Despite a great deal of discussion, most local agencies have not yet developed an app for
their clients. Sue van Winsen looks into this and provides some insights from a recent survey
Do you have an app for that?
DESPITE the huge hype
around travel apps, most
travel agencies have not
invested in developing one for
their clients. This is according
to the latest TNW travel app
survey, which discovered
that just 33% of respondents
worked for an agency that
provides its clients with access
to an app, while 67% did not.
Does your agency
provide its clients with
access to an app?”
High usage
Of the 33% that did provide
access to an app, usage was
fairly high. Just under half of
agents (46%) said most of
their clients used the app,
while 45% said just a few
clients did. Those companies
that have apps only introduced
them fairly recently – with 52%
stating that their app was
launched less than a year ago.
24% of respondents said their
app was launched between
one and two years ago, while
a further 24% said their app
was launched more than two
years ago. The most eager
adopters of travel apps are
corporate travellers, followed
by leisure travellers. In terms
of demographics, millennials
and young travellers were cited
as the most likely to use the
app, followed by families and
senior travellers.
How long ago did
your company
introduce its app?
Do your clients use
the app?
Who is using the app?
Mixed feelings
Agents who work for agencies
without apps seem to be on
the fence when it comes to the
usefulness of the technology.
When asked whether they
thought their clients would find
an app useful, the majority
(67%) said “maybe – it’s a
nice-to-have”. But 21% said
they thought an app was
essential, and just 12% felt
apps were unnecessary. Most
respondents weren’t privy to
their agency’s plans to develop
an app, with 47% stating they
didn’t know whether their
company would be developing
Do you think your
clients would find
an app useful?
Does your agency
have plans to
develop an app?
one in the future. A further
38% said their agency had no
plans to develop an app, while
just 15% said their company
would be launching one in the
future
Essential features
When asked which app
features would be most
useful to their clients, the
majority said flight status
updates, followed by security
risk notifications and access
to travel documents like
e-tickets, quotations and
invoices. Less important
features included travel
Essential features
When asked which app
features would be most
useful to their clients, the
majority said flight status
updates, followed by security
risk notifications and access
to travel documents like
e-tickets, quotations and
invoices. Less important
features included travel
Make the most of technology
WHILE travel apps may
not be playing as big a
role as some may have
imagined, according to
Aadil Esack, product and
marketing manager of XL
Travel, it’s still essential
that TMCs play in this
space. “The question
regarding functionality is
key though – is your app
simply another portal to
transact (e.g. an online
booking tool), or does
it provide the end user
with actual, valuable
information? This was a
key factor when deciding
on the features of our
app, XLGO,” he says.
This was reiterated
by Robyn Christie, gm
of Travelport Southern
Africa, who said the
recent launch of the
XLGO application was an
indication of Travelport
customers’ appetite to
make the most of the
latest technologies.
Getting the balance
right is something that
Travel Counsellors
has also considered.
Michelle Bullmore,
marketing manager:
South Africa of Travel
Counsellors, says the
launch of its MTC app
was based on the
business principle
of using technology
to enhance agents’
personal relationships
with customers.
“Technology might
make the world go
around but nothing
can replace a personal
relationship and that’s
why Travel Counsellors
created a free app that is
a virtual extension of our
agents,” she says.
“We are continuously
investing in the app
and adding new
enhancements that will
improve the customer
experience. There is an
increasing amount of
competition arising from
the Internet, and it is
vital we provide our Travel
Counsellors with the
technology tools to help
them win more business
and to compete in the
industry,” adds Michelle..
Using in-journey tech to upsell
THE low adoption rate of
mobile technology in SA,
compared with Europe
and North America,
is a major hampering
factor in the potential to
upsell through in-journey
communications. Richard
Addey, country director
– South Africa of Sabre,
says, though, that as
mobile adoption continues
to grow, Sabre has seen
an increasing demand
for technologies that can
make travel easier and
more convenient.
“Travellers and agents
now want technology
available during their trips
for purposes like duty of
care, online check-in and
last-minute exchanges.
