|
| CCRA Check-In is distributed bi-monthly to all of our hotel partners worldwide. |
| 29229 Canwood Street Suite 100, Agoura HillsCalifornia 91301 |
| Phone: |
818.575.4350
800.533.8883 |
Fax:
818.889.4547
www.ccrainternational.com |
Mai Meyaart
Vice President & Managing Director
|
Patti Free
Vice President
Global Membership Relations
|
Carmen Otero
Director,
Hotel Programs - Eastern Region
|
Benet Henderson
Director,
Hotel Programs - Western Region
|
Jeanette Dvorak
Marketing Services Manager
|
Rob Kunz
E-mail Marketing Coordinator
For questions or comments, please contact
|
|
 |
|
CCRA Check-IN
January Issue
Top
Message from Mai
 Dear Hoteliers,
Welcome to the New Year 2007and our first issue of CCRA Check-In. After 30 years of cultivating relationships with leading leisure and corporate travel agencies worldwide, we know the travel agency market very well and are happy to lend you our expertise.
This newsletter is designed to provide you, as a CCRA program member, valuable insight on the Travel Agency community at large, the CCRA International members and strategies to maximize your ROI in this channel. Please look for this newsletter on a bi-monthly basis and let CCRA International be your guiding star in the Travel Agency world.
I'd like to share some of the highlights of 2006...
-
In 2006, CCRA International had unprecedented growth in membership. Growing from approximately 18,000 travel agencies to over 19,000 qualified travel agencies. That translates into about 72,000 travel agents using our hotel program!
-
We re-launched our B2B booking portal and have been receiving rave reviews from the travel agency community. Our portal provides these agencies the unique ability to view five different inventory types in a single interface including GDS and internet rates. This puts the travel agent firmly in control of the booking process, never to be undersold or overshadowed by consumer direct websites again.
-
We've removed the barrier of the labor intensive, seasonal RFP process by allowing hotels to enter into the program throughout the year using our proprietary on-line tool. We can pre-load the application with your historical information making the application process fast, easy and best of all FREE!
Our goals for 2007 are twofold:
1) Continue growing our membership
2) Improve upon our value to hotel members. We will keep you up to date on our progress throughout the year through CCRA Check-In On-line.
Talk to you soon!
Mai Meyaart
Managing Director and Vice President |
Top
Reservation Center, Inc. and CCRA International, Inc.
Announce New Ownership
CCRA International, Inc. announced in November that our company's stock has been acquired by OurLink, LLC a robust investment fund group that was a participant in this year's development of the CCRAtravel.com portal. CCRA International. Inc. and Reservation Center, Inc. had been owned for the past 18 months by OneLink Corporation. OurLink, LLC and OneLink Corporation are unrelated groups and share no common ownership.
The purchase of Reservation Center, Inc. and CCRA International, Inc. was completed on November 20, 2006, marking a transition back to our status as an independently operated company. CCRA International, its CCRAtravel.com booking portal, and Reservation Center’s 24/7 Call Center Services will all continue operations from our Agoura Hills, California headquarters.
CCRA International is proud to have invested resources during 2006 into the development of pioneering technology that aggregates multiple hotel distribution channels into a single online search, and enables agents to set their own commissions and get paid much faster. CCRA International’s Hotel Program continues to set new standards enabling hotels to effectively reach travel agencies and their travelers’ discretionary spend. CCRA International’s hotel program has seen unprecedented growth in hotel participation and sales during 2006.
“CCRA International achieved its highest membership growth rate in 2006 extending our distribution network to 19,000 agencies in their more than 25,000 locations worldwide,” said Dic Marxen, newly appointed President and CEO of CCRA International, Inc. and Reservation Center, Inc. “We are poised for growth, and our vision is to continue expanding our current portal technology to travel content suppliers and travel agent members worldwide.”
“Over its past 30 years, Reservation Center has remained a leading provider of call center services to the travel agent community and cultivated innovation in the area of 24/7 call services,” said Jim Day, Vice President of Operations for Reservation Center, Inc. “Following extensive technology upgrades, both Reservation Center and CCRA International are now well positioned for a promising future in our role as a leading travel support, marketing and distribution channel.” |
CCRA International, Inc. announced in November that our company's stock has been acquired by OurLink, LLC a robust investment fund group that was a participant in this year's development of the CCRAtravel.com portal. CCRA International. Inc. and Reservation Center, Inc. had been owned for the past 18 months by OneLink Corporation. OurLink, LLC and OneLink Corporation are unrelated groups and share no common ownership.
