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Ticketing and ReservationsBook and Coordinate Supplier ServiceT-TT-TARO-03Trainee ManualMarch 2008

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BOOK AND COORDINATE SUPPLIER SERVICES

T-TT-TARO-03

Project Base

William Angliss Institute of TAFE555 La Trobe StreetMelbourne 3000 VictoriaTelephone: (03) 9606 2111Facsimile: (03) 9670 1330

© William Angliss Institute of TAFE 2007All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, repackaged, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means whatsoever without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

This booklet was produced by William Angliss Institute of TAFE to be used as resource material. Disclaimer: Every effort has been made sure that this booklet is free from error or omissions. However, you should conduct your own enquiries and seek professional advice before relying on any fact, statement or matter contained in this book. William Angliss Institute of TAFE is not responsible for any injury, loss or damage as a result of material included or omitted from this course. Information in this module is current at the time of publication. The time of publication is indicated in the date stamp at the bottom of each page.

William Angliss Institute of TAFEDelivering training solutions to industry for over 60 years, William Angliss Institute of TAFE is the Specialist Centre for Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts. Situated in the heart of Melbourne, it is the largest Government specialist TAFE institute in the nation. Each year over 13,000 Australian and more than 1,000 international students study at the Institute.

William Angliss Institute has received many prestigious awards including the Victorian Training Provider of the Year. These awards highlight the Institute’s leadership position and reputation as first choice in the hospitality, tourism and food industries, and its commitment to quality training based on graduate outcomes and employer satisfaction.

Courses are conducted in a modern environment, in purpose-built training rooms are designed to accommodate the person entering the workforce, the employee, manager or enthusiast.

The Institute is pro-active in the development and expansion of strong industry relationships with key employers in order to design, develop and manage both customised and non-accredited training courses.

The Institute has various courses available in:

Travel and Tourism

Hospitality

Culinary Studies

Food Technology

Baking, Pastry cooking, Bread making and patisserie

Butchery

Wine Appreciation

Responsible Service of Alcohol

Responsible Service of Gaming

Curriculum Development, Research and Development, Consultancy Services, Multimedia Technology and Industry-based training are also available.

Credits are available at many Australian Universities including Melbourne, RMIT, Monash, La Trobe, Victoria University, Western Sydney, Griffith and Central Queensland.

For further information:Phone: (03) 9606 2111Fax: (03) 9670 0594http://www.angliss.vic.edu.au

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Table of Contents

William Angliss Institute of TAFE i

Your Vocational Training: “What’s it all about?” 3

Competency Standard 5

Element 1: Administer customer file & identify booking requirements 7

Element 2: Request services 27

Element 3: Record request and confirmation 31

Element 4: Update and finalise bookings 45

Appendix A: AFTA Code of Ethics 50

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Your Vocational Training: “What’s it all about?”Today vocational training can be delivered in a variety of ways. It may be provided to you:

On-the-job;

Off-the-job – at a TAFE Institute or at a private provider (also known as a Registered Training Organisation); or

As a combination of these two options.

No longer is it necessary for you to be absent from the workplace for long periods of time in order to obtain recognised and accredited qualifications.

Some vocational training may also be delivered as part of secondary school education as part of Vocational Education and Training.

These changes have benefits to both trainees and employers but in order for the certificates that are issued to be well regarded by employers, rigorous assessment is essential.

Most trainees will participate in workplace assessment, meaning on-the-job assessment. This style of assessment is vastly different to traditional assessment.

The following examples may be used:

direct observation of practical demonstrations

review of duties/tasks performed

project work and case studies

verbal or written questioning and/or explanations

evaluation of practical work and actual samples produced

evaluation of presentation notes and supporting materials prepared by the candidate

evaluation of printed materials prepared by the candidate

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evaluation of plans, reports, campaigns and activities undertaken by the candidate

role-plays to observe performance in nominated situations

review of portfolios of evidence and third party workplace reports of on-the-job performance by the candidate.

There is a distinct requirement for trainees to demonstrate competency and there are many & diverse sources of ‘evidence’ available to the assessor - evidence is simply proof that the assessor gathers to show you can actually do what you are required to do.

On-going performance at work, as verified by your supervisor or physical evidence, can count towards your assessment; or, additionally, the assessor can talk to customers, patrons, guests or work colleagues to gather evidence about your performance.

Central to on-the-job training is that the rigour of traditional training is maintained in the workplace through continual, practical assessment that has integrity and credibility by virtue of its sound and thorough nature.

To this end, your unit notes feature Assessment Items throughout. These are activities that you are required to undertake to prove your competency in this unit – all Assessment Items must be completed satisfactorily for you to obtain competence in this unit: there are no exceptions to this requirement however it is possible that in some cases several Assessment Items may be combined and assessed together.

PLEASE NOTE: In addition, you must attempt all Training Activities and it is strongly recommended that, in addition, you also complete the Pre-Assessment Checklist that precedes every Assessment Item in order to indicate your readiness for assessment - simply tick the boxes and enter the date.

Your workplace assessor will arrange appropriate times to conduct these assessments, notify you of your results, and record your progress towards attainment of your Certificate.

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For this unit, the following is required by the accredited curriculum documentation:

Critical aspects of assessmentEvidence of the following is critical:

integrated demonstration of all elements of competence and their performance criteria

knowledge of simple work processing functions

knowledge of standard document layout

knowledge of simple document design principles

knowledge of organisational requirement for simple wordprocessed documents.

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Context of assessment and resource implicationsAssessment must ensure:

competency is demonstrated by performance of all stated criteria, including paying particular attention to the critical aspects and the knowledge and skills elaborated in the Evidence Guide, and within the scope as defined by the Range Statement

assessment of performance requirements in this unit should be undertaken in an actual workplace or simulated environment

the candidate has access to appropriate documentation and resources normally used in the workplace

in order to achieve consistency of performance, evidence is collected over a set period of time which is sufficient to include dealings with an appropriate range and variety of situations.

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Competency StandardT-TT-TARO-03: Book and coordinate supplier services

Unit DescriptorThis unit deals with the skills and knowledge required to make and administer bookings for tourism or hospitality products and services. It describes the co ordination of bookings with suppliers, normally a business to business supply. This unit does not cover the skills required to receive and process an incoming reservation within a supplier/principal organisation (refer to THTSOP06B Receive and process reservations).

Element 1: Administer customer file and identify booking requirements

Performance Criteria

1.1 Interpret existing or create new records of the customer’s booking requirements.

1.2 Prepare and issue documents and other materials to the customer.

1.3 Update the financial status of the customer’s records accurately and in accordance with enterprise procedures.

1.4 Identify all supplier services to be booked according to the customer’s requirements and requests.

1.5 Identify details of specific products and services which have been sold and confirmed to the customer.

1.6 Where no specific product or service has been confirmed to the customer, select appropriate suppliers to ensure customer needs are met and according to prices quoted to the customer.

1.7 Select suppliers according to any pre-determined enterprise negotiated arrangements.

Element 2: Request services


2.1 Request products and services from suppliers using the appropriate method and in accordance with enterprise procedures.

