Yes, travel agencies can now use the “Import PNR” option to integrate the bookings between wholesale travel agencies and their sub agents within just a few clicks. Typically, after large travel agencies enter into a ticketing partnership with their sub agents, the following scenario will happen
Almost 60% of the communication will be via email! This makes it difficult to satisfy high-paying travel customers leading to loss in revenue opportunities. Let’s delve into the pain points of the B2B Travel Agencies:
If the higher credit travel agencies have a travel automation solution, the process will be as follows –
- The number of bookings will be higher
- Different types of travel agencies will have different conditions
- Managing Ticket Caps: Airlines set ticket caps to control the number of tickets that travel agencies can issue for their flights. These caps can vary based on factors such as the agency’s size, performance, and agreement with the airline. Tracking involves how many tickets are issued against the quota with the airline’s policy compliance.
- IATA BSP Credit Limits: Travel agencies are assigned credit limits based on their financial stability and history which dictates the maximum amount of money they can owe to airlines at any given time. Credit limits require constant monitoring to avoid exceeding them, which could result in financial penalties or suspension from the BSP.
- GDS-Limited Access: Some airlines restrict access to their ticketing systems through Global Distribution Systems (GDS). When an airline limits its presence in certain GDS or completely withdraws from them, it restricts the ability of travel agencies using those GDS to book tickets for that airline.
- Contractual Agreements: Airlines often have specific agreements and contracts with travel agencies. These agreements can dictate which services the agency can offer, including access to ticketing systems. If an agency’s contract with an airline doesn’t include ticketing privileges, they may not be able to issue tickets for that airline.
- Financial Considerations: Airlines may base access to their ticketing systems on financial factors, such as creditworthiness or payment history. Agencies with lower credit limits or unsettled payments may find their access to certain airlines restricted.
- Business Strategies: Airlines may have business strategies that involve selective distribution. This means they choose to work with specific travel agencies or limit access to their services to maintain control over their brand, pricing, or customer experience. Travel agencies not included in these strategies may lack access to certain airlines.
- Give GDS inventory access to the sub agencies
- They need to give issuance PCC to their sub agents to issue tickets on their behalf
- Periodical updates on all available flight tickets to the sub agencies
- Reply to emails and messages for updates, payment confirmation, booking confirmation, rescheduling, and cancellations.
- 24/7 customer support for booking inquiries and resolving issues
Higher credit travel agencies | Lower credit travel agencies | |||
Agents | ⇔ | Agents | ||
Flight booking | Flight cancellation/reschedules | Flight booking | Flight cancellation/reschedules | |
Payment Confirmation | Booking Confirmation | Emails and calls | Payment Confirmation | Booking Confirmation |
- Security Concerns – All the agents will have only one login or shared login system where one cannot detect any malpractices or frauds. Security concerns are one of the biggest issues potentially leading to mismatched data and communication.
- Larger Workforce – Both the B2B Travel Agencies and the Sub-Agencies/Independant Travel Consultants have to employ a lot of human resources for issuing tickets, processing payments, booking confirmation, rescheduling, and cancellations.
- Lengthy Commission Process – Ticketing partnerships come with complex calculations, varied partnerships, commission reconciliation, delayed payments, and various other administrative burdens.
- Policy Violations and High Penalties – As the ticketing volume is high, travel agencies cannot monitor all the tickets raised by sub-agencies.This results in contract termination or high Agency Debit Memos (ADMs) from airlines. This is one of the main concerns.
Higher credit travel agencies | Lower credit travel agencies | |||
Agents | ⇔ | Agents | ||
AgencyAuto | ||||
All-in-one online interface |
- A travel agent from the lower credit travel agency will request booking from the customer, get the booking confirmation, and proceed with the PNR process.
- To synchronize the booking details, it can then be stored in an Excel sheet and be uploaded the same to the “Import PNR” option. Or, they can enter the details individually as well.
- From there onwards, the upload bookings will be synchronized acting as an all-in-one interface.
- Sub-agencies can be charged an import fee for using this feature, creating an additional revenue stream.
- Streamlined workflow management
- Real-time data availability and synchronization
- Handles the bookings within just a few clicks
- Automated markup and