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bi-monthly to all of our hotel partners worldwide. |
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| 29229 Canwood Street Suite 100, Agoura HillsCalifornia 91301 | |
| Phone: | 818.575.4350 800.533.8883 |
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818.889.4547 www.ccrainternational.com |
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Programmer/Analyst, RFP Services |
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Database Analyst, Accounting |
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please Supplier Strategies |
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CCRA Check-IN
May Issue
In
This Issue: |
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Top
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Dear Hoteliers,
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Business Travel Booking: Internet Vs. Travel Agency |
Topaz International conducts comparative studies of corporate travel airfares between corporate travel agency booked itineraries and various Internet sites, including Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity and airline websites. Results from 2006 show business travel itineraries booked by a designated corporate travel agency averaged $75 less than the same itinerary booked on a public Internet site, one of the largest margins since 2002. In addition, the average agency fare and average Internet fare were the highest they have been since 2002.
“The five years of comparative airline purchasing patterns indicates that the online alternatives are not always cheaper, but in fact are higher than the past few years,” said Bradley Seitz, President and CEO of Topaz International. “The game of distribution continues to be fragmented and a great cause for headaches all over the world. Full content is not full content, availability is not consistent, and as I have said in the past, the overriding desire of the airlines is to control and price their product where they can obtain the most value.”
“What travel management companies have proven here is that they continue to show value to those that use them in both price and in service.” For a complete comparative data, visit www.etopaz.com/news About Topaz International, Ltd. - Topaz International provides strategic support to corporate travel management professionals. With over 25 years of experience analyzing travel expenditures, Topaz is a world leader in airfare & hotel auditing, providing benchmark information and consult services to improve the delivery of corporate travel services. For more information, contact Michele Simon, michele.simon@etopaz.com, or call 800-888-2423. Topaz International is a member of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) and the National Business Travel Association (NBTA). |
Further evaluations were conducted to determine if volumes of corporate airfare spend influenced the results. Smaller corporations generally have higher priced airline tickets compared to corporations with larger volumes of air spend. However, and very telling, some small corporations spend less per ticket than some of their larger counterparts who should have greater volume discounts. 
“The complexity will continue. Airlines must raise their rates to compensate for recent losses in the industry and the continuing rise of fuel costs. The challenge of every corporate travel leader will be to ensure that they have processes in place to locate and book the lowest alternatives, and validate that their service providers are giving the levels of contracted offerings that have been agreed to.” Top
Consortia Spotlight - Vacation.com |
We checked in with Stephen McGillivray CTC, Vacation.com’s Vice President of Marketing, for his insights on travel agent selling trends. Stephen has been with Vacation.com, North America’s largest vacation selling network, for seven years. Previously, he served 10 years as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), the world’s largest association of travel agents and suppliers. Stephen also worked at Amtrak for 10 years, prior to ASTA. Q: As Vacation.com plans for its 9th Annual Conference and Trade Show next month, what’s driving the organization’s agenda today? Stephen: Vacation.com serves two constituencies, its member agencies and its contracted suppliers, such as CCRA. When our members find good value in the suppliers’ products, and they can successfully increase sales of preferred supplier inventories, then Vacation.com is successful. We work to support the travel agent business needs and strengthen their ongoing bond with preferred suppliers.
Stephen: Any new technologies, marketing or sales programs to improve efficiency are a great service to the agent. As a small business owner, the travel agent’s time is an important resource. Efficiency and reduction of costs are valuable. That’s why Vacation.com is highly committed to promoting the CCRA booking portal. The portal is a time-saving resource that allows an agent to quickly quote all the rate options to a client by looking in one place. Q: Are there new trends in how travel agents book hotels? Stephen: The travel retailer model is changing. There was a time when the agent had to use a GDS to do business. With the growth of online technology, dependency on the legacy GDS is not required. Agents can travel efficiently and effectively through emerging online technologies such as the CCRA portal. This is a real value to be able to break away from the GDS. Q: Are there new trends in the Vacation.com membership profile?
Q: What types of hotel sales programs are appealing to travel agents? Stephen: Agents tell us they prefer promotional offers they can to pass on to their clients such as a bonus or savings to their customer, demonstrating their ability to add value. However, the agents still appreciate bonuses for themselves, but also need upgrades, or dollars off the advertised price as a selling tool. Loyalty programs also help drive sales. Clients do ask the travel agent to utilize the programs they are enrolled in. If the person feels the rewards they are collecting have value, then they are motivated to consistently book with a certain brand. Hotel specialist programs are also a good selling tool. Travel agents can position themselves as chain specialist and market themselves even more broadly than solely as a destination specialist. Q: How can travel agents compete with online consumer travel sites?
Q: Any forecasts for 2007/2008 hot destinations? I can list the top five selling marketplaces for Vacation.com members:
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Q: What advantages should a supplier be offering to agents?
