New Tech Tools From a Surprising Source
by Michele McDonaldSome new technology tools aimed at boosting travel agency revenues are coming from outside the usual circle of providers who cater to travel management companies.
They’re being introduced by entrepreneurial start-up companies that, at first glance, might look like they are catering to the leisure market. But a closer look reveals opportunities for the business travel market as well.
Products that play with the hotel distribution channel are a case in point.
The channel “looks like spaghetti,” said Chris Dane, president of Hickory Global Partners. “We want to make it a pasta meal.”
Partnership deals
Hickory is looking at new technology deployments to boost agents’ attachment rates, the percentage of PNRs that include a hotel sale.
“We’re trying to do technology deals that bring things together,” Dane said.
Hickory’s partnership deals with two technology start-ups provide two pieces of the puzzle.
TripBAM repeatedly searches refundable hotel rates among a defined cluster of hotels up to the day before check-in. It can save a traveler—or the traveler’s company—a significant chunk of change.
Meta search sites can find the lowest rate at the time of the search, Dane said, “but that doesn’t mean you’ll get the lowest rate when you go to stay there. TripBAM does a lot to help agents’ attachment rates.”
The merchant model
Roomer, which provides an online marketplace where travelers can sell non-refundable hotel reservations, addresses the merchant model.
Using Roomer can “give a traveler a reason to come back to the agency,” Dane said.
He cited a scenario all too familiar to many TMCs.
“Law firms like to do their own hotel deals and make their own bookings,” he said. Then, when they can’t use a non-refundable reservation, they call their TMC and ask them to fix the problem.
No guarantees
With Roomer, while there’s no guarantee the traveler will be able to sell the booking, “at least you have an opportunity, whereas you had no option before,” Dane said.
There are just “a handful of people” who fully understand how these new tools can benefit their agencies, he added.
“The hardest part is getting people to grasp what the model is and how to work it into their work process. That’s been the hardest part – integrating it into the work flow.”
But, “those who get it and embrace it can see how it will add more value,” he said.
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