Retail Travel Operations

Independents An independent agent is usually family owned, they have been in the business for a long time and have years of experience and built up a lot of knowledge. They usually only have 1/2 branches and have a loyal customer base in their local area. Also they are independently owned. They are usually found in the back streets rather than on the high street or in shopping centres. An example of an independent agent is fails worth travel.
The role of an independent travel agent is to sell holidays; they give advice on destinations and provide excellent customer service to their customers in hope of building up repeat customers. Independent agents offer a range of products and services such as tailor made holidays and charter flights. A tailor made holiday is a package suited to the needs of a particular customer. The joy of a tailor-made itinerary is that your holiday is designed around your requirements and you are not restricted to the set itinerary of a group departure.
Dynamic packaging is when travellers use the internet to research their holidays and make their own travel arrangements direct with airlines, hotels, and car companies A charter flight is a private flight scheduled to meet the needs of specific passengers or organisations. Some flights leave at regular intervals with tickets being purchased up to the day of departure by the general public, where as charter flights are arranged by request.

They can be used for a variety of purposes for example flighing time and moving passengers, the price for this service is usually higher than using a traditional passenger or cargo airline The products and services are made available to agents due to who they are linked with. Independents build links with accommodation providers so they can book rooms for their customers, they will have negotiates rates with accommodation providers especially if the agent does a lot of booking. An example of an accommodation provider is Ramada. Multiples
A multiple travel agent has more than 100 branches they are usually integrated horizontally or vertically. They have household names which are well known for example Thomas cook and they also have a good reputation. An example of a multiple travel agents is Thomas cook. Multiple agents offer a range of products and services such as traditional package holidays and ancillary sales. An ancillary sale is a service that tour operators and travel agents offer, for example rental cars, travel insurance, transport to accommodation and so forth. Package holidays are organised by a tour operator and sold to a constumer by a travel agent.
Some travel agents are employees of tour operators, others are independent. A package holiday includes Charter Flight, Accommodation, Meals and Transfers between your destination airport and your holiday accommodation. These products and services are made available due to who they are linked with. Multiple agents is linked with ancillary providers because they can hire cars for them, they add on extras to their holiday, they do this to make more money. they don’t just sell holidays in travel agents they also sell holidays on: the TV, internet etc.
With this they are open to a lot of different customers E-agents An e agent is a online travel agent, you can book online as well as through call centres or shops, they are also cheaper because there are not many staff, with e agents you can book online at any time. An example of an e agent is Expedia. A role of an e agent is to find a holiday that is right for the customer. They allow customers to sort out their travel packages. e-agent offers a range of products and services such as traditional package holidays and shedualed flights.
Scheduled flights fly on strict timetable this is usually beneficial for business people. e agent is linked with accomodation becuase the online travel agents can book a hotel for the customer. Home workers Home workers are people who can work from home instead of going out because some people might have children so they are unable to go out and work. Home workers can book holidays from home. The tour operator would come and install a computer, a credit card machine and a phone line in your home. The people might be working full time or part time.
An example of a home working travel agent is future travel. A role of a home based travel agent is to sell flight tickets; they also get to form a direct relationship with the person whose holiday they are booking. Call centres A call centre is a place which you can ring up and they put u through to a tour operator. Many of them are tour operators and flight agents, however some are operated by travel agents for example STA. The role of a call centre is to make or take telephone calls on behalf of an organisation in order to fulfil customer requirements. hey sell their products over the phone, they have to reach their aim of the amount of sales they make per day. Holiday hypermarkets A holiday hypermarket is a large retail travel agency, they have staff that specialise in particular holiday types. They are usually in large shopping centres where there are a lot of people passing by. They have lots of promotions, but are expected to hit high street sales targets. An example of a holiday hypermarket is First Choice. The role of a holiday hypermarket is to find the best price holidays for customers.
They have a holiday comparison tool so can find a wide range of holidays to suit your particular interests and budget. They try to provide more entertainment for their customers than smaller agencies,they now have stores in supermarket for example travel choice. Muniples A maniple might have more than 5/6 branches one of them are in (North West). They don’t have as many branches as multiples but more than independent. An example of a maniple travel agent is Premier Travel A muniples role is to offer a personal touch by being able to give independent advice on holiday choices.
They also give good customer service, this will lead to repeat business. Consortia Consortia is a group of travel agents who come together and form a larger group e. g. global travel group they have more buying power and get better discounts. An example of a consortia travel agent is Freedom Travel. A consortium is an organisation of independent travel agency members, they try to combine their selling power to grow their businesses and achieve more profits. Accommodation-Generally, package holidays include either hotel or apartment/studio accommodation.
Some hotels and apartments are specific to one particular tour operator, but many are available through more than one and prices can vary significantly between them. The role of a tour operator is to put together all the different components that make contracts with hoteliers, airlines and other trasport companies to put the package together. all the holiday details are incorporates into a brochure which is reor di either to travel to agents or directly to customers. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Package_tour http://www. holidaybargains. org/unc_package. htm http://www. insights. org. uk/articleitem. aspx? title=Travel+Agents