Travel agencies always try to sell their own holidays using their own brochures. The travel agent makes more money if they sell holidays from their own brochure, selling holidays from a different brochure means the money goes to the operator, so the travel agent is loosing out on money and business. Travel agents sell other organisations brochures and holidays because if they succeed in selling their holidays they get paid commission. In a travel agents retail store they store the brochures on racks right next to the entrance. This is for the customers so the customer has easy and quick access to the brochures.
Preferred operator policies.
Travel agents prefer to sell their own tour operators package deals and all their services because they receive a higher commission. When a customer enters the retail store the staff will try to show their own brochures first, if they do not succeed with their own brochures that’s when they introduce others, normally starting with the ones paying higher commission going down from there.
Trade Associations.
World Choice is a trade association. World Choice has travel agencies that find the best deals with holiday offers, destinations and prices. World Choice was founded in 1976 and now has over 600 travel agent members. It is the largest high street travel group in the UK with the success.
Advantage Travel Centres.
Advantage travel centres are nearly the same as Trade associations except that it’s for business use. It has been running for 25 years. It was made to set up to find corporate rates for business travel.
Competitive advantage
All retail travel organisations are competing against each other. This is because usually other organisations are selling the same product, so in order to be better they have to make their product look better. Organisations usually do deals and promotions to attract customers, for example ‘two full paying adults a child goes half price’ or offers like ‘book now save 30% on your holiday’. Giving discounts the customer’s eye as they see what their buying is cheaper as advertising something for free gets the customers attention as they see that their getting something for nothing. Thomas Cook offer a special deal that if a customer finds the same holiday elsewhere at a cheaper price they will match the difference or lower the price, they do this as they want there customer to see that they will do anything for their customers to make them happy and ensure that all their customers are satisfied this means customers will come back and customer loyalty will be on the increase.
Organisations usually give staff training. Customer service in a retail shop is a way to gain more business. Retail organisations want to have the best customer service and all set different standards. Having a good service for your customer is very important as it is the customer that is bringing the organisation money; therefore the organisation has to make sure the customer is totally satisfied. Some organisations train within the shop and others send their staff to be trained elsewhere. All organisations want the best service that’s why they train their staff to be competitive with their customer service skills.
Having sales incentives helps the organisation boost their staff’s enthusiasm to do their best. Incentives are great ways to get staff to achieve higher goals within the organisation. If you can make your staff work better then your business will do better.
Having a friendly atmosphere a customer can always sense. The retail environment is always the first thing someone can notice and always gives the first impressions and views. Having the best environment is important to any organisation as you want your shop/agency to look attractive and up to date. Having a wide range of products is always a good way to gain competitive advantage because if the organisation has got a product that another organisation hasn’t then obviously the customer is going to want to go where the right product is. Some retail organisations have bureau de change and others don’t, this is a good example because having this service gives you an advantage over other agencies.
The organisation try to have the best service for their customers so that the customer is satisfied and comes back again and again the customer then will also tell family and friends of the service which also start more business. This gives the organisation a better reputation and makes them look better than competing organisations. Organisations do this because it increases sales and they will make profit on the business that they do.
The front (customer service area) & back office (administration area).
The front is the customer service area. It is the most relaxing area of the shop, as it is where the customers choose their holidays. It is good for the customer to be in a relaxing environment as they will feel relaxed and be easier to talk with. In the front there are desks, chairs, leaflet, and posters all for the customer to see so he/she can ask questions when being served by staff. The back office files the customer’s information such as thief personal details, flight details and all other customer information that is private and confidential. It is the administration area; customer information is kept out the back for customer privacy. The back office is made for administrative purposes for example files, money, fax machines, photo copiers and other purposes.
The procedure & documentation for selling travel services.
- You have to read brochure booking conditions and the customer has to sign the booking form.
- A receipt is given for each payment, so you receive one for the deposit and all other payments.
- The client is advised and their details are checked over.
- Nationality of the traveller, so you can see if a visa is required etc and the passport he/she holds- visa requirements.
- Health and vaccinations- depending on where you go on holiday you may need a health check or vaccinations.
- Holiday insurance cover and E111
When customer payments are due.
When you book a holiday you have to start off by paying a first deposit to ensure that you have saved the holiday spaces. Then you have the outstanding balance. After the deposit has been paid clients then receive a receipt showing the date of when their last payment is due. Before receiving tickets for the holiday it has to be paid then the client will be contacted to collect their tickets.
The client file.
All files are private and confidential between the client and the staff, and details cannot be exchanged to any other organisations. Files are disposed of when they are finished with e.g. shredded.
Brochure handling; storage and display.
The brochures are stored out of the customer’s way so it looks tidy and you can select the brochures you put on display. All brochures on display have to be up to date, if they are on display and out of date it would be misleading the customer and be against the trade description act. The organisation usually have details with selected brochures so they will put their brochures at eye level, as it would be the first place the customer would look.
