Penalise us only for serious or repeated errors – agents

AGENTS can’t afford to make
mistakes on the GDS nowadays
as airlines have zero tolerance
when it comes to waivers and favours
concerning ADMs, says Mary Shilleto,
ceo of Thompsons Travel. Rachael
Penaluna, business manager of Sure
Maritime Travel, also points out that
airlines are issuing more ADMs than
ever before for across-the-board and
fare rule errors.
In a snap survey on eTNW, 68%
of travel agents said they felt it was
fair for agencies to penalise agents
for serious or repeated errors on the
GDS; 18% of agents felt it was fair
to be penalised for all errors on the
GDS and 14% said it wasn’t fair to be
penalised for any errors.
Furthermore, 40% of agencies
penalise for all errors, 40% penalise
depending on the type and frequency
of error and 20% do not penalise for
any errors.
Still, agency heads highlight the need
for penalising agents for errors where
the agency is financially penalised by
the airline.
Tamaryn Kruger, consultant of
Gold Travel, says whether or not an
agent is penalised for an error should
depend on if it was due to negligence.
Tracy Teichmann, consultant of Sure
Adcocks Travel, feels agents should
be penalised for all errors that lead to
ADMs. Yolanda Barkhuizen, consultant
of XL Boland Travel, agrees that
agents should be penalised for all
ADMs – but only once they are final.
Among the agents who feel it is
fair to be penalised for errors, 61%
said they should be charged a flat
fee, while 39% said they should
be penalised for a percentage of
the ADM. Of those in favour of the
penalty being a percentage, 40% said
it should depend on the size of the
ADM, 33% said the fee should be up
to 20% and 2% said up to 100%.
Currently, penalty policies for GDS
errors vary from agency to agency. For
example, XL International Travels takes
a pragmatic approach and merely talks