Agents in SA are starting
to respond to this
demand and are turning
to tools such as TripCase
– Sabre’s itinerary
management app – which
provides opportunities
to interact with travellers
throughout their journeys,”
says Richard.
Robyn Christie of
Travelport, says products
such as Travelport Trip
Assist have created many
opportunities to engage
the traveller through the
travel lifecycle from pretrip
to post-trip. “This is
definitely an opportunity
our customers are wanting
to maximise. Mobile
provides the TMC with
the platform that enables
them to drive self-service,
improve engagement and
extend the selling window.”
Robyn adds: “Delivering
this value to the traveller
whilst on the trip
reinforces the TMCs’ value
proposition and endorses
their brand.”
Michelle Bullmore of
Travel Counsellors agrees
that the latest technology
has a huge role to play
in better servicing clients
but, that being said, it
should never replace the
relationship between the
agent and the customer.
“Our Travel Counsellors
are available 24/7 and if
their clients require any
changes or additions to
their booking they can
simply make contact.
We provide our Travel
Counsellors with systems
that work 24/7 where they
can book live inventory
through own system
(Phenix) as well as take
payments and issue
vouchers. Plus the MTC
app provides a platform
for this.”
Aadil Esack of XL Travel
points out that there is a
fine line between receiving
a notification promoting a
deal and being “spammy”.
He says agents need to
be very selective or they
risk losing their audience
and client. “You are now
essentially invading an
individual’s private space,
so you have to make it
count,” he warns.
Collecting and harnessing data
Aside from opportunities to
upsell – the real value of
in-journey communication
technology is in using it to
collect and harness traveller
data and insights to create
a better guest experience.
Richard says this data
can be used to create
meaningful interactions with
travellers at various points
throughout their trip via
mobile technology.
“One of the easiest
ways to capture data is to
integrate with a travel app
that manages all aspects of
the trip, because if travellers
have one app that manages
their trip end to end, they
will be more likely to use
it frequently,” he says. “By
delivering personalised
services that travellers want
and when they want them,
agents will build better
relationships with their
customers and also create
more opportunities to sell
ancillaries.
We put live chat services to the test
IT HAS become increasingly
important for agencies to embrace
a multi-platform approach when it
comes to booking requests. While
some customers may prefer to
walk into a brick-and-mortar agency,
others are more comfortable picking
up the phone, while others prefer
sending through requests via email
or even social media. The latest
platform to hit SA agencies though,
is live chat from the agency’s
website. TNW put three agencies’
live chat facility to the test.
Rennies Travel
Part of the newly launched
Renniestravel.com website is a live
chat option. The chat window was
very prominent and visible on the
website – located in the bottom
right-hand corner of the screen and
marked ‘Chat with us’. Customers
are able to type in their request
straight away, without filling out any
forms or sending through additional
information.
I sent my message and straight
away a message appeared to show
that the consultant had received
my request and was busy typing. I
received a very quick response from
the consultant within one minute of
submitting my request.
The only negative was that the
response was very generic and did
not address any of the questions in
my request. Instead, the consultant
simply advised that I should email
my request to CustomerSupport@
renniestravel.com. As I had chosen
the live chat as my preferred
method of engagement, it may have
been better for the consultant to
communicate via this medium.
However, I continued to send
through questions and the
consultant did attempt to answer
some of them, even suggesting
several destinations as options
for my travel request. She did
continually request that I rather
make contact via email though, and
eventually ended the chat before I
had a chance to finish asking my
questions.
Rennies’ chat facility included an
option for me to rate my chat at the
end of the conversation and provide
feedback via a comment box.
Pentravel
Pentravel’s chat option is not situated
on the homepage and requires the
user to click on the ‘Enquire Now’
button at the top of the site before
being directed to the contact page,
which includes the usual online request
form as well as a live chat box in the
bottom right-hand corner of the page.
I was impressed with the look of the
chat screen and was prompted to enter
my name, email address and phone
number before submitting my question.
The software then showed me all the
details for the consultant who would be
addressing my question – along with
her name, contact details and photo.
The agent asked whether I’d like her
to send me an email to discuss my
request, but instead I opted to continue
our conversation via the live chat box.