2.2 Provide full details of the required booking to ensure the customer receives the correct product or service including:

customer detailsdate, time and location of commence-ment and conclusion of serviceany pre negotiated costs and payment detailsnature of service to be providedspecial request or requirements.

2.3 Request return confirmation of all details of the booking from the supplier.

2.4 Make requests for multiple services in the most practical order.

2.5 Seek and request alternatives if requested bookings are not available and identify and action flow-on impacts making adjustments to other bookings as required.

Element 3: Record request and Confirmation


3.1 Keep accurate records of all bookings made, including request and confirmation, and file in accordance with enterprise procedures.

3.2 Monitor files to ensure that all confirmations have been received and chase any outstanding confirmations.

3.3 Note and schedule future action to be taken in relation to bookings in accordance with system and/or enterprise procedures.

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Element 4: Update and finalise Bookings


4.1 Make any necessary amendments/adjustments to bookings and accurately record these in accordance with enterprise procedures.

4.2 Action any payment required by the supplier at the appropriate time in accordance with enterprise procedures.

4.3 Provide suppliers with any changes to the bookings in accordance with agreed procedures and any contractual arrangements.

4.4 Advise suppliers of final customer details and requirements in accordance with the needs of particular bookings and enterprise procedures.

Essential Knowledge and Skills to be AssessedThe following knowledge and skills must be assessed as part of this unit:

booking systems and procedures as appropriate to the specific industry sector

product knowledge as appropriate to specific industry sector

principles that underpin reservations and booking procedures

relationships between different sectors of the tourism industry in relation to reservations and bookings.

negotiated costs, contractual arrangements preferred supplier arrangements in place

interpretation of the customer’s requirements

interpretation of any quotations previously supplied to customer

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Element 1: Administer customer file & identify booking requirements1.1 Interpret existing or create new records of the customer’s booking requirements.To interpret existing or in fact create new records of customers travel requirements you must first of all have an understanding of how the travel industry works.

The Travel Industry NetworkOnce you have started your new travel job you will see that there are a number of businesses and organisation that make contact with each other-sometimes there are several links in the chain and sometimes the link is direct.

These linking mechanisms are called the industry distribution network or systems.

The position of your business in this network will directly impact on your day-to-day work.

It will dictate:

Who your customers are

Who else in the industry you liaise with

The type of bookings you deal with

The information you need to know

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Here are some examples:

1. Mrs. Collins lives in Sydney. She phones Day Tours of Sydney direct to book the ‘Spectacular Sights of Sydney City’ day tour for herself and her partner from Sydney.

2. Mr. Greg lives in Sydney. He visits the Sydney Visitors Center to find out about day tours options in the city and booked and paid for ‘Spectacular Sights of Sydney City’ at the Visitors Center.

3. Mrs. Brown lives in Brisbane. He booked a Qantas Holidays package to Sydney through his local travel agency. The ‘Spectacular Sights of Sydney City” tour is part of his package with Qantas Holidays.

4. Mr. Jordan lives in Texas USA. He booked his whole Australia holidays through his local travel agent who booked out of the ‘Come on down to the Down under’ brochure. Come on down to the Down under develops its packages from the products offered by Australian inbound tour operator Select Tours.

Select Tours deals with Sydney City day tours.

Let’s hope that Mrs. Collins, Mr. Greg, Mrs. Brown and Mr. Jordan all have a good time on the ‘Spectacular Sights of Sydney City’ tour!

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Why does it work like this?

Can you think of any benefits that come from having such a comprehensive industry distribution network? Here are some ideas:

It’s not practical for Mr. Jordan in Texas USA to make his booking direct with Australian suppliers - where would he get all his information and imagine the communication costs.

For a travel agent, it is very time consuming to organise everything direct -especially when every customer’s needs are different. Tour wholesalers and tour operators provide a whole range of services to make things simpler -promote the product encouraging booking at travel agents, produce brochures and information, coordinate bookings and supply documentation.

Tour wholesalers can develop programs and promote them to all travel agents - volume of sales allows them to negotiate special rates, which makes packages more affordable.

From a supplier perspective, it is impossible for most individual hotels or tour operators to promote in all markets. Local information centers, tour operators, wholesalers and inbound tour operators become additional marketing sources for the supplier. They reach the customers the supplier cannot afford to reach direct.

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Trainee Activity 1 – Practical

Note: it is a requirement of this unit that you attempt this Training Activity

A customer could phone The Grace Hotel direct to book some accommodation.

In your own words describe three different ways this may be booked using the industry distribution network.

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1.2 Prepare & issue documents & other materials to the customerTo assist the customer, preparation of specific documents are issued at certain stages of the booking. These are the documents as follows:

Letter with brochure request

Confirmation letter

Flight Itinerary

Invoice

Final Itinerary

Itinerary updates

General business letters

Credit notes

Receipts

Information packs

Welcome home letters

Coach/Rail tickets

Airline tickets domestic and international

Insurance policies

Car/ Hotel Vouchers

Knowledge of some basic principles of letter writing is advisable.

Refer to Perform office procedures THHGGA02B

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1.3 Up date the financial status of the customers records. Customer’s records can and will be changed many times before the client final departs and it is important that at each change the client’s records are correctly and accurately updated. These changes will be done either

Manually

Electronically

And may include:

Receiving, processing and recording payments

Generating and issuing invoices and credit notes for charged arrangements

Checking that the customer has paid in full

Knowledge and skills in balancing customer’s financial records is a vital part of working in retail travel agencies. Close attention to detail on all recorded transactions will result in correct updates and changes at all times.

Refer also to Process financial transactions THTGFA01B

1.4 Identify all supplier services to be booked according to the customers requirements and requestsWhen a customer comes in to book a holiday, you must identify the services:

Domestic

International

Mixture of both

The suppliers as either

Internal

External to the organisation

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This will assist you in narrowing down destinations if the customer is requiring assistance in the planning process. It is your job to offer the products that will satisfy your customer’s needs. In many cases this will involve offering products and services they have not considered. By pre-paying most of the holiday components, benefits are realised by both the customer and the agency.

1.5 Identify details of specific products & services which have been sold and confirmed to the customer In other words, you need to ensure that all parties involved in a booking have a detailed record of what has been organised on behalf of the client. There are a few ways to do this, which we will look at now.

Maintaining records for the agent:You need to make precise records for yourself (the agent) and other colleagues in your office. This can be done many different ways. Some offices still maintain cardboard file cards (also referred to as “booking files”). There are some blank ones contained in this workbook for you to refer to. These files need to be NEATLY and COMPLETELY filled out. There are spaces to record details such as the full name of the product that has been sold, the in and out dates, how you booked the product/service, who you spoke to when making the booking, and the confirmation number. You must ensure all of these details are on the card. If something goes awry you then have a detailed record to refer back to.

Corresponding to the file card, you will usually need to maintain a folder containing all the relevant hardcopy, documents from the suppliers

Some agencies do not maintain manual file cards, and instead rely on using their computerised client account systems to do so. There is space within these systems to set up electronic records of client’s individual trips.