The purchase of Reservation Center, Inc. and CCRA International, Inc. was completed on November 20, 2006, marking a transition back to our status as an independently operated company. CCRA International, its CCRAtravel.com booking portal, and Reservation Center’s 24/7 Call Center Services will all continue operations from our Agoura Hills, California headquarters.
CCRA International is proud to have invested resources during 2006 into the development of pioneering technology that aggregates multiple hotel distribution channels into a single online search, and enables agents to set their own commissions and get paid much faster. CCRA International’s Hotel Program continues to set new standards enabling hotels to effectively reach travel agencies and their travelers’ discretionary spend. CCRA International’s hotel program has seen unprecedented growth in hotel participation and sales during 2006.
“CCRA International achieved its highest membership growth rate in 2006 extending our distribution network to 19,000 agencies in their more than 25,000 locations worldwide,” said Dic Marxen, newly appointed President and CEO of CCRA International, Inc. and Reservation Center, Inc. “We are poised for growth, and our vision is to continue expanding our current portal technology to travel content suppliers and travel agent members worldwide.” “Over its past 30 years, Reservation Center has remained a leading provider of call center services to the travel agent community and cultivated innovation in the area of 24/7 call services,” said Jim Day, Vice President of Operations for Reservation Center, Inc. “Following extensive technology upgrades, both Reservation Center and CCRA International are now well positioned for a promising future in our role as a leading travel support, marketing and distribution channel.” |
Top
Consortia Spotlight
To kick off our newsletter launch, we decided to Check In with industry leaders on the travel agent side of the business, for their insights on hotel booking trends. Here’s what we heard from Gary Fee, President of Outside Sales Support Network (OSSN), the top trade association representing home based travel agencies, independent contractor sellers of travel and outside sales travel agents. OSSN supports over 5,000 members.
Q:How does today's travel agent harness the power of the web?
Three groups have emerged among home-based sellers of travel. Most of the home-based community that have a website are “niched” in what they sell. They have a particular expertise, and they focus their web content based on knowledge of a region or target audience.
Other groups harness the web by contracting with broad content providers, and filtering to modify, add or delete particular supplier offers. Examples of these content suppliers are Passport Online (http://www.passportonlineinc.com/index.html) and Online Agency (http://info.onlineagency.com/c/3/3176/291769_3176.htm). These are a growing type of display that include hotel, air and tour operator suppliers. The majority of these online displays are for leisure travel. The home-based agent will also see a lot of travel packages. Hilton and Marriott are active in that line-up.
A third website avenue for home-based agents is to join a host agency with a branded website that offers the consumer-familiar look of Travelocity or Orbitz. This tact allows the clients to not just look, but book on the website. A lot of GDS conduit is being displayed here.
Q: How do travel agents successfully compete with online agencies?
There is a growing opportunity for hotel booking through home-based agents, through developing supplier loyalty to a specific hotel, live on display, on a website. There is an opportunity where an agent can offer a booking tool icon on their own site – and enable tracking of the bookings through their website. An example of this model is YourNameTravel.com
.
Private label websites also offer travel agents a turnkey web opportunity to gain Internet sales. Travel agents are the educators to the consumer in this industry, and they must stay focused on selling the high-level or the complex products that afford them the best commission. Rather than turn away customers who do not fit the travel agent services profile, facilitate them with a look and book website tool.
We know that when lowest price is at the front door, loyalty goes out the back. So, becoming a niche expert in a complex product, such as packages or tours, is the better avenues for travel agents.
Q: What is a future outlook for online hotel booking?
CCRA has been a good leader in providing a variety of purchasing methods. A growth area would be a portal type booking tool for consumers, that is available directly on the agent’s website. Self-click purchase is now the norm – so a direct booking tool offered by the agent will help them to compete effectively.
Booking online is not novel, but having diversified products is. Travel agency consortia and hotel partnership programs should continue on that trend.
Q: Comments on today’s hotel programs?