Unfortunately, my Internet connection
dropped before we could continue –
but I was very impressed that, using
the limited information I had
submitted in my initial enquiry, she
promptly emailed me with several
personalised questions relating to
my request.
Club Travel
Club Travel’s live chat feature is
prominently featured on the main
homepage. It didn’t require any of
my details prior to launching the
chat. Within seconds of my enquiry,
I received a response from a
consultant, Jacqui. I was extremely
impressed with her informative and
detailed responses – which were
completely personalised and very
quick. She also kept her tone upbeat
and lighthearted, which was in line
with my leisure booking request.
She was able to engage within the
confines of the live chat platform
and didn’t push me to move my
communication to another channel
such as email. She also subtly
encouraged action from my side,
saying flights were likely to fill up for
my chosen destination and urged
that we quote and book urgently.
Club Travel’s live chat platform also
allowed me to use emoticons, email
myself a transcript of the chat and
upload files to the chat window.
“Reach for the safety card in front of you...”
AT A RECENT industry
conference, technology was
described as a pain point. It’s
not the technology causing the pain
as so much the change that it is
required to stay on top of what the
technology can offer. Agents who can
adapt to change and keep abreast
of new developments, can not only
sustain their business, but grow it
too. All too often we hear complaints
from agents who are “too old to
change” but if you are still an active
contributor to the travel trade then
you are “too young not to change”!
Successful adoption of new
technology generally comes from
within an organisation where change
is well managed. In fact, it would
be interesting to note how many
companies invest in the process of
managing change.
The future of travel in the technological age
Being an agent of change and
adapting to the technology available
puts you way ahead of your
competitor but not always ahead of
your customer.
Keeping up
with the
consumer’s
demand
drives
the evolution of technology such
as bots and Artificial Intelligence
(AI) both of which are already being
utilised in the travel booking process.
This demand for an abundance of
information and options delivered in
real time has only just begun and
it is Travelport’s opinion that these
forms of automation will continue
to develop the way we search, plan
and book travel to provide faster
results and provide offers that
are relevant, timely and tailored to
known buying behaviour.
Whether travelling for business,
leisure or a combination of both,
today’s traveller expects an
experience that is immediate,
seamless, personal, reliable and
engaging. A constant flow of
new technologies such as
wearables, mobile payments,
virtual reality, augmented reality,
bots and AI are all helping create
an “experience culture” that did
not exist five years ago. These
advances not only enhance day-today
lives, but have opened a myriad
of new opportunities for travel
brands to support, engage and
empower the ever-connected
digital road warrior.
Mobile, Personalisation and Changing Traveller Expectations
With mobile becoming the focal
point of business travel and of
delivering personalised services,
research from Travelport Digital has
identified the kind of information
that business travellers want when
on the move.
Travellers primarily look to
mobile technology to “improve the
efficiency of their travel experience”
which includes check-in and checkout
apps allowing them to save
time by jumping queues, as well as
having access to airport maps that
help them to locate key services
such as ATMS, currency exchanges,
shops and food and beverage
outlets. More than anything, they
also appreciate details on flight
connections and any mobile alerts
and notifications that alleviate travel
stress, make their journey smoother
or provide relevant offers.
lf you’re still asking yourself
whether there is a need for a travel
agent in the future, absolutely yes!
But it’s not enough just to take
orders. Agents should not only be
fulfilling requests, but using every
opportunity to upsell, cross sell and
sell ancillaries. Upselling is not just
about increasing clients’ spend, it is
about presenting them with options
– options clients may not even know
they have.
In South Africa, it’s a double edged
sword; geographically we are miles
away from our key markets, which
means increased time and cost
for our customers but for the TMC
it presents the unique opportunity
of up-selling; visa services, hotel,
transfer, leg-room, special meals,
upgrades, bleisure opportunities …
the list is endless.
The evolution of technology has
changed and created a multitude
of opportunities for you to engage
the traveller throughout the travel
lifecycle. Technology is the lever
agents can pull to deliver this value.
The success of an agent’s role is
dependent on the technology they
use.
Traveltech is an exciting place
to be right now and through
the Travelport Travel Commerce
Platform, we’re redefining the ways
our customers can interact.