This is a brilliant tool, that if well maintained, provides an invaluable historical record. In some account systems, reports can be generated from these records. There is also the advantage too of not having to try and read hand writing! Most offices have a pro forma way they like you to operate these client records: ensure you fully understand them from the beginning, so you form good habits immediately. An important point to remember is that you are not the only one who may be reading these records, so ensure you are clear and detailed. Remember, you may not be around tomorrow, and someone else may have to look after your client.

You can also record some details of what you have sold to a client in the actual computer reservation (CRS) booking. Again, there is a place in these CRS bookings to do this. It is often referred to as the “Notepad”. As the format can be a little confusing in a CRS booking, try not to be put too much into this area. It is better to make the fully detailed record in the client accounts system.

Maintaining records for the provider:Providers will generally maintain their own records. However, you need to reconfirm with them. This can be done MANY different ways depending on how the product/service was booked in the first place. You can use email (keep a hard copy or file it in an email folder), phone (record details in the client account or on the file card), by fax (maintain hard copy in the hard copy folder), via the internet or through the CRS.


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Maintaining records for the client:The best way to do this, is to provide the client with a fully detailed invoice. Leave nothing to guesswork…give them all the dates, the full product/service name, who you have booked through and the costs. Again, your agency should have a pro forma invoice for you to use. Make sure you give the client an amended invoice each time money changes hands between you both. Always ensure you date each transaction.

If you are unsure of anything, CALL the client to reconfirm details. Do this a long time before the client leaves, to allow time to make any amendments if necessary.

To be absolutely sure you have booked exactly what the client requires, write up a detailed invoice, get the client in for an appointment and go through thoroughly with them their booking. Have a calendar and the relevant brochures and documents on hand to support you.

1.6 Where no specific product or services has been confirmed to the customer, select appropriate suppliers to ensure customer needs are met & according to prices quoted to the customer.Some examples of products the customer may require:

transport

accommodation

transfers

tours (if required)

meals (eg: breakfast)

travel insurance.

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People in the travel industry have not been to every holiday destination or on every organised tour, stayed in every hotel or been on every cruise ship.

So how do you assist customers specific needs are met?

Information is a key component of sales and marketing in tourism. Effective information is also a key requirement for the booking and documentation of any tourism product or service. As we discussed in an earlier topic, finding information and using it effectively to meet the needs of your customers is a key element of working in many tourism industry positions.

Where is it …..?

How do I get it…..?

How long does it take…..?

What is it like…..?

Is there a good…..?

How much does it cost…..?

What would you recommend…..?

What is the weather like…..?

Where can I go to buy…..?

To assist customers, coordinate the booking and to ensure specific needs are met it is imperative to continually seek knowledge and updates on all products and services offered in the tourism industry.

To identify clients needs and then select products such as:

Adventure holidays, packages and tours

Snow skiing holidays, packages and tours

Specific age holidays, packages and tours

Diving

Cruising

Rail

Coach

Sporting

Safaris

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Family

Overland Treks/Walking

Beach

Camping

Singles

Gay/Lesbian

People with Disabilities

Campervan/Car rental

Wedding ceremonies

Local

It is one of the most important aspects of any job in the tourism industry is finding information. It is impossible to know everything about the thousands of different tourism products and services. You can with experience build up what you know, and first hand knowledge is the most valuable of all.

In some jobs you need a broad range of information about multiple destinations and in others you need an in-depth knowledge of one destination.

If you work for the rail network you would need to know about booking rail services and about the destination points on the network.

If you worked for a tour operator you would need to know about the destinations they visited on tours, tour costs and other booking requirements.

The underpinning key to information provision is knowing where and how to find it the information you need and applying that information effectively to the specific needs of your customer.

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Information sourcesThe range of information in the tourism industry is so vast that nobody could hope to absorb it all. That’s why a key skill for you to develop is how to find the information you need. It is also why there are a huge number of computerised and manual resources for the tourism industry and why there are specialists in particular areas.

Here is a general list of some of the major resources and references. It is by no means exhaustive.

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Information sources What sort of information can you find here?

Brochures/Videos Destinations and product information, packages, prices, booking conditions. Many brochures also provide information on local customs, health precautions, visa requirements, currency, shopping, hints on what to wear

Hotel and accommodation guides and indexes

Information and contacts on accommodation

Atlases, maps and encyclopedias

Geographical and general destinations information

Travel guides eg. Lonely Planet, Fodor’s, Insight

Destination and product information

Individual timetables Product and scheduling information, general industry information

Automated information systems

These days, virtually anything if you know where to look-systems range from the Internet to specific sate based system (such as VISNET for NSW)

Computerised reservations systems CRS

Almost anything relating to airlines-flight schedules, fares seating plans, just to name a few. In addition, most CRSs can provide you with a massive amount of other information-what time it is in France, what’s the exchange rate today, visa information, destination information. They also provide a link into the reservations systems of many wholesalers.

International airline guides

Comprehensive worldwide air schedules, minimum-connecting times, check in requirements, baggage information, airline and city codes, international time calculators, local taxes etc. The main example is the Official Airline Guide (OAG), although its use has been superceded to a great extent by the CRS.

Travel Trade Yearbook Contacts for hundreds of companies in different sectors of the travel industry

Travel Information Manual (TIM)/Travel Trade Visa Guide/Travel Express Visa Guide

Visa and other statutory requirements for overseas countries. TIM can now also be assessed on the CRS

Passenger Air Tariff Airfare information

Trade press e.g. Travel Trade, Travel Week

Industry updates, destination and product information, general news

General print and electronic media such as travel shows, travel pages, travel magazines and even news bulletins for current issues

General destinational and product information. News services can supply very current information on the day to day developments such as flood, social unrest, exchange rates and so forth


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Information sources What sort of information can you find here?

Government agencies such as National Parks and Wildlife Services or government tourism offices

General destinational and product information

Educationals/Product familiarisations

Opportunities to experience products and services first hand

Other organisations in the industry

A major way to get information and advise on all matters is to contact other industry organizations who specialize in particular areas

The Internet A major resource of all types of information-destinations, airline, current affairs, hotels, just to name a few. The Internet is fast becoming an increasing popular means of booking travel arrangements

Travel Companies product launches, travel shows and information nights

A major way to gain knowledge on specific products with specific travel companies, update you on new product information on the market and to keep in touch with people in the travel industry

We can now look at some of the above resources in more detail.

Printed material

Atlases

Most atlases include information on the world’s regions and countries, the world’s cities, population, climate, and geology. They generally include a comprehensive index of cities, countries, states and territories. Whilst we do not usually change physical features such as mountains and oceans political aspect such as country borders and populations do. Be sure you have an up-to date edition.

Maps

Maps come in all sizes, from the world on a page, to the main street of a tiny village on a page. People who are travelling on independent itineraries should always carry maps of the areas they are visiting. Some government tourist departments can supply them free of charge.

Tourism Industry Magazines

To keep up to date with the continuous changes in the industry, many tourism organisations subscribe to one or more tourism industry magazines, such as: Travel Trade (published fortnightly) Travel Week (published weekly) Inside Tourism (published monthly) A highly recommended book is the World Travel Guide.