Hilton Hotels is a favorite of mine because they’ve demonstrated they want to accommodate and be integrated with the travel agent community. On the opposite side is Marriott, who seems to have shunned the travel agent role.
|
|
|
Top
Travel Agent Testimonials
Travel Agents are glowing about our Booking Portal and so should you. The booking portal is an excellent way to offer incentives to travel agents to book at your hotel. Our portal is growing at a very rapid pace, beating the crowds by purchasing ad space on the portal or utilizing our Travel Agent Newsletter and eBlast specials are effective ways of reaching these agents, who have many options when deciding where to book their clients. Here are real responses from travel agents in response to their recent training and introduction to our booking portal::
|
Travel Agents are glowing about our Booking Portal and so should you. The booking portal is an excellent way to offer incentives to travel agents to book at your hotel. Our portal is growing at a very rapid pace, beating the crowds by purchasing ad space on the portal or utilizing our Travel Agent Newsletter and eBlast specials are effective ways of reaching these agents, who have many options when deciding where to book their clients. Here are real responses from travel agents in response to their recent training and introduction to our booking portal::
|
Top
Travel Agent Talk
Janine Devine
Tzell Travel
Director, Hotel Programs
Janine began her career with Tzell Travel 18 years ago. In fact, she was the 9th person hired...today Tzell is over 300 strong! We had an opportunity to speak with Janine about Tzell, their relationship with hotels and what in store for the future.
FH: Give us an overview of Tzell Travel today.
Tzell Travel does about 80% corporate and 20% leisure. Our client base is worldwide, in all industries and very loyal. As a company, we are flexible, open to new ideas and very quick on our feet! We are non-traditional, we think different and we have very unique niche market. Several years ago, Tzell developed its own “Think Tank” and encourages all employees to actively participate in the process. Tzell is well positioned for the future, and remains very strong.
FH: What do you look for in a relationship with a Hotel?
Tzell is relationship oriented. We want to develop and nurture our hotel partners and we have very good hotel partners. As with any partnership there are issues that need to be worked out, and here are some concerns:
- Rates booked by Tzell and changed at check-in. Usually for less money than the booked rate – it doesn’t make sense and it makes us look bad.
- Hotels are careless with their rates loaded on the Internet. It has created a pricing war and nobody is winning and it is affecting trust levels between the hotels and us. This is not a good scenario for true partnership marketing.
- Hotels not paying commissions. We will be looking at this very closely in the future and we will move market share to commission friendly hotels.
- Last but not least involves inventory control. When we (Tzell) have been trying to get a client into a hotel and we are repeatedly told the hotel is sold out and minutes later the client calls and gets a reservation. Giving the hotel the benefit of doubt, we assume inventory has just been released. This is probably the worst situation we encounter and it can cost us a client.
FH: What category of hotels do you work with?
We have need for all types of hotels. The luxury market is still a strong segment of ours both for corporate and leisure. But rest assured we have lots of business to give all hotels in all price tiers.
FH: What do you like about your job?
It’s the people; the excitement of travel and working for a company that fosters eternal growth. Tzell is a good place to be.
Top
Today's Travel Agent
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Nature of Work: Constantly changing airfares and schedules, thousands of available vacation packages, and a vast amount of travel information on the Internet can make travel planning frustrating and time consuming. To sort out the many travel options, tourists and business people often turn to travel agents, who assess their needs and help them make the best possible travel arrangements.
Working Conditions: Travel agents spend most of their time behind a desk conferring with clients, completing paperwork, contacting airlines and hotels for travel arrangements, and promoting group tours. During vacation seasons and holiday periods, they may be under a great deal of pressure.
Employment: Travel agents held about 103,000 jobs in 2004 and are found in every part of the country. More than 3 out of 5 agents worked for travel agencies. Around 14 percent were self-employed.
Earnings: Experience, sales ability, and the size and location of the agency determine the salary of a travel agent. Median annual earnings of travel agents were $27,640 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $21,600 and $35,070. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $17,180, while the top 10 percent earned more than $44,090. Median earnings in May 2004 for travel agents employed in the travel arrangement and reservation
Job Outlook: Employment of travel agents is expected to decline through 2014. Most openings will occur as experienced agents transfer to other occupations or leave the labor force. Because of the projected decline in employment and the fact that a number of people are attracted by the travel benefits associated with this occupation, keen competition for jobs is expected. Travel agents who specialize and can utilize the Internet to reduce their costs and better compete with other travel suppliers should have the best chance for success. |
Nature of Work: Constantly changing airfares and schedules, thousands of available vacation packages, and a vast amount of travel information on the Internet can make travel planning frustrating and time consuming. To sort out the many travel options, tourists and business people often turn to travel agents, who assess their needs and help them make the best possible travel arrangements.