Know your market
Competition in the South African
market is rife, with only a small
pie of outbound travellers.
There are 56 million South
Africans
2,5 million earn more than
R10 000 a month
The travel market is worth
roughly R28 billion a year,
excluding direct bookings
The corporate/leisure split for
this figure is about 70%-30%
There are roughly 10 000 travel
agents. There’s no question that
technology plays a pivotal role in
travel buying today. But it can’t
replace the human touch. This
is what differentiates the travel
agent from an online booking
tool. This is your advantage.
Will you lose your job to a bot?
THE nearly ubiquitous
adoption of smartphones by
the modern business traveller
is fuelling the rise in popularity
of bots – virtual assistants
like the iPhone’s Siri which
can assist with simple admin
tasks. And this is set to spill
over into the travel landscape,
according to Ben Lamm, ceo
of Conversable, who says
the travel bot is the perfect
technological answer to
address business travellers’
need and desire to manage
their trip on their own, and give
them much-needed freedom
within a set framework.
Ben explains that today, bots
in the corporate travel industry
allow customers to access
information as conveniently as
possible. “Answering common
queries, supporting the
booking process, and providing
easy access for customers to
their travel information make
travel bots the go-to solution
for friction-free travel support.”
The possibilities for the
future are endless, according
to Ben, who explains that,
as bots become increasingly
sophisticated, powered by
conversational intelligence,
and as technology progresses,
they will be able to manage
the booking process end
to end, including crisis
management, with seamless
integration into any company’s
framework travel policy.
Meet Sam
FCM has its own travel bot
called Sam, an itinerary
management tool on steroids,
describes Euan McNeil, FCM
gm for South Africa. Sam has
been released in the US and
is expected to be launched
early in 2018 in South Africa.
Euan believes Sam will be
how most business travellers
interact with their travel
programme in future and says
corporate travellers can book
a car and hotel themselves
and complete the booking
without having to work with a
consultant.
Travel policy will also not be
a problem for Sam, says Euan.
“We will have a generic policy
based on best practice in the
market. Then, if customers
want to take their full travel
policy and load that into
Sam, there will be a level of
commercial uplift.”
TMCs vs bots
But in the battle between
bots and TMCs – there is no
single winner, but rather a
clearly defined role for both,
says Euan. Travel bots will
enable TMCs to combine
human service with technology
to create a more advanced
level of customer service and
to cut costs.
TMCs are uniquely
positioned to assist with
travel bots because they
have intimate knowledge of
the business traveller, both
in institutional and anecdotal
knowledge. Ben says travel
bots are incredibly well
equipped to work within the
framework of established
travel policies and routine
transactions.
The human touch
However, bots are not
equipped to know when to
make an exception. That’s a
human’s job.
Tasks such as checking flight
information, routine booking,
changing traveller information
and even checking weather
at the target destination are
perfect for the chatbot.
But, Ben adds: “The human
steps in when you miss
a flight to your daughter’s
wedding. While the bot may
help you rebook, it’s the
human-to-human sympathy
when you call a representative
that will give a brand its
customer service cred.”
Less enthusiastic about
the prospect of chatbots is
Michelle Bullmore of Travel
Counsellors. “We believe
that chatbots will replace
the human touch and that
goes against our relational
business model. So, as some
companies go down this path,
this is an opportunity for us
to showcase the depth of
our model based on creating
personal interactions. We
believe that technology should
be used to enhance personal
relationships, not replace them
or it becomes transactional.”
Whilst chatbots are making
an appearance in other
industries locally, and the
travel space globally, Aadil
Esack of XL Travel says they
still play a relatively minor role
currently. “Ground-breaking
technology is always exciting,
but it does not come without
teething issues. There is
still plenty of research to be
done when it comes to travel
chatbots locally,” he says.
“To put it simply, if you are a
knowledgeable and passionate
travel consultant – it will be
some time, if ever, before
C3PO makes you redundant!”
Small agencies – don’t miss the boat!
