
against competitors,
negotiate better contracts
with providers, evaluate
growth opportunities, make
more informed decisions

and gain insights into
customer preferences
and travel patterns,” adds
Jannine.
CRM tools
Another area where
technology is proving to be
hugely beneficial is in terms
of customer relationship
– and in particular, CRM
systems, says Rob.
“We have our own bespoke
CRM application designed
for Travel Counsellors
and our specific business
model, with feedback from
our Travel Counsellors to
make sure we are capturing
information about their
customers that is easy to
access, easy to update
and provides a clear view
of the customer to that
agent,” he says. “We want
to make sure we capture
information in a way that’s
well presented and easy
to understand. We are
about to release the latest
iteration of our CRM tool,
which provides agents with
a concise view of the client
and their interests, and
stores this information in a
very secure manner, which is
equally as important.”
Chat bots
Richard Addey of
Sabre South Africa also
emphasises the potential
technology has in terms of
improving service levels.
“Today’s travel agent needs
to personalise their service
with every customer, and
technology can help them
to achieve this.” He points
out that technologies such
as artificial intelligence and
chat bots are becoming
increasingly prevalent in the
South African travel space.
“As a traveller, you want to
feel linked to your travel
agent at every point of your
journey, and connected
services like chat bots make
this a possibility.”
The future is virtual
While a few static
photographs were once
enough to catch a
customer’s eye and attract
them to your travel agency,
today’s travel shopper is
looking for something much
richer and more engaging –
and virtual travel could help
travel sellers deliver it.
This is also the view of
Jannine, who says virtual
travel offers the sights,
sounds and even smells of
a destination. “For some
leisure travel shoppers,
virtual shopping can be
a way to ‘test drive’ a
destination – a form of ‘try
before you buy’,” she says.
“Consider a travel agency
shop with virtual travel booth
installed: it’s a great way to
get prospective travel buyers
into the shop – and coming
back for return visits – as it
would be the only place they
could find that rich virtual
experience.

Forging offlline relationships

WHILE it’s essential for
travel companies to stay
abreast of the latest
digital trends, it’s equally
important to take care of
the relationship with their
technology providers. This
is according to Rob Snelson
of Travel Counsellors, who
says a lot of the company’s
success is due to the
relationship it has forged
with its technologists. “You
need to meet face to face
and build relationships
so that you can get and
give feedback on what’s
working, what isn’t and to
come up with solutions,”
he says.
“There is a lot of
complexity around software
integration and Travel
Counsellors has a team
based in Manchester in the
UK that constantly looks at
ways of hooking in content
providers and establishing
working relationships with
them.” He warns that
it’s easy to just focus on
the implementation of
technology, and end up
forgetting the ongoing
relationship that has to
come after that point.

How to book safely online

AT THE end of last year, a
number of clients were left out
of pocket when they booked
flights online with Globetravel,
a company that appears not
to have paid monies over to
the respective airlines and
later disappeared. This is just
one example illustrating the
dangers of booking online,
where customers are often
lured by great specials and
packages, but can end up
being scammed.
Agents risk falling into the
same trap as consumers,
especially as price pressure
continues to rise and
consultants increasingly turn
to various online platforms to
source the best possible rates
and fares for their customers.
“Any time you’re transacting
online, you need to be very
careful, and that’s not just
true for travel, it applies to
every industry,” says Richard
Addey of Sabre South Africa.
“If you’re using a platform that
is recognised and stable, then
the risk is limited. But, there
are a lot of different platforms
out there and some of them
may seem very innovative and
different, but it doesn’t mean
that what’s behind it is what it
claims to be,” warns Richard.
One of the best ways to
avoid falling victim to online
fraud, is simply by researching
the websites you use, says
Wally Gaynor of Club Travel.
“There are many other checks
that can be conducted, but
one of the most important
ways to stay safe is by always
paying by credit card, so the
charge can be reversed if the
service is not delivered.
When describing the risk of
being lured by cheap rates and
fares, Rob Snelson of Travel
Counsellors, says: “The adage
applies – if it looks too good to
be true, then it probably is!”
He says Travel Counsellors
builds technology that
adheres to very high security
requirements. “We use secure
encryption and follow best
practice, but if you’re not doing
these things, maliciously or
not, there is an increased
likelihood that people that use
your technology will be at risk.”
Rob points out that
the danger is that travel
technology development
companies may choose to
focus mostly on the user
interface part, but it’s the
“deep, dark back end of
systems” that really matters
most. “The assurance that
agents can use our technology
securely is critical to our brand
image,” he says.