Stephen: Among our membership, there is a notable shift in the number of storefronts represented. Vacation.com once reportednearly 10,000 retail locations more than eight years ago. Now, following a continual consolidation in the entire retail travel industry, Vacation.com has about 5,100 locations. The decrease is not indicative of fewer sales, or fewer sellers of travel. What has happened is more sellers of travel work from home or have joined large host agencies, and they continue to sell effectively using online technologies. With the shift in selling structure, many more agents are selling under consolidated ARC and IATA numbers. 
Stephen: Consumer booking engines that sell hotel rooms turned those accommodations into commodities based on price and price alone. That model removes the aspect of add-on services and knowledge of experience that a travel professional can offer. The travel agent role is key to guaranteeing client satisfaction. I think hotels saw diminished return from providing discounted rates online and have created parity of pricing with lowest rate guarantees and sales through professional sellers of travel.
Europe is going gangbusters with European cruises selling well. Top
Travel Agent Buzz on CCRA |
CCRA Travel Agents continue to be impressed with CCRA and our CCRAtravel.com Hotel Booking portal. See for yourself the glowing impressions from our customers: "The ease of using CCRA is wonderful. Customer service has always handled my problems, walking me through everything. Further, receiving my commissions is far better than big name tour companies. CCRA is always there with ways to make my day easier." Nia Anderson
Carol Karp |
"I love the ease of your product and the pricing is better than other online booking sites."
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Hotel Specials and Discounts Boost Click-through Rates |
With the recent increase in destination-specific discounts in these eBlast specials, our click through rates have escalated to around the 10% unique-click-through rate. This not only has more than doubled our previous average of a few months ago, but it exceeds the industry average of around 5-6%. Our last three weekly eBlast Specials have generated unique click-through percentages of 10.3%, 8.35, and 12.2%. The significance of these percentages is that it shows that agents are clicking on these ads and looking to book. The eBlast Specials' HTML format enables us to see exactly which ads are being clicked on. The bottom line is that advertising of time sensitive discounts and individual property specials are attracting agents' attention. Members are reacting to our eBlast specials as a source of where to find special deals. |
Agents continue to click on our weekly eBlast specials at an increasing rate now more than ever. The increase in unique click-throughs can be traced to our increased emphasis on recommending that hotels to advertise a special or discount to the travel agents, instead of generally promoting their hotel brand. The fact is that agents have begun to look forward to our weekly eBlast as a way to get a head up on the competition. This, in turn, leads the agents to interact with our ads more through click-throughs, which, in turn, leads to more bookings for the hotels that advetise these specials. Top
CCRA Participates at Cruise3Sixty |
Cruise3Sixty is the premier event for Cruise Lines International Associations (CLIA) featuring innovative general sessions with the cruise industry executives, a dynamic business oriented trade show with one-on-one appointments, technology training and the best opportunity to network with other cruise selling professionals.
CCRA International's hotel booking experts demonstrated the power of the portal for pre and post cruise bookings. At our trade exhibit, CCRA International's sponsor, Carey International, volunteered $100 Gift Certificate prizes toward Carey chauffeured services. The winners of the contest were Linda Moreau of Admore Travel and Carol Karp of Karp Travel & Cruises.
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Provocative programming, gold standard educational opportunities and dazzling entertainment were just a handful of ingredients that ushered CLIA's cruise3sixty 2007 into a third consecutive year, with a record-breaking 2,000 delegates in attendance, including 1,250 travel agents, 300-plus trade show exhibiting companies and over 250 exhibitor booths. The trade show had its most successful year in terms of the number of exhibitors, especially destinations.
The extraordinary popularity of Cruise3Sixty 2007 has prompted CLIA to offer both East and West Coast conferences in 2008. If you are interested in sponsorship participation at the 2008 events, please contact Top
Home Based Travel Agent Show & Conference |
CCRA International participated in the Home Based Travel Agent Conference, April 12-14 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. CCRA successfully presented at the Supplier Technology Tools for Travel Agents forum on Thursday, April 12th. An impressive nationwide travel agent turnout was reported this year. Combined with universally high marks for the conference program, the training sessions were among the highlights of the Travel Niche Marketing Showplace. The three-day event, which included the much-acclaimed Home Based Travel Agent Show, drew 820 travel agents from forty-one states and Canada as well as several hundred blue-ribbon suppliers, both domestic and international.
The successful CCRA presentation in the Technology Forum helped make CCRA a must-see supplier at the trade show. CCRA drew over 150 agents stopping to talk one-on-one with our portal booking experts.
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250 agents registered to attend the Technology Forum, held the day prior to the official opening of the show. 
Special thanks to Carey International which sponsored the CCRA trade show exhibit by donating gift certificates for chauffeured services up to $100.
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Meet CCRA Team Member Rob Kunz |
* Favorite hotel ever stayed in: The Luxor, Las Vegas Marketing Opportunities | CCRAtravel.com | CCRAinternational.com | ReservationCenter.net |
