Travelport Rolls Out Third Merchandising Component

Travelport is rolling out its long-anticipated Rich Content and Branding merchandising solution in a new release of Travelport Smartpoint, its travel agency desktop technology that liberates agents from having to use a particular set of GDS cryptic commands.

The new version will be introduced to travel agencies around the world over the next few weeks.
 
Travelport said Rich Content and Branding, the third component of its merchandising platform, will give agents access to rich visual imagery and more detailed product information from participating airlines.

It matches the content and brand experience on the airline’s own website and makes the comparison and selling of airlines’ products and services easier and more effective.

Agents will have a better understanding of airlines’ offerings, such as what is included in the price and what upgrades and ancillary products and services are available.

More than 70 carriers have signed up for the solution.

Additional benefits
Other key benefits of the latest Travelport Smartpoint version include improved navigation, graphical mapping, and interactive screens to make selling additional services including hotel rooms and car rentals faster.

Airlines will be able to market ancillary services such as preferred seats, checked bags and lounge access at prices adjusted for passengers’ loyalty plan status, thereby providing agents with new upsell and cross-sell opportunities.

The new version of Smartpoint continues to enable agents to shop and book full-service and low-cost airlines side by side within the existing workflow.

It also offers a virtual account number payment solution, a secure payment solution provided by eNett and integrated directly into the desktop environment.

Other components
Travelport first unveiled its Merchandising Platform in April 2013.

The first two components were Travelport Aggregated Shopping and Travelport Ancillary Services.

Aggregated Shopping consolidates shopping results from traditional carriers that connect through ATPCO with those from other no-frills carriers that link with Travelport via an API connection.

The technology negates the need to shop and compare across several screens and allows agents to compare efficiently in the same booking flow.

Travelport Ancillary Services allows agents to sell airline ancillaries such as pre-allocated seating, meals and bags within their existing workflow rather than by booking on an airline website.