Putting the focus on Profitability T R A V E L P O R T G D S 1
Did You Know The average commission for car is 5% and hotel is 10%? Did you also know that booking ONE additional car and ONE additional hotel booking per day makes a SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL IMPACT over the year? 2
The Industry Today > As crude oil prices have risen, airlines are increasing fares, fees, reducing seats, and cancelling unprofitable routes* > Americans are booking hotel stays closer to home due to increased gas prices** > More Americans are planning to drive to their vacation or holiday destinations > Higher gas prices are likely to change travel plans *The Wall Street Journal 19June2008 **Source: American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) 3
So What Does This Mean? > Focus on car and hotel to off-set increased air costs > Perfect timing to gain customer loyalty by offering economical travel plans > Increase your value offer creative land only vacations not easily combined through on-line sources > Emphasize the benefits of personal interaction with the traveler 4
How does add up? 5
How It Works Average Car booking = $124.25* (3.5 days x $35.50/day) Average Hotel booking = $315 ($150/day x 2.1 days) $124.25 x 5% = $6.21 / per booking $315 x 10% = $31.50 / per booking Total additional DAILY income resulting from only one Hotel booking and one Car booking = $37.71 Total additional MONTHLY income = $754.20 Total additional YEARLY income = $9,050.40 From just ONE additional Car and ONE additional Hotel booking sold per day! * Car commission of 5% used for example, however, actual commissions may vary. Monthly calculation is based on an average number of 20 business days in a month Sources: Hotel Electronic Distribution Cendant Internal Data, Network Association (HEDNA) 6
How Much More Money Can You Make? The financial rewards increase exponentially when you book more than one additional car and one additional hotel a day: 7
What the AGENT Can Do Best Practices for increasing Car and Hotel bookings 8
Change the Way You Book Book Hotel/Car FIRST and make Air the attachment Old Process: AIR New Process: HOTEL HOTEL CAR Why this works? CAR AIR Time and effort spent promoting higher-yield products Prevents customers from stopping transaction after purchasing air 9
Ask Every Customer if They Need a Hotel and Car It works!!! If you don t ask you can t sell it 10
Provide Superior Customer Service Best practices for increasing hotel and car sales Qualify customer ask for preferences, loyalty and program memberships Why it works? Expedites Industry the News sale Travel Industry Uses highest level of supplier participation to return rates that are specific to your customer Establishes customer confidence to best meet their travel preferences Review rules policies may vary by rate, type, location, and dates of stay Why it works? Eliminates unexpected fees or restrictions for your customer Positions you as the expert Promotes return business Use reference points access the right part of town, suburb, point of interest or center of activity Why it works? Builds trust that your recommendations are providing your customers the perfect travel experience 11
Utilize Travelport s Premium Car Product Offering Car Booking Tool GUI books car in seconds Search by airport, city name, zip code or city locations Interactive script pre-fills with existing reservation and CD or ID numbers View vehicle photos Upsell Prompts Upgrades at point of sale User preferences Pre-defined criteria stored and incorporated into the shop request Car supplier, type, rate code, corporate discount Complete Pricing Total estimated costs within availability displays and at time of sell Car Index/Car List Locations in a given city (off airport) or airport code, city code, or reference point including distance and direction 12
Utilize Travelport s Premium Hotel Product Offering Hotel Booking Tool Real-time access to suppliers in a GUI format Sort hotel list by name, distance, direction, Integrated Hotel Source availability status or rate range Easy to read hotel availability that can be sorted by rate Interactive script pre-fills with existing reservation and CD or ID numbers Pre-established Search Set preferred screen placement to ensure top commission and revenue Complete Pricing Total estimated costs (hotel tax, surcharge, and fee disclosures) reducing discrepancies and unexpected charges Complete Availability First-screen availability and rate range information Interactive Mapping GUI maps and compares hotels near a specific location, address or point of interest 13
What the Owner/Manager Can Do Best Practices for increasing Car and Hotel bookings 14
Constantly Promote Booking Cars and Hotels Stress importance of car and hotel bookings Emphasize benefits to agents and agency Best practices for increasing hotel and car sales Compare Industry hotel News and car-selling Travel Industry techniques Fosters positive environment for agents to learn from one another Share best practices Spotlights agents who achieve results, encourages development Enroll agents in car/hotel training and development courses Boosts morale through agent buy-in and confidence Highlight consortium rates your agency subscribes to whenever possible Special consortium rates help agents increase bookings, while cultivating customer loyalty Set goals, measure them and offer rewards Promote hotel/car bookings by creating and rewarding competition among agents Consider financial incentives to agents 15
Putting the focus on Profitability T R A V E L P O R T G D S 16