Merchandising and displays.
Flights are being promoted in the window. It is a board showing what flights are going from London and the cost of the flights. In the window the foreign exchange is also being promoted with best rates. It shows the buy and sale rates so the customer can see what they are getting for their pounds. With the chart being on display in the window it is easier for the customer to see and then they can decide about the rates etc. late deal are also on show, late deals on European flights with cheap prices showing, it looks more attractive with the low prices high lighted and it is a good way to get customer attention. It has little signs in the window with information about different holiday destinations, prices, hotels and airports. Basically it is an information sign advertising holidays in the months coming for cheap prices. There are advertisements on the left side of the window they are split up into three categories, villas& cruises, worldwide and long weekends going to Paris, London or theatre breaks.
Preferred operators.
Certain tour operators incorporate their business with other agencies so they usually go with that operator but others pay higher commission so usually travel agencies prefer to go with the one that has the best rates. Some shops have their own operator so they stay with their own company.
Sales targets.
All travel agencies have a sales target for the day, week, month and year. They make targets so they try to reach them and not loose put on sales. Be setting a target the agency knows how much it’s got to get to break even or more for the week etc.
ABTA.
ABTA gives financial protection to all its customers, so if the travel agency is registered to ABTA they won’t have to worry about their customers if the agency goes bankrupt.
Commission rates & incentives
In an agency you get commission on nearly everything you sell. Different tour operators give different rates of commission. You can get commission on holidays, insurance, flights, city breaks and so much more. Giving commission will make staff want to sell the operator’s holidays more.
Agency Agreements.
Business done by travel agents is controlled by agency agreements. An agency agreement between a travel agents and a tour operator has a number of aspects such as:
- Training offered by the tour operator (this could lead to promotions and better services).
- An agreement with pay of commission and how the payment is made to the agent.
- Brochure racking procedures for sales. (Responsibility of the agent to help the tour operator by displaying their brochures).
- Accounting procedures. (Deposits being made and balances).
- Refunds policy or cancellation (for some reason the holiday could be changed or cancelled, the tour operator and travel agent must have an agreement about how it is done e.g. refund or exchange etc).
- Procedures for issuing tickets, vouchers and other travel documentation.
- Handling of complaints made to the agent about the operators products
Contract Law.
Not all contracts have to be in writing but if a contract is made there are many rules that you have to follow in order for the contract to be put in place legally. For the contract to be made fairly each party must agree to give something to the other party that is at great use to them and has a good value to them, for example if a customer decides to go on holiday after they have signed the booking form agreements they have built a contract between themselves and the tour operator, the travel agent is just there to make sure things run properly and go according to plan. In a contract there must be at least two parties for the contract to be built and it must have been intended to be legally binding.
Fair Trading Charters.
This is actually the fair trading act. It is rules for organisation so they can’t give customers unfair and wrong conditions and policies, which are unfair trading. A good example of this is if a customer went on holiday and they had a complaint to make, the tour operator could say that you can only make a complaint while you are on the holiday and within 10hours of the incident or within 24 hours that you have come back from the holiday. Having fair trading charters stops this so that customers have more time and don’t have unreasonable terms and conditions.
Trade Description Act.
The Trade Description Act protects the customers from receiving untrue or false descriptions made by the organisation giving their services or selling something to a customer. The act has a rule that a description of a product has to be exactly what it is said to be at the time that it is written and if something changes after it has written the organisation must ensure that they tell their customer of the changes ASAP or this could be against the Description Act and cause legal problems. For example if a brochure states that a resort hotel is very quiet and never has any outside noise but really the resort is right next to an airport, the is a false description as the hotel will be getting noise pollution from the airport frequently.
Unfair Contract Terms.
This allows customers to challenge terms in contracts which they feel is unfair and against them. This law was put in place to control clauses that seek to exclude or limit liability for breaches of contractual or wrongful liabilities. This means that organisations are not allowed to exclude liability for death or injuries. So that the organisation can give themselves some kind of protection against that they take out liability insurance in the event that one of their clients may get injured on their holiday.
Packaged Travel Regulations.
This regulation is to give more protection for customers that are buying package holidays. It also gives them more protection to receive compensation when something has happened. The terms of the package travel regulations state that tour organisers must accept legal responsibility for all services they offer to the travellers.
Trade Associations Regulations.
The reason for having trade association regulations is to enable member companies to trade freely with the minimum of doubt and to work within the contractual obligations towards one another.
Code of Conduct.
A code of conduct is a list of rules that the organisation should do to ensure they can give the best service possible and keep employees in line. Employees must follow this code of conduct in order to excel not only in customer service but to achieve a sense of job satisfaction.
The aim of the code of conduct is:
- To ensure that the public receive the best possible service from its members.
- Maintain and enhance the reputation standing and good name of the association and its members.
- To ensure that the members are familiar with the code of conduct.