Working Conditions: Travel agents spend most of their time behind a desk conferring with clients, completing paperwork, contacting airlines and hotels for travel arrangements, and promoting group tours. During vacation seasons and holiday periods, they may be under a great deal of pressure.
Employment: Travel agents held about 103,000 jobs in 2004 and are found in every part of the country. More than 3 out of 5 agents worked for travel agencies. Around 14 percent were self-employed.
Earnings: Experience, sales ability, and the size and location of the agency determine the salary of a travel agent. Median annual earnings of travel agents were $27,640 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $21,600 and $35,070. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $17,180, while the top 10 percent earned more than $44,090. Median earnings in May 2004 for travel agents employed in the travel arrangement and reservation
Job Outlook: Employment of travel agents is expected to decline through 2014. Most openings will occur as experienced agents transfer to other occupations or leave the labor force. Because of the projected decline in employment and the fact that a number of people are attracted by the travel benefits associated with this occupation, keen competition for jobs is expected. Travel agents who specialize and can utilize the Internet to reduce their costs and better compete with other travel suppliers should have the best chance for success.
Top
Online Bookings Will Surpass Offline for the First Time
by David Wilkening
Next year for the first time, internet transactions will account for over half of all US travel bookings, according to a new report from PhoCusWright. Their US Online Travel Overview, now in its sixth edition, analyzes the travel market by segment, channel and major players, projecting trends through 2008.
After years of suppliers such as airlines and hotels outperforming online travel agencies such as Expedia and Orbitz and Priceline, growth rates for both channels will converge by 2008, the report says, with 54% of bookings made over the internet.
"Suppliers have enjoyed an advantage over online travel agencies due to the relatively inexpensive task of acquiring online customers from their own offline channels. This advantage, however, is disappearing," according to PhoCusWright.
Other insights from the report:
---While the US represented just one third of total online and offline travel bookings of the combined North America, Western Europe and Asia Pacific markets in 2005, the US share of online bookings was over 60% of all online bookings.
---Growth of dynamic packaging—the ability of consumers to easily combine airline, hotel, rental car and other product purchases online—is projected to slow significantly from 51% growth in 2005 to 18% in 2008.
---Hotels will be the fastest growing segment online, surpassing air travel, which until 2006 had long been the fastest growing product segment.
---The tipping point of the travel market, with the online channel becoming the norm for travel purchases, is going to further shape consumer behavior that utilizes Travel 2.0 tools and applications
The advanced level of the US online travel market creates an atmosphere in which many innovations such as dynamic packaging, meta-search and user-generated content start in the US before expanding to other global markets, the report found.
Many of these innovations include the new online capabilities that PhoCusWright has termed Travel 2.0—the travel industry's application of Web 2.0 practices empowering the online consumer.
|
|
Top
Meet Your CCRA Team
Carmen Otero
Director of Sales, Eastern Region
We recently caught up with our director of sales, Eastern Region, Carmen Otero, asking her a few questions about life in the travel industry, role models, and various other questions. Here is the breakdown of your Eastern Region representative in these bulleted facts.
-
12 Years in the Travel Industry
-
Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
-
Resides in Orlando, FL
-
Graduated from Monroe College
-
Majored in Business
-
Married with one son
-
Loves to travel and shop
-
Dream vacation is to Rome, Italy
-
Believes the most important service offered by CCRA International is bility to significantly increase business for our hotel partners and provide faster commission payments to our travel agent members.
-
Favorite hotel ever stayed at is Wyndham Condado Plaza Hotel in San Jaun, Puerto Rico
-
Biggest role model is her dad.
-
If she had to pick one persona that resembles her character it would be Oprah Winfrey for her passion in everything that matters and not accepting things as they are but for what they could and should be.
|
Hotel Marketing Opportunities | CCRAtravel.com | CCRAinternational.com | ReservationCenter.net
|