SMALL agencies that
aren’t affiliated to a major
consortium may feel they
lack the financial clout to
make use of the various
tools and platforms that
many associate with bigger
companies. Others may be
of the opinion that most of
the technology out there
is tailored to the needs of
larger TMCs, rather than
the requirements of smaller
businesses.
Anita Parent, ceo of
Alchimea, says many travel
agencies in South Africa are
not aware of all the different
kinds of technology available
to them outside of the
GDS. “The TMC associated
with large consortiums will
always have access to the
latest technology offerings
as they are targeted by
technology firms,” says
Anita. “But individual ITCs
would have to go looking
for the technology if they
need it – and in most cases,
when they find it, it is not
affordable to them,” she
adds.
To address this gap,
Alchimea launched the Travel
Management Application
(TMA), which is suited to
both the large global TMC
or consortium, as well as
the home-based individual
ITC. “There is no limit on
size for using our product
and we focus on providing
world-class technology to
the entire travel industry
at affordable prices,” says
Anita. The TMA has two
product offerings: TMA Lite,
which is geared towards
the ITC and TMC, and TMA
Enterprise for companies
that want third-party
integrations to the GDS and
their back office.
Focus on ROI
Riaan van Schoor,
co-founder of Agentivity
agrees that it’s not
uncommon for the smaller
agencies to miss out on
what’s available.
However, he adds, this isn’t
always true. “We do see
instances where, because
the agency is smaller and
wants to compete with the
bigger TMCs, they actually
do more research and
can act more quickly on
implementing a solution
that fits their needs.” They
also tend to pay far more
attention than a big TMC
might to ensuring return on
investment – so they turn
out to be great technology
customers, adds Riaan. He
says Agentivity’s system
provides for a level playing
field, so a smaller agency
can also enjoy the benefits
of having a complete picture
of their business.
Cost-effective solutions
In some cases, technology
may be priced more
affordably for smaller
agencies or ITCs. For
example, QuickTrav is
considerably cheaper
for ITCs, says Colette
Groenewald of Quick
Software. She points out
that Quick Software also
provides a bookkeeping
service that helps relieve
some of the accounting
burden that falls on busy
ITCs. Agencies that are
planning to grow can benefit
from the scalability of the
technology, as QuickTrav is
adaptable from a single ITC
right up to several hundred
users, adds Colette.
Did you know?
First Car Rental offers corporate clients a Show&Go quick check-out
facility that enables travellers to completely bypass the branch. After
landing at the airport, the travellers make their way to the car, having
their Show&Go card ‘snapped’ by an agent with an iPad along the
way. According to Melissa Storey of First Car Rental, the future of car
rental is branchless and devoid of human interaction throughout the
process. “We believe giving customers more control over their rental
package, a quicker, smarter checkout, and drastically reducing time
spent in the branch is the way of the future.”
Nine new technology developments
TNW rounds up some of the most exciting new systems, platforms and tools that
are already available to agents, or will soon become so.
Travel Management Application
Alchimea’s Travel
Management Application
(TMA) has recently
implemented a number of
major enhancements. The
first is auto-invoicing from
the TMA to QuickTrav. This
feature reduces invoicing
administration because, as
the agent parks bookings
as issued, or the billback
invoice is uploaded and
approved, the invoices are
automatically generated
to QuickTrav ensuring no
data capture or billing
errors. The TMA has also
launched its advanced
quality control business rule
engine, allowing users to
create rules based on any
information in the system.
This could include rules like
‘Do not allow issuing until
all customer references are
in the booking’ or ‘if the
passenger is from Angola
and they are travelling to
Paris, do not allow issuing
unless passport and visa
requirements are present
in the booking’. This takes
away all the manual
checks done by agencies
to ensure data and
invoices are correct.
Other new features
include auto-issuing of EMD
via Amadeus Web Services
and the uploading of
billback invoices and autoinvoicing
to the back office.
Amadeus Corporate Travel
This new mobile-responsive
travel management tool
has been developed for
companies, corporate
travellers and TMCs. It was
made specifically for Africa
and offers travel agents
access to more than
200 000 hotels, B&Bs and
guesthouses worldwide, as
well as air, car rental and
transfer services.
