TASK THREE

Retail Travel Operations

1

Name: Rame Nasser

Task Three

Describe the working practices of retail operations. This should include; office layout procedures and documentation for sales, payment timetable, client file, brochure handling, merchandising and displays, preferred operators, sales targets, ABTA, incentive commission and commission rates.

Working practices and legislation

Agency agreements: Travel agents work on behalf of principals or tour operators. If both travel agent and tour operator are ABTA members they will be bound by the ABTA code of conduct. The legal relationship between the tour operator and the travel agent is based on agency law. An agency agreement will lay out the terms and conditions of the contract, including commissions. If a travel agent stock a tour operator’s brochure and sells from it, there is an implied contract between them, even if there is no written agreement. The travel agent does not have a contract with the customer; the customer has a contract with the principal or tour operator. ABTA provides a model contract for its members to use with their suppliers.

2

Name: Rame Nasser

Task Three

The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 : These regulations impact on retail travel agents as they corer not only the organisation of package holidays but also the selling of them. Travel agents need to understand and adhere to these regulations when they sell, and also when they tailor-make package for clients. As the regulations are aimed primary at tour operators, they are discussed in detail in unit 11.

Contract law: when customer books a holiday with a travel agent he or she enters into a legally binding contract with a tour operator offering the holiday. Travel agents ask the customer to read and accept the tour operator's booking conditions before booking , but do not enter into a contract with the customer themselves. They may ask the client to sign a document allowing the travel agent to act on his or her behalf.

Fair Trading Charters: These charters usually apply to tour operators, who include them in their brochures. They amount to a plain English interpretation of the package Travel Regulations.

Trade Descriptions Act 1968: Descriptions given must be truthful and accurate. This primarily affects tour operators as -

3

Name: Rame Nasser

Task Three

They have to be careful that brochure descriptions adhere to the act. How ever, it affects a travel agent too, as any agent making a false verbal statement will be liable under the Trade Descriptions Act.

Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982: the section of this act which is important is the one relating to a contract being carried out using reasonable care and skills. Travel agents have to ensure that they carry out the booking correctly.

Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999: if customers think that any contractual term is unfair or unreasonable, they have right to challenge it. The terms of the contract should be written in clear, understanding language. The office of Fair Trading (OFT) has written guidelines on the interpretation of this act. The guidelines are aimed primarily tour operators rather than travel than travel agents as they enter into the contract with the Customer, but the travel agent might have to liaise with the tour operator on Customers behalf a situation where a contract is challenge by the customer. In 2003 the office of fair Trading held an investigation into travel websites. It found that almost half of the websites surveyed were in potential breach of consumer legislation because they contained Claims that public might find misleading. Most examples were places advertised that

4

Name: Rame Nasser

Task Three

Were not really available. The investigators found more than 100 potential breaches under the E-commerce, unfair terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations, Package Travel companies that break such rules are pursued by local Trading Standards Offices or by the OFT.

ABTA Code of Conduct: all members of ABTA, travel agents and tour operators alike, agree to abide by ABTA’s code of conduct. The code is available on the ABTA website. Below is an extract, including elements of the code relevant to consumers and travel agents.

Advertising: ABTA members must not mislead you with their advertising and must include all compulsory charges in their prices e.g. UK Air passenger Duty (Code 1.3).

Booking Procedures: when you book with an ABTA member they must give you accurate information to help you choose the travel agent arrangements that are right for you (Code 1.1).

ABTA members must follow all the necessary legal requirements such as the ATOL Regulations and must make you aware of the terms and conditions that apply (code 1.4).

ABTA members must also give you guidance about any health requirements and the passport and visa requirements for

5

Name: Rame Nasser

Task Three

Your travel arrangements (code1.6). If you have any special requests concerning a

disability or other medical condition ABTA Members must ensure that these are dealt with property and confidentially (code 1.4 (iii) ). ABTA members must also give you information about travel insurance (code1.7).

Before completing a booking, ABTA Members must tell you if the Foreign and Commonwealth office has issued advice about destination (code 1.6 (iii) ).

Once the booking is made: ABTA Members must notify you as soon as possible if it

is necessary to change or cancel your travel arrangements. An ABTA Member cannot cancel your booking after the date for payment of the full price unless it is necessary to do so for reasons outside its control. If this happens, the ABTA Member must offer you the choice of having all your money back or choosing alternative travel arrangements (code 2.1 & 2.2).

If an ABTA Members makes a significant change to your travel arrangements they must offer you the choice of your accepting the changed travel arrangements or having all your money back (Code 2.2).

6

Name: Rame Nasser

Task three

If an ABTA Member does cancel your booking or makes a significant change to the travel arrangements after the date for payment of the full price they must offer you compensation unless the reason for the cancellation or change was outside of their control (Code 2.1 & 2.2).

Complaints: If you have a complaint about your travel arrangements

you should write to the ABTA Member concerned. They must provide you with a full reply within 28 days. If you remain dissatisfied you should write again pointing out the areas of dispute. Again the ABTA Member must respond within 28 days (see ‘complaining’) (code 3.1).