The guide provides a complete fact file of all countries from a tourism industry perspective. Since 1997 the World Travel Guide has been available on interactive CD-ROM. Although not specifically dedicated to travellers, an additional publication that contains a brief fact file on every country in the world is the SBS World Guide, purchased from ABC Bookshops or SBS Marketing.


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Brochures

Brochures are a very important source of product and motivational information. Although there are a number of marketing tools to attract prospective clients, it is mainly through brochures that tourism organisations are able to convey their product to clients.

As with a lot of tourism products, the client is required to pay weeks or even months before any documentation is received or the product can actually be used. Therefore a brochure is often their only contact with reality and the only tangible reminder of the product they have purchased.

We should have a brief look at the basic format of a brochure. Obviously all brochures will be different.

They will range in size from a single page leaflet, to a fold out pamphlet, to a brochure consisting of a few pages, to a glossy colour publication of 20 pages or more.

These brochure styles will be used by accommodation, local attractions, Visitor Information Centres, wholesalers, and inbound and local tour operators to name a few.

Cover page

This will show the name of the region or destination covered in the brochure, usually accompanied by a glossy picture depicting an attraction or feature of the destination. It will display the company’s name and logo (if applicable) and any principals associated with the packages. It might also mention the type of packages or products within the brochure, for example, Camping Safaris or Luxury Coach Holidays.

Front section

Located within the first few pages, you will generally find the following information:

an index showing what is available in the brochure

general information about the organisation and any special features or discounts offered by the company

information about the destination itself.

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Descriptions of the products

This information makes up the greater part of the brochure. Examples of this information include:

accommodation being offered

a day-by-day itinerary of the package

maps showing the route of the itinerary

tour departure dates

information on the inclusions/exclusions of the package

prices of the package.

Back pages

Generally toward the back of a brochure or even on the back page itself, you will find booking conditions relevant to the products on offer. Topics such as deposits, cancellations, amendments, inclusions and exclusions are covered in this section.

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Details of operator policy of cancellation of tours are listed here.

Failure to check the back pages of brochures may cause many problems to clients, agents and operators.

Also included is any other general or important information the organisation feels you should know about, such as climate, clothing, insurance, baggage allowance etc.

Part of the booking conditions can include a responsibility clause. Once an operator has accepted a customer’s booking, and a deposit has been sent, it is confirmed and a Contract is made between them. It is important the cus-tomers know what is expected of them and what the operator’s responsibilities are to the customer.

See for yourself how brochures are laid out and what information is included in them? These brochures will also assist you with your product knowledge.

Tourism industry publications

A number of publications are available within the industry providing information on specific needs such as transport, accommodation, government regulations. Some of these include:

1. ABC Passenger Shipping Guide published quarterly - contains details of passenger ship services, car- passenger ferries, cargo - passenger ships, principal cruises, river water way coastal cruises, yacht cruises.

2. RACV accommodation and activity guides.

3. Travel trade Visa Guide - published yearly - contains information on government regulations related to tourism. It has been written especially for Australian, New Zealand and United Kingdom passport holders.


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4. Official Hotel Guide - published yearly - contains detailed information on hotels worldwide.

5. Hotel and Travel Index and the Dawson’s Hotel Guides - accommodation directories.

6. Travel trade Yearbook, provides a listing of travel and tourism industry firms and organizations. For each entry, an address, contact numbers and names of key personnel are listed. This directory is produced twice a year and includes information on:

retail travel agencies inbound tour operatorsdomestic tour operatorswholesalerscoach operatorscar rental companiestourist offices(domestic and overs seas)airlinesgeneral sales agentshotel representative firms.

To continually assist customers, coordinate the booking and to ensure specific needs are met it is imperative to continually seek knowledge and updates on all products and services offered in the industry.

How you know who to use and when? In section 1.7, we discuss the role of the preferred supplier. The customer has come to us as the “expert”. We need to ensure our product knowledge is up to date, or at least know where to find the information required.

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When you are new, this requires you to take home brochures to read through, attend as many product launches as possible, read through the daily fares updates, invite sales representatives into your office to give you a product run down and ask as many people as possible about who to use and when.

Product knowledge comes with time. When making investigations on behalf of a client, give yourself enough time to do so. Don’t promise results in an unattainable timeframe.

In addition to “preferred” lists and other staff, other good sources of information are tourist bureaus and of course, the internet. There is also a biannual “Travel Trade” Yearbook that contains the contact details of most suppliers. Most agencies subscribe to this, in addition to the numerous travel publications (eg Travelweek).

If you are unsure about a supplier, seek advice. Many companies will not allow you to use an unknown supplier without it having been checked out by your company.

Using unknown suppliers opens you, your company and most importantly, your client, up to greater risk.

Keep in mind, that your research will be in vain if you don’t keep the clients’ budget in mind. Common-sense, intuition and asking the right questions will help you to find the right product at the right price.


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1.7 Select suppliers according to any pre determined enterprise negotiated arrangements. There are many suppliers out there, and sometimes it is difficult to know who to use and trust. Companies often have “preferred” arrangements with suppliers. You will need to ask your manager for the list of “preferreds”.

If a supplier is on the preferred list, it usually means they have been vetoed by your company. Their finances have usually been checked and passed, and any necessary licences obtained. It also means that your company has gathered other feedback on this company as to what quality of service they provide. As the agent, dealing with a supplier from a preferred list, gives you peace of mind. You can be confident that you are dealing with a competent, professional and financial company. This confidence then extends to the client.

In addition to having their character investigated and passed, “preferred” companies can also sometimes offer a commission override. This means a financial incentive to you to sell their product over others. These overrides are negotiated on your behalf usually by your manager, or in the case of bigger companies, by the “BDMs”: business development managers.

“Preferred” agreements are exclusive and confidential arrangements. Both parties need to have trust in each other for it to be a successful relationship. The stronger these relationships become, the more lucrative they will be.

Dealing with a “preferred” supplier will not guarantee success. It just reduces the risk. Preferred suppliers require constant monitoring by your company, to ensure they still fit the requirements. If you experience difficulties with a preferred, this needs to be reported to the appropriate person within your company.


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Student/Trainee Activity 2 – Practical


Travel Trade Year Book Activity 1.2

Using the Travel Trade extract, answer the following:

1. What types of packages is the international wholesaler, Allways Travel involved in?

2. Does the wholesaler Amadablam have an office in Australia?

3. What is the address of the shipping wholesaler, Abercrombie and Kent? Do they have any interstate offices? What sort of products/companies do they represent?

4. Who can I contact to book Amtrak rail passes?

5. What is the agent’s reservation phone number for CIT Australia? What is the sales/administration phone number?

6. Does an Australian passport holder require a visa for China? What about Hong Kong? Where can I obtain a Chinese visa in Melbourne?

THTSOP07B–BookandCoordinateSupplierServices 2�

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THTSOP07B–BookandCoordinateSupplierServices 27

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Element 2: Request services2.1 Request products & services using the appropriate method.You need to contact suppliers of tourism product to find out the:

cost

payment requirements

give them customer details

explain what service/s you require

request special services or requirements.

Requesting products and services can be done in many different ways and each supplier/principle will have many methods making requesting an easy and quick process.