Sabre’s Red Workspace
Sabre’s new Red
Workspace platform
has powerful features
designed. One feature is
a Decision Support Bar
that allows consultants,
while booking a trip, to
see recommendations
to enhance the client’s
experience. For example,
agents can view prices on
alternative departure days
and prices for departures
from alternative airports.
Another functionality is
customisable widgets, so
TMCs can create their own
clickable widgets to serve
their distinctive needs.
For example, a TMC that
focuses on international
travel built a widget that
provides currency exchange
rates whenever an agent
books a foreign trip. TMCs
can also customise widgets
to highlight pre-negotiated
prices on certain routes or
special deals with preferred
suppliers.
XLGO
The XL Travel Group and
Travelport collaborated
to create a new app,
XLGO, which aims to
help customers of XL
Travel’s agencies provide
advanced mobile travel
capabilities. These
include flexible itinerary
management, real-time
communications, duty
of care and day of travel
assistance. This is
achieved through pushnotification
reminders,
real-time alerts and
the ability to call the
agent from within
the app. Travelport
says this will ensure
continuous engagement
throughout trips and more
opportunities for agencies
to guide, influence
and connect with their
customer en route
and, for TMCs, enables
a more consumercentric
business travel
experience.
Agentivity Accelerate
Agentivity has launched an
API and a data platform that
it promotes as Agentivity
Accelerate. It enables
agents to work with GDS
data in customised and
integrated ways and comes
with all the usual data
intelligence that Agentivity
delivers.
GetThere
Club Travel Corporate has
announced the addition of
a new online booking tool,
GetThere, to its offering.
The booking tool, which can
be integrated with travel
app, TripCase, allows full
customisation with company
policy including traveller
profiles, geographic regions,
budgets and preferred
suppliers. Through its
integration to TripCase,
business travellers can book,
change or cancel flights and
bookings from their preferred
devices. Club Travel Corporate
says its clients who choose to
migrate from their current OBT
to GetThere can be assured
of support and advice from its
consultants who have been
trained on the technology
and will project manage the
customisation of the system to
their travel policies.
Sabre’s Traveler Experience Platform
Sabre has unveiled its
new Traveler Experience
Platform, which brings
together the critical
aspects of travel
management into
a single mobile
app that will
manage the whole
trip for business
travelers. The
platform combines
the online booking
capability of
GetThere for air
and hotel, the itinerary
management and
messaging features
of TripCase and the
e-payment solutions of
Sabre Virtual Payments.
Sabre has also
introduced a travel
risk management
solution to
the platform,
SafePoint, which
helps travellers to
check in with their
employer via a GPS
location and request
assistance if an
emergency arises.
QuickTrav
QuickTrav, which forms
part of Quick Software’s
product offering has
recently launched a new
range of services. This
includes XML imports
to automate invoicing
from third-party booking
engines; automated
scheduled reporting,
which can be overnight
if required, and deliver
to the user for review
first thing in the morning;
more advance credit
card processing; and the
batching and uploading of
supplier payments. Other
enhancements currently
under development
include the addition of
multi-currency support for
agents operating in African
countries where more than
one currency is commonly
used, along with PCI
compliance, which includes
replacing cards with
tokens from a token vault
to exclude the QuickTrav
application from the scope
of PCI compliance, thereby
simplifying the PCI burden
on travel agents.
Amadeus Productivity Suite
Forming part of the
Amadeus Selling Platform
Connect, Productivity Suite
comprises four tools:
Quality Monitor, Smart
Flows, Smart Triggers
and File Finishing. Quality
Monitor uses predefined
rules set by the travel
agent to check that the
booking file complies
with the correct booking
processes. Smart Flows
helps agents complete
repetitive or complex tasks
more efficiently during
the booking process. For
example, when a consultant
enters the customer name,
Smart Flow creation can
be set up to automatically
add the account number.
Smart Triggers acts as
an alarm to automatically
launch customised flows.