Next-level mobile apps

MOBILE apps are no longer
considered the future
of technology – they are
very much the present
– and today they play a
prevalent and integral role
in all aspects of the travel
process, from booking
through to payments and
in-trip services.
Richard Addey of Sabre
South Africa, says it is only
fairly recently that South
Africa’s travel industry
has caught up with the
global standard in terms
of providing travellers
with mobile services.
“Mobile technology
provides the traveller with
the reassurance of being
connected all the time,”
he says, which is very
beneficial, especially when it
comes to duty of care.
Rob Snelson of Travel
Counsellors says last year
the company developed
the first model of its phone
app, which has already seen
high levels of adoption.
“We are about to release
a new set of features in
about a month’s time,
which will provide our Travel
Counsellors with new tools
and functionality they can
use, provided that they
are appropriate for their
customers.”
Travel Counsellors’ mobile
app currently focuses on
sharing customer itineraries
and travel documentation,
but future developments will
include the ability to make
secure payments against
outstanding balances, rich
quote content including
imagery and video, and
immediate agent feedback.
He explains that the
app deliberately does not
include booking functionality,
as Travel Counsellors
doesn’t want to remove
the personal nature of the
transaction. “Instead, the
customer can inform the
agent, via the app, that
they are ready to book, and
they will then be contacted
and guided through that
process,” says Rob.

Sabre's top three tech trend for 2017

1. Connected intelligence
This refers to the way in which
connected beacons and other
digital devices gather data
constantly and interact with one
another. This technology is useful
when it comes to analysing data,
and has several applications within
travel as it provides users with the
ability to look at the metrics of how
people are moving through a space.
This can help airlines to identify
bottlenecks, or hotels to see which
parts of their properties get the
most traffic.
Sabre says connected intelligence
is also playing a significant role
for agencies, particularly in terms
of advances in automation.
“Automated search algorithms
are making it possible for agents
to have more information at
their fingertips with less work,
improving the services they are
able to provide to customers.
Automation is able to handle some
of the routine work of itinerary
management, freeing up time for
agents to build relationships and
respond to customer requests,”
says Sabre in the report. Another
likely result is greater integration
between bots and humans, with
robots offering more conveniences
for travellers, from hotel
deliveries to drone-delivered travel
documents.
2. Conversational interfaces
These interfaces mimic
conversation with a human being,
via voice or text, and are expected
to make a greater impact in the
travel space in 2017. Companies
may be able to use voice systems
to provide travellers with travel
information like flight reminders
and traffic and weather updates. It
is also likely that travel companies
will start using messaging
platforms that they’re already
on like Whatsapp, WeChat and
Facebook Messenger to provide
support.
“Message-based interfaces allow
agents to chat with customers
during trip planning as well as
while travelling. The casual, trusted
medium of messaging allows
increased context and connection,”
says Sabre. “It also offers the
opportunity to integrate elements
of automation to easily provide
reminders and travel updates to
travellers on the go.”
3. Digital reality
Digital realities – virtual, mixed
and augmented – are likely to be
used for advertising purposes, to
showcase destinations and hotels.
Real-time translation of signage
and other text-based content is
another useful application of digital
realities, for travellers heading to
destinations where they cannot
speak the local language.
“Digital realities offer tremendous
opportunities for brick-and-mortar
agencies to inspire travellers in
new ways and encourage a broader
scope of potential destinations
and excursions. Virtual reality
can make all manner of locations
and experiences immediate, both
for potential travellers as well as
for all agents who want to learn
about new travel products and
destinations they may want to
share with customers,” says Sabre.