If you fail to reach a satisfactory position with the ABTA Member you can have the matter resolved through the ABTA Arbitration Scheme (see ‘independent Arbitration’) (Code 3.4).

Procedures and documentation for selling travel servicesWe will go through an example of a customer making to

show what that travel agent would do at each stage. The customer approaches the travel agent and is invited

to sit down. The travel agent has a computer screen in front of her with the Travel Cat system, for example. The customer wants

7

Name: Rame Nasser

Task Three

To look for a late-availability cruise.There are the steps the travel agent will follow: 1. Make notes on the customer’s requirements. 2. Enter details into the system and check availability. 3. Tell the customer what is available. 4. Give the customer information about the resort

visited, ship, etc. 5. The customer choose a cruise.6. The agent confirms all the details with the customer

and completes the booking form provided by the tour operator. The customer signs it. This form can be downloaded from the computer or may be in a brochure. The agent also enters all the booking details into the CRS. This computer file is unique to that customer and can be updated and altered if necessary.

7. The agent will also complete a booking authorisation form and gives it permission to make a booking on behalf of the customer.

8. As the booking is for a late availability cruise, the customer must pay in full. The agent takes the payment and enters the details of the payment into the system. Payment could be made by cash, cheque or credit card. The customer is given a receipt which has been printed.

Task Three

9. The agent must ensure that the customer has insurance. This is sales opportunity and she might sell the company’s insurance and earn more commission. However the cruise customer says she has her own insurance. This is a sales opportunities and she might sell the company’s insurance and earn more commission. However, the cruise customer says she has her own insurance.

10. The agent generates an insurance indemnity form from the computer. This means that the customer promises not to sue the travel agent if costs through lack of insurance.

11. The target is already thinking about this customer’s needs and any add-on sales that can be made. She suggests that the customer buys US dollars for the cruise. Theses are ordered and the details entered into the system.

12. When the customer leaves, the agent makes a file of copies of all the paperwork completed and files it manually. The agency provides an envelope for this, printed with checklist so that she doesn’t forget any details.

13. In the post five days later, the tickets arrive. The agent generates a standard letter from the computer to inform the customer. Then, as this is a late booking, she also telephone the customer to ask her to collect her confirmation and tickets. The agent updates her computer system nothing what has done.

Task Three

14. The customer collects the tickets and agent notice this on the computer system. When the customer comes back from holiday she will be sent a ‘welcome-home’ letter to remind her of the expert travel agent who sent her on the holiday.

15. At the end of each day a banking print can be generated from the computer. This will state all the transactions that have been carried out and should be reconciled against cash, cheques and card payments. A daily sales summary can also be printed.

Payment time table: in the example above, the customer paid immediately as she was leaving on holiday very soon. The usual procedures is for the customer to pay a set deposit on booking and pay the balance eight weeks before departure. The travel agent then makes payment to the supplier, minus their agreed commission. Any customers who fail to pay will lose their deposit as a cancellation charge. If cancellation is for a valid, insured reason, the insurance company will refund the deposit or cancellation charge.

Client file: Customer files are duplicated – they are kept on computer and in a paper file. The best way to keep the paper files is in order of departure date; that way, it becomes obvious if someone has not collected tickets!

Once client s have returned from holiday the files still be kept. The client could make a complaint and then the files would be needed. A complaint could be made up to three years after a problem occurred.

Task Three

Brochure handling and preferred operators: day to day, the agent must make sure that there are enough brochure on display and order them (usually from a central supplier) as needed. Preferred operators are those who work closely with the agency, perhaps providing staff training posters and better commissions. Their brochures will be more prominently displayed.

Merchandising and displays: it is important that the agency looks good and that the window display appeals to passers by. Late deals are a common merchandising tool to attract people and these are often displayed on card in the window. Posters are easily obtained and often displayed on cards in the window. Posters are easily obtained and often used to advertise destinations. It is part of the job of the travel agent to arrange attractive window displays.

Sales targets: An agency has its sales target set by head office or by its owner if it is a small business. The target is subdivided between the staff. It isn’t divided equally; more experienced staff are expected to sell more than juniors, and part times naturally have smaller targets. In many agencies, staff are paid a bonus when they reach their target. This bonus is separate from the commission earned.

Task Three

Commissions: commission is paid monthly and it depends on bookings made. The commission differs with each product or company- higher commissions are paid on own-branded products. Airline commissions can be as much as 9% for example Emirates, or zero, for example low-cost airlines. some travel suppliers operate a tired system where agents are categorised. Top agents-those who do a lot of business for the supplier-can earn high commission. For example, Virgin Airlines pays 7% on economy sales, 5% on premium economy and 4% on upper class to top-tiered agents. Other categories of agents earn 3% to 4% on sales. Some retail travel agents, for example travelcare, do not pay commissions to staff to sell or promote one supplier rather than another. they say such a practice is not in the customer’s interest.

Office layout:

Name: Rame Nasser

12

Task Three

Name: Rame Nasser

13