File Finishing is a robotic
service that runs without
any user intervention and
is used at the completion
of bookings to include
additional Forming part of the
Amadeus Selling Platform
Connect, Productivity Suite
comprises four tools:
Quality Monitor, Smart
Flows, Smart Triggers
and File Finishing. Quality
Monitor uses predefined
rules set by the travel
agent to check that the
booking file complies
with the correct booking
processes. Smart Flows
helps agents complete
repetitive or complex tasks
more efficiently during
the booking process. For
example, when a consultant
enters the customer name,
Smart Flow creation can
be set up to automatically
add the account number.
Smart Triggers acts as
an alarm to automatically
launch customised flows.
File Finishing is a robotic
service that runs without
any user intervention and
is used at the completion
of bookings to include
additional elements in
the PNR.
Agents set to benefit from car rental tech
AGENTS are set to be one
of the main beneficiaries
of all the technology being
launched in the car-rental
industry. This is according
to Melissa Storey, executive
head: Strategy, Development
and Marketing of First Car
Rental, who says the industry
is seeing a major increase
in travel technology company
solutions being offered
to agents or consortiums
developing their own
platforms.
“With multiple direct
integrations with suppliers
via the suppliers’ preferred
web services, in terms of
our system capability, it is
certainly the far superior
method to connect with
us as this allows for the
best real-time availability
and dynamic pricing,” says
Melissa. She emphasises
that this is preferred over the
GDS due to the limitations
of the platforms. “We also
offer a personalised booking
engine to agents, which
doesn’t require agents to
remember rate codes or their
account numbers.”
First Car Rental partners with Veedyo
First Car Rental, in
partnership with Veedyo, has
launched a new interface
that creates a short
personalised video for each
customer, displaying all their
unique rental information.
The video is emailed to
customers after their
booking and highlights the
key features and benefits
they can view, amend or add
on to their rental package
via online customer selfservice.
It anticipates that
this will help customers
take control of what they
would like included before
they get to the counter,
ultimately cutting down on
check-out time. Features
on the personalised video
include credit card preauthorisations,
rental
package upgrades, additional
extras and customer
information updates.
Positive response to Bidvest Car Rental’s Snappdrive
Since the roll-out of
phase one of Bidvest
Car Rental’s keyless fleet
and app, Snappdrive,
the company says the
response has been very
positive from the industry
and customers.
“Most often, car rental
happens at the end of an
arduous travel process.
With Snappdrive, we
eliminate further hassle
or waiting, with the
traveller’s phone leading
them straight to their
waiting vehicle,” says
Paulette McGhee, ceo of
Bidvest Car Rental.
The app allows users to
locate their car, via their
phone’s in-built GPS, as
well as unlock and start
their vehicles without
a physical key. Once
customers have found
their vehicle, they press
the ‘unlock’ button on the
app and press the ‘start’
button to start the engine.
With telematics, Bidvest
will be able to track every
vehicle, which means realtime
fleet management
for Bidvest and its
customers. “We will be
able to collect real-time
data on speed, mileage
and fuel usage,” says
Wayne Mee, Bidvest’s
project champion.
The second phase of
the project will see the
service introduced to
premium vehicle groups
and other markets,
with new value-add
functionality. The date for
phase two is still to be
announced.
Balancing tech with the human touch
SINCE the opening of the first
Signature Lux Hotel in Sandton
last month, the company has
focused on winning over local
agents to its new concept.
“It’s a completely new product
but as we host more travel
agents and conduct training
we can change booking
behaviour,” says Paul Kelley,
md of Signature Lux Hotels.
The hotel features 24-hour
self-service check-in, along
with a hotel app that offers
in-room ‘wi-first’ calling
which eliminates room
phones, instant message
board to the front desk,
automated housekeeping
and a restaurant locator
based on location. Other
tech innovations include a
WiFi router in each room
with a 100MB line offering
free uncapped WiFi allowing
guests to stream from Netflix
or Showmax by mirroring their
smartphone to the TV.
Paul says while technology
is ever changing and is
there to make people’s lives
easier, nothing compares
with human interaction. “As
hoteliers, we are taught to
get the basics right first – we
cross technology and human
interaction with most of our
services, for example, our
instant messaging service.
Our self-service check-in is
available, but there is always a
warm welcome on arrival, and
assistance should the guest
require it.”