Voice- based interface

Sabre predicts that major
advances in voice technology
will aid agents in their quest to
improve service and support
levels for clients. The report
states that phone-based agents
can look at introducing voice
systems that actively ‘listen’
during phone calls. An algorithm
would identify key words
to capture information and
perform search tasks during the
call, leaving the agent free to
focus all their attention on the
caller instead of trying to talk
and search simultaneously.
Another area where voice
technology may be utilised
is to quickly access daily
updates about travellers – for
example, whether they still
need to check in, notification
of weather events or safety
issues. “Building ways for
agents to use voice to access
auditory dashboards with key
information can allow
agencies to save time and
increase operational efficiency,”
says Sabre.

Does your consortium offer top tech?

THE XL Travel Group
has recently invested
significantly in its
technology proposition
with the launch of its
mobile app imminent. The
app, which will allow XL
Travel agents to engage
closely with their travellers
throughout their trips, is
expected to launch this
month.
At the rate at which
technology is taking hold
of the industry, travel
consortiums must ensure
they are up to speed with
the latest developments
and, likewise, agents need
to make sure they have
access to top technology
that will assist them
with winning and keeping
clients.
As Marco Ciocchetti
points out, the qualifying
questions today’s clients
will ask of their agent
are significantly different
to what they were five
or ten years ago. On
the corporate side, for
example, focus was
previously on the deals an
agency could negotiate.
Now clients want to
know how their agency’s
technology can assist
with data analysis.
As this technology is
generally too expensive
for independent agents to
acquire themselves, the
ability to connect to this
technology through a wellestablished
consortium
can be invaluable.
Critical for corporate
Tools that can assist
with the collection and
analysis of data have
become a must in the
corporate environment.
Marco says emphasis is
on risk management and
duty of care, particularly
in light of the current
volatile global context. He
says the ability to track
travellers with apps using
GPS co-ordinates and then
alert companies as to
where their travellers are
when incidents occur is
particularly important.
“Quality control used to
be good enough,” Marco
says, “but now clients
want to know what kind of
automated controls their
agency has.”
He points out that the
technology should also
be able to integrate with
systems like SAP and
Oracle.
Equally important is
technology the consortium
has that will enable the
agent to get closer to the
traveller. Marco says this
comes in the form of apps
that allow the traveller
to do everything from
download their itinerary
to receive notifications
should there be a flight
delay. “Functions that will
make the traveller feel as
though their travel agent
is travelling with them,”
says Marco. “For example,
if the client is travelling
in Africa, do they need to
be reminded to print their
flight ticket where they
would normally be able to
present an e-ticket?”
In many ways, XL
Travel’s new mobile
app will enable agents
to do exactly that. He
says the platform will
allow consultants to
engage with clients in an
unlimited number of ways.
The options are endless,
from reminding a business
client to load their
expense claims on to the
app as soon as they land
to recommending that a
client takes the Heathrow
Express as soon as they
land in London.
When it comes to online
booking tools, Marco says
there has been greater
demand for this over the
past year or two. However,
many corporates still
have bookings handled
by consultants through
the use of a procurement
tool. What is important,
he says, is that each
and every transaction,
from the traveller’s initial
request to the agent’s
response and then final
authorisation, is recorded.
Whether this happens
through the use of an
online booking tool or
procurement tool is not
as important as the level
of accountability afforded.
“Through this technology,
agents can be penalised
for not responding to a
client’s query in good
time.”
Personal preferences
For leisure agents, Marco
says the key is to be
able to provide clients
with a service they can’t
access themselves on
the Internet. “Ultimately
it comes down to profiling
the customer,” he says.
“It’s about making the
customer feel that their
personal preferences are
understood while they are
travelling.”
A good example of this
might be a traveller in
Piccadilly who enjoys good
Italian food.
The app will register this
and notify the traveller
when they are in the
vicinity of a great Italian
restaurant.
In terms of reaching
the client, establishing a
good online presence has
also become essential for
today’s leisure agent. “We
are starting to see a lot
more traditional agencies
using social media,”
Marco says.

Did you know?

Amadeus has some ambitious plans in place for 2017, including
the introduction of a new payment solution, with more details
being available in due course. The company will also launch a new
corporate self-booking tool in the South African market: Amadeus
Corporate Travel.