Phone requests

E mail

Faxing

CRS systems

Online booking and requests

mail

You will need to understand standard industry codes and industry jargon to correctly complete or interpret client’s details and to benefit from error – free reservations and ticketing.

You will need to be familiar with the 24-hour clock.

All airlines use it and most of the industry documentation you will need to interpret is presented with 24-hour clock times.

You will also need to be very familiar with phonetic alphabet from the first day you start your new travel job.

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2.2 Provide full details of the booking to ensure the customer receives the correct product or service including:

Customer details

Date, time and location of commencement and conclusion of service

Any pre negotiated costs and payment details

Nature of service to be provided

Special request or requirement

Tourism operators enter into contractual agreements with customers. Booking conditions are normally included and tend to cover three areas:

1. Impose some kind of requirement upon the traveller (deposits, cancellation requirements, fitness to travel, travel insurance etc)

2. Allow for variation and cancellation by the operator or wholesaler (change in prices and tours)

3. Attempt to limit the responsibility of the operator or wholesaler (inclusions and exclusions, statements that say the operator or wholesaler is only acting on behalf of others, limiting responsibility for information in the brochure and general clauses for events beyond the control of the operator/wholesaler)

Booking conditions will normally be drafted by legal experts or industry managers but all industry workers need to be aware of their importance. A couple of important points:

In a legal sense there is a requirement to show that the customers attention was drawn to the booking conditions (this may be done in documentation provided to the customer).

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The booking conditions can say anything they like but if they breach basic consumer rights they will carry no weight in a court of law.

The customer is very well protected in this area and great care needs to be taken.

Consumer protectionThe ultimate aim of consumer protection laws is to protect the customers in their dealings with supplies of goods and services. The Commonwealth Trade Practices Act and the state/territory Fair Trading Acts have a number of provisions which allow the consumer to sue suppliers where they have engaged in unfair practices.

The Trade Practices Act mainly used in the travel industry in relation to advertising, brochures and anti-competitive conduct. The Fair Trading Act is used for dishonesty, sharp practice and as a base for licence disqualifications.

The two main areas that cause problems in the travel industry are misleading information in brochures and the failure to advise customers about variations to price, quality and itineraries. In all your dealings with customers, you should be honest, accurate and current in the information you supply. This means industry customers and the general public customers.

The AFTA code of Ethics was set up for this purpose.

Refer to the Booking Code of Ethics in Appendix A

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2.3 Request return confirmation of all details of the booking from supplier.Before we can take deposits and issue documents for clients the booking requests must all be confirmed, this may take one day but sometimes it can take a few days depending on what product has been requested.

Monitoring clients files is an important part of the booking process and is generally done daily.

When reservations for products are confirmed from a supplier it will come through:

Ticketing time limit (TTL)

CRS review booking (RB.)

Courier

Online booking procedures

Fax

E mail

Mail

Telephone

2.4 Make requests for multiple services in a particular order.Reservations for multiple services can involve many different suppliers to ensure the customer’s requirements are met.

This will require the ability to co-ordinate effectively, the booking process from the initial request to the confirmation.

Interpret correctly requirements and services.

Ability to keep accurate records of bookings made.

Ability to find this information and products as required

Identify codes, abbreviations and jargon

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2.5 Seek and request alternatives if requested bookings are not available and identify & action flow-on impacts making adjustments to other bookings as required.Finding a suitable combination of flights, accommodation, transport, insurance etc for the customer is part of the coordination process. It is recommended that the client books early or finds alternative choices if any portion of the booking components are unavailable.

Even when minor adjustments are made to a booking the flow on action can have a major impact on the booking as a whole. To avoid potential disasters, procedures are needed for checking and cross checking these adjustments.

One of these procedures is the use of a booking card or file, the accuracy of the records and the need for the information to be understood.


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Element 3: Record request and confirmation3.1 Keep accurate records of all bookings made, including request and confirmation, and file.Broad knowledge of types of client records including:

electronic profiles

booking cards

booking files

file diaries.

quotations

Required client details:

name, initial and title

age of any children or infants

contact details at home and work

date(s) of travel

places of travel

tourism product details

club membership details e.g. Frequent flyer number

special requirements e.g. special meals

method of payment including details.

Importance of recording details accurately and promptly from booking profiles/files/diaries or quotation will allow all consultants to clearly interpret this information when on-booking to suppliers/principles.

General knowledge of standard formats of booking cards files, manual and automated, quotations, booking profiles on your CRS system or personal system is needed.

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An existing or new booking should be easily and effortlessly be understood by all consultants who will need to at any stage pick up that information and continue with the booking process.

Let us study the procedures of the booking card/file:

The Booking CardHaving secured your client’s booking it is now necessary to record the details of this booking on a booking card before making a reservation. Computerised reservations and filing systems will probably one day lead to the demise of the manually created booking card, but booking cards are far from dispensible in today’s retail travel industry. A completed booking card reflects your level of competence and efficiency as a travel consultant. It must be correctly completed of your client is to benefit from error – free reservations and ticketing.

The information relating to the booking is recorded on file, once again regardless of the type of system used, manual or automated; the same industry standard codes are used to denote services requested. Due to automation of the tourism industry there is now a code for almost everything a consumer could possible require.

The advantage of using codes is that it makes it quicker and easier to record information. Every airport has a unique three-letter airport code. This code distinguishes this airport from every other airport in the world. For example, there are two cities called Melbourne, each with its own airport, one is in Australia and the other is in the USA. To differentiate one airport from the other Melbourne Australia’s code is MEL and Melbourne USA’s code is MLB.

The use of codes in the tourism industry extends well beyond airports. There are also codes for many cities around the world, class of travel, type of accommodation requested, meal requests and many other services offered across the industry. For example, you wish to send a request to British Airways to try and confirm a seat for your passenger on flight 12, economy class, from Perth to London on 17 August. Your message would look like this,


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PLS DAPO TO KK BA12Y17AUGPERLHR

The translation of this is:

Please do all possible to confirm British Airways flight number 12, economy class, 17th August, Perth to London (Heathrow Airport).

PLS = please, DAPO = do all possible, TO = to, KK = confirm, BA12 = British Airways flight number 12, Y = economy class, 17AUG = 17 August, PER = Perth and LHR = London (Heathrow Airport)

Learning and using these codes can save you time and also reduce confusion, which may arise due to language barriers because these codes are internationally recognised.

Don’t panic! You will find that your knowledge of codes increases naturally with time. Should you have any queries in the meantime most automated systems have a decoding (converting from code) and an encoding (converting to code) function. Your knowledge of the CRS system will help you with this.

There are also some simple procedures you can use to prevent mistakes from occurring when you are recording client’s information.

Can you think of any of these procedures and list them below:

Travel arrangements make up a large section of the booking card that was discussed in Element of Competency 1. These are the transportation details (eg: carrier, service or flight numbers, class of travel, time of departure and arrival, date of travel, origin and destination), accommodation details (name of establishment, in/out dates and room type), auxiliary services (car hire, transfers, day tours).

Make sure you know where each item of information should be entered. This can be either:

manual

electronic

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Figure 1: Front of a booking card


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Information on a Booking FileThere are many different formats of booking cards in existence and although the presentation of each may be different they all basically require the same types of information. The areas identified on the booking card are as follows, refer to figure 1:

1. Names of passengers:

the passenger name should include their christain name and title as per their passport and age.

2. Date of departure:

enter passengers first date of departure.

3. Nat:

clients nationality on their passport

4. Address:

enter clients address.

5. (H) telephone:

enter home telephone number of client.

6. (W) telephone:

enter business or/and mobile telephone number of client.

7. Frequent flyer number:

enter clients frequent flyer number.

8. Contact:

enter the name of the contact client.

9. Booked with:

enter airline details if applicable, name of operator and date.

10. Booking form and consultants name:

enter a booking number, if applicable and consultants initials.

11. Credit card details:

enter type of credit card, Master card MC, American Express AX, number on the credit card.

rel/pax: relationship to passenger if the passenger and credit card name are different, expiry date on the card.

date: enter date of transaction.

for: record here the clients purchase item in detail.

pay to: record the agency name and ask the client to sign here.

12. TTL (ticket time limit):

Enter the date the airline ticket is to be issued. Refer to the airfare rules.

13. Rec Loc. (Record locator):

enter the airline booking number referred to as the record locator.

14. Ticket numbers/MCO:

Enter airline or consolidator name, the date the ticket or MCO miscellanous charge order was ordered, and the ticket number. Date adv, is date advise and this is the date of issue and your initials.

15. A check list:

A handy reminder for the consultant, when in the booking process.

16. Spec Req:

enter here any special requests made by client for meals, hotels, or tours.

17. Air, coach or rail reservation data area:

enter flight no and airline code, class, date of departure of each flight, origin and destination cities, times of departure and arrival. Status of the flights, seat no. if applicable. Confirmed information and amount payable for airfares.

per person, per person taxes and total amount per booking.


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18. Fare basis:

Record here the name of the fare used, gross amount per person, the nett amount per person, taxes per person and where the ticket is to be purchased.

19. Insurance details:

Enter the name of the travel insurance company, dur - length of the plan by days, months or year. Plan type usually indicated by A,B,C.

pre exist are pre existing conditions, here the client needs to advise the insurance company of any health conditions prior to departure and at the time of purchase.

20. Auxiliary information area:

Enter other booking details such as rental car, tours, cruises and hotels

City 3 letter codes, auxiliary details, dates, nights or days total, company

booked with, date requested, name of operator, date confirmed, name of

operator.

Inclusions, enter here confirmed information and costs for each item purchased. Either by per night cost for hotels, per days cost for car hire, per tour cost and per person cost. Include upgrade costs and any inclusions over and above the standard cost listed. Always include a total cost.

21. Visas required:

Record the clients visa requirements, the countries and/or re entry visas.

Consultant should photocopy the visa and passport and keep on file for client.

22. Additional notes:

Enter additional information and notes as required.

23. Client signatures:

Completed and dated as documents are collected, if insurance is declined,

If clients obtain their own visa and cancellation/refund details are explained

and given in writing. Dated and initialed by the consultant.

24. Payments received:

from client.

25. Op paid:

Operators paid on behalf of the client.

26. Docs recv:

Documents received from the operators.

It is essential that each member of staff in an office fills out cards in an identical manner, and that complete information is provided. It is important that at any time a staff member should be able to pick up that card/file and know exactly the state of the booking this will avoid any confusion if more than one person is referring to the booking.

Some more details that are on a booking file:

When it is time for confirmations they can be recorded as the following industry accepted abbreviations and codes including:

• confirmed (KK)or (HK)

• waitlisted (WL)

• need (NN)

• request (RQ)

• ticketing time limit (TTL)

• (PU) pick up

• (DO) drop off

• (Htl) hotel

• (Rt) return

• Ticketing time limit (TTL)

Many more abbreviations will be used.


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Recording booking information

Refer to figure 2

As an example consider the Smith family of three booked to fly from Perth to Adelaide, with a Thrifty car booked for their stay in Adelaide.

This example shows how the front of the booking card would look, after the booking had been made but before it had been ticketed. This example assumes the travel consultant is based in Perth and so the Perth contact telephone number has no STD prefix.

Names

Notice that the surname (family name as seen on passport) has been entered first, followed by the christian name (first name) and title of the person and, in the case of the child by the age.

Rental Cars

The card also shows that the air booking was made with Brad from Qantas and the rental car with Jane at Thrifty. PU stands for pick – up and DO stands for drop – off, location is in three letter code - apt stands for airport and the time of PU and DO is important as car rental is usually in 24 hour blocks.

These codes are explained later. Any extra details about the car hire would need to be included next the car hire details or if there is too much information another sheet can be attached or a photocopy of a brochure page with the highlighted details for the client to take away.

Ticketing

The booking has been made by consultant AS on the 3 Sept 05 and has not been ticketed but has a ticketing time limit (TTL) 4 Sep.

Airfares and taxes

The airfares for the adults and the child have been listed separately in the far column, including the taxes as stated. The airfares could have been listed as one amount for the adults and one amount for the child if stated on the file.

Auxiliary

The auxiliary sections have been used strictly according to their headings. More clarity has been obtained by showing the PU and DO on separate lines and under inclusions made it clear the child seat is an extra payment on arrival. If there isn’t enough room on the booking card it is advisable to attach a photocopy or extra sheet and make a note on the booking card that it is attached.

Notes

Additional notes on the delivery procedure for this client are entered here.

If on the 4 Sep Ms Smith returns to the agency and see another consultant TM. TM is able to see from the booking card exactly what has been booked and with whom it was booked. The card reflects everything that has taken place to date. This should always be the case with your booking cards to know exact status of the booking concerned.

Most booking card these days do not record payments made as this all computerised but if the agency still records manually the area identified for payments received and payments paid is on the rear of the card or the agency has a separate ledger system.

Ms Smith wants to pay for her booking and at the same time changes her return flights:


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Figure 2 - Booking card with recorded information


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Figure 3 - Example of Amadeus CRS online booking card


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Trainee Activity 3 – Practical


Read through first then complete a client file/booking card (inc Air, Hotel and Car hire) for the following scenario:

Mr Isaac Hayes is a corporate client of the agency and has requested the following two weeks prior to departure:

Mr Hayes needs to travel from Melbourne to Singapore on 19 March on Qantas flight 23 departing at 1600 and arrives Singapore at 0045 + 1.

In Singapore he wishes to stay in a Junior Suite single share (recorded as sgl) at the Park Hyatt Hotel (record as htl) for three nights including American breakfast (record as b/fast). Accommodation was confirmed with Rosa at Utell Reservations who provided a booking reference number of H123433 and the rate was confirmed at AUD580 per person night (recorded as pp per ngt and total cost).

Mr Hayes will collect a Hertz rental car, group D (recorded as Grp) at the airport on arrival (record as PU) at 0100 and return it two days later (record as DO) at the airport at 0600 / 23rd March. Booking was made with Hertz direct and confirmed immediately with Darren in reservations at a rate of $95 a day including unlimited km’s (recorded as unlkm) collision damage waiver (CDW) all taxes and theft. There is an excess of $1200AUD or a payment of $5.50 per day extra will bring the excess down to only $200 record this so the client can be advised. Hertz booking reference is HZ123345.

Mr Hayes then travels to Kuala Lumpur on 23 March on Singapore flight 655 at 1150 and arrives Kuala Lumpur at 1305.

In Kuala Lumpur he will make his own way to a friend’s place and stay for 3 nights until traveling back to Melbourne on 26 March on Malaysian flight 25 departing 2230 and arrives 0550 +1.

All air flights are confirmed on record locator TZU455.

He is traveling business class on all flights. The class is J with Qantas and Singapore and C with Malaysian. Cost for all flights total are $4,550 and taxes $245.

Fare Basis: CC1YR

His details are as follows:

Company: Shaft Limited

CTCB – 03 9696 2121

American Express: 3760 070370 12345 exp 11/08

Qantas frequent flyer membership:

QF23675

Name of card: Mr I Hayes

Passport: Australian

Special Requests: Low salt meals

The arrangement for payments are recorded in the company’s profile. Shaft Limited is invoiced for the airfares and the staff pays their own expenses for car rental and accommodation using their credit card.

It is not necessary to take any deposits and final payment for the accommodation and rental car will be due a week prior to departure for this booking.

Each client has his or her own corporate insurance, this is a year policy.


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Reservations procedure

Code of ethicsIt is recommended that the following rules be adhered to in order to efficiently handle reservations and to avoid client inconvenience. Accurate and complete records must be kept covering all reservation transactions. These must include flight numbers, class of service, date of travel departure and arrival time, status of segments, names and initials of passengers with contact address/telephone number and ticketing details. Client confidentiality must be strictly adhered to. All dealings should be conducted in a businesslike manner. Keep in mind at all times the need and efficient handling of each transaction.

1. Making a reservation

a) Always adhere to the standard reservation procedures.

b) Never deliberately make duplicate reservations for the same client.

c) Facilitate the efficient handling of a reservation by always establishing the itinerary, minimum connecting times, service/flight numbers etc before contacting the principal.

d) Always attempt to establish a contact address (es) with the client and advise the airline accordingly. This is particularly important as it enables airlines to better serve your client when the office is closed.

e) Travel agents should request all reservations for a specific itinerary and advise subsequent changes through one airline (normally the first international airline). Where this is not practicable, each airline with whom reservations have been made must be informed of reservations made with other airlines.


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2. Cancelling a reservation

a) Whenever a passenger cancels his reservation, such cancelled space must be immediately released. Cancellations must be advised immediately to the Principal so that the space can be released for sale again.

b) When a passenger changes his itinerary ensure that all space and supplementary services no longer required are cancelled at the time that the new bookings are made.

d) NEVER create a booking for multiple reservations when it is evident the client can only use one of the flights reserved.

3.2 Monitor files to ensure that all confirmations have been received and chase any outstanding confirmations.Monitor clients’ files is an important part of the booking process and generally is done using these methods:

Ticketing time (TTL)

Diary (manual and electronic)

Courier

Online booking updates

Telephone

Fax

Email

Mail

Once you have actioned a booking, you need to sit on it and ensure all correspondence has been received and acted up. There are many ways to do this, depending on the service. The best way is to use a diary. Larger companies have diaries specifically designed for their staff. Some are electronic, others hardcopy.

Using a diary effectively, requires discipline. You need to form habits. There are many training sessions on effective “time management” of which a diary is an essential item. You need to prioritise and update daily. Upon close of business, and before you go home, spend a few moments putting in the priorities for the next day.

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There are other tools to help you monitor your bookings. Within a computer reservation system, there is the entry “TTL” and queues. TTL is “ticketing time limit”: the deadline as to when a booking needs to be paid and ticketed by. This deadline is put in by you when you create a booking. When this deadline arises, the computer will automatically stick this booking onto a queue.

Queues are electronic mail boxes. There are general mail boxes that need to be sorted by one person daily, and individual mail boxes for each member of your team. An individual queue needs to be monitored throughout the day. Airlines use these queues as well to send you important information about your bookings.

You can also place other reminders in a booking that will automatically place it in your queue at the time and date you need it. Queues form a sort of electronic diary. To find out how to do this , you will need to speak with your computer reservations system provider (eg Galileo, Sabre, Amadeus).

Emails can also help you monitor your bookings. With so much of our business coming via email, we need to stay organise. Use the email folders to keep all information together per booking. Depending on your office, you may also like to print out a hard copy of the emails and place them in client folders. Some businesses are trying to become paperless and may not encourage this. Regardless, you will receive hard copies of information from suppliers and will need to have a folder system in place to keep this information organised.

With emails, it is important to control what you keep: delete immediately any unnecessary emails and file those you need.

Some suppliers will require you to log in to their internet site to keep a tab on what’s happening with a requested booking. You will need to use your diary to remind you to do this! Be aware of which wholesalers do this (when you action the booking, pursue this information then).


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Other methods to keep track of the booking include:

the telephone: always keep a written record of the date, time, who you spoke to and the result of the call. Keep this information in your client file: either electronic or hard copy.

mail: open all correspondence when it first arrives, check it and take any necessary action. Then file it away in the appropriate area. Try to handle a piece of paper only once. DON’T stick it in the “IN” tray..it could stay there for some time and possibly become a problem.

Fax: see mail above.

Maintaining bookings requires good time management. If this is something you struggle with, speak to someone about it. There is normally one person within an office who can help you with this. Don’t believe the catch cry “I don’t have time for time management”. If you don’t make the time, you will make costly mistakes and end up in a heap on the floor.

3.3 Note and schedule future action to be taken in relation to bookings in accordance with systems If you use your diary effectively, the queues system mentioned above and maintain all correspondence records, you will find everything falls into place. Most companies offer training on how to use their systems: ensure you get this training early and ask questions if you don’t understand it. It is important to try and get on top of systems early so your time management kicks in as soon as possible allowing you to be an effective operator.

As soon as you have a date to have something actioned by, put in a queue reminder to the booking, and stick that date in your diary. Just doing this, will keep your head above water.

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Element 4: Update and finalise bookings4.1 Make any necessary amendments/adjustments to bookings and accurately record these.Accurate and fully recorded booking details are absolutely vital to ensure the customer receives the services they have booked and paid for and this also means accurate and fully recorded amendments/adjustments to the booking.

Make necessary changes to the booking card/file, this means leaving history of the original booking and showing the changes to reflect the amended details.

Advising the customer of the changes immediately by phone or e mail is very important. Then in writing as a confirmation letter and itinerary.

Follow up to make sure everything is okay at the completion of the job.

As well as the situation where your customer’s first choice of travel may be unavailable, another situation which may arise could be when a tour is cancelled, due to lack of numbers. Alternatively, airline field management may assess flight loadings several days prior to operation, and decide to amalgamate two services into one, due to light loadings. While not common, it is a part of the industry make up, and the operator will contact you to advise of these changes. Sometimes these can occur close to the day of departure and your customers may even have collected their documents.

Diplomacy and tact is required. It is not necessary for you to explain the workings of the operator, but it is necessary for you to be considerate of your customer and how these changes may affect them and their plans.

Usually the operator will offer an alternative which inconveniences your customer least. Even a change of ten minutes to the original aircraft scheduled time will necessitate you advising your customer and altering the ticket where possible.

Always have your customer’s best interests as your focus and make alternate arrangements, which will cause them minor inconvenience. Avoid making derogatory remarks about the operator, as this is unprofessional and could reflect badly on the travel industry as a whole.

AmendmentsFigure 4. shows how the card will look when a change has been made. The flight change was made with Liz at QF on 4 Sep. The ticket number is written in after the flights have been paid for as a record on the file. Once again anyone who picks up this booking card can see exactly what has taken place so far.

Figure 4. Booking Card with amended information


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4.2 Action any payments required by supplier at the appropriate time. All suppliers will issue an invoice that will advise you when the product and services need to be paid in full by. Usually payment is due 60 days prior to departure for organised tours including cruises and packages and 30 days for everything else.

All suppliers due dates are different and that is why it is necessary to record and monitor these due dates correctly.

When it is time to make payment you will choose one of these methods according to the suppliers method requested:

Requesting payment from the accounts department e.g. cheque requisition or purchase order

Self administer the payment

Issuing a miscellaneous charge order

Sending payment by cheque, electronic transmission

Refer also to Perform Office Procedures THHGGA02B

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4.3 Provide suppliers with any changes to the booking in accordance with agreed procedures and any contractual arrangement.When a client makes changes to their booking that affect the supplier, the supplier should be notified immediately. If the change means the supplier having to alter a product, never guarantee things to the client unless the supplier has confirmed the change. Failing to do so, could result in a product not being available: for example, if a client wants to change their tour dates, you will need to check on the availability with the supplier before confirming the change..it’s all common sense.

If you are unsure as to whether a supplier needs to be advised of any changes, contact them! Just remember, to take action NOW. As to how, depends on what methods you use with that supplier. If they are an internet based operation, email them: just ensure you diarise to check on whether they respond to your email. If the change is urgent, the telephone is still the quickest and most reliable way to communicate.

When using the telephone, remember to always get the name of the person you are dealing with and asked for a hard copy of the actioned amendment to be sent through to you.

Many suppliers have a preferred method of communication: it is your job to know what these are and action via that method.

The other important thing to remember is: changes can involve fees. Most suppliers charge for changes to be made to bookings. These charges can be as little as 30 dollars or can be much higher, depending on the product and when the change is made. Changes to a tour which is due to leave within days, may incur a large fee. This is to cover the cost of issuing new documents, and sometimes loss of income.


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If your client is cancelling one tour to go on another, the operator may not have enough time to fill that space on the old tour. They need to be compensated for this.

Before a client pays any money for a product or service, they must be made aware of the changes policy for the company involved. Much of this information can be found in the conditions page of a brochure (normally on the back cover), or for an airfare, in the relevant fare sheet under the “changes and cancellations” section.

You, as the agent, need to consider whether you are going to charge to make changes on behalf of clients. The fees that suppliers charge do not cover the agent’s time or lost commission. Again, if you are going to charge, the client needs to be made aware of this early in the negotiations.

When it comes to making changes, take a moment now to read the “code of ethics” that applies to reservation procedures for airlines. These procedures can be loosely applied to all product suppliers:

Code of ethics

It is recommended that the following rules be adhered to in order to efficiently handle reservations and to avoid client inconvenience. Accurate and complete records must be kept covering all reservation transactions. These must include flight numbers, class of service, date of travel departure and arrival time, status of segments, names and initials of passengers with contact address/telephone number and ticketing details. Client confidentiality must be strictly adhered to. All dealings should be conducted in a businesslike manner. Keep in mind at all times the need and efficient handling of each transaction.

1. Making a reservation

a) Always adhere to the standard reservation procedures.

b) Never deliberately make duplicate reservations for the same client.

c) Facilitate the efficient handling of a reservation by always establishing the itinerary, minimum connecting times, service/flight numbers etc before contacting the principal.

d) Always attempt to establish a contact address (es) with the client and advise the airline accordingly. This is particularly important as it enables airlines to better serve your client when the office is closed.

e) Travel agents should request all reservations for a specific itinerary and advise subsequent changes through one airline (normally the first international airline). Where this is not practicable, each airline with whom reservations have been made must be informed of reservations made with other airlines.

2. Cancelling a reservation

a) Whenever a passenger cancels his reservation, such cancelled space must be immediately released. Cancellations must be advised immediately to the Principal so that the space can be released for sale again.

b) When a passenger changes his itinerary ensure that all space and supplementary services no longer required are cancelled at the time that the new bookings are made.

d) NEVER create a booking for multiple reservations when it is evident the client can only use one of the flights reserved.

Just remember, when it comes to changes, take action IMMEDIATELY.


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4.4 Advise suppliers of final customer details and requirements in accordance with the needs of particular bookings.Before final documentation is issued by the supplier, it is important to go over the latest invoice to ensure all details are correct on behalf of the client. To spend a little extra time at this point, can save a lot of money in the long run.

If it is possible, have the client with you when you go over these final details, and check with them if there are any other requirements. Otherwise, email or telephone them. You should also create a prompt to reminder you to ask for details such as seat preferences, meal preferences, frequent flyer details etc. This is something you could easily draft up and stick on the side of your computer.

Before making bookings, particularly airline bookings, it is important for you to have witnessed the client’s passport to confirm you have the correct name in the computer system. Failure to do so, could result in your client being denied boarding. Don’t wait until tickets and other documents have been issued before you see the passport. You may have to reissue everything. Changing names in a flight booking is complex and sometimes cannot be done.

Remember, in this industry, it is the details that make the difference between good and poor service. Double check everything!


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Appendix A: AFTA Code of EthicsIn relation with the public, an agent should:

1. protect the public from fraud, misrepresentation or unethical practices;

2. keep management and staff informed and up to date;

3. be aware of all facts pertinent to products sold;

4. consider all clients transactions confidential;

5. advise client re cancellation fees;

6. make use of AFTA insignia in premises, advertising etc;

7. avoid misleading advertising;

8. have at least one consultant with twelve months or more experience;

9. treat the clients’ interests a paramount.

In relations with other travel agents, an agent should;

1. avoid controversies and refer disputes to AFTA rather than resort to litigation;

2. not disparage the business practices of a competitor;

3. not interfere with or induce cancellation of a transaction through another agent, once a deposit is paid;

4. not imitate, simulate or copy other designs, logos, names etc, without permission;

5. not break the AFTA Code of Ethics on the grounds that another agent does so.

In relations with carriers/principals, an agent should:

1. give them fair and impartial representation;

2. make staff aware of agreements, tariffs and regulations;

3. release all cancelled/unsold space immediately and refrain from making duplicate bookings;

4. treat orders placed for accommodation/services as binding and cancel immediately if not required – vouchers/order should be honoured without delay;

5. always make truthful statements when making statements about giving opinions of carriers/principals;

6. give the principal/carrier the opportunity to make investigations into any complaint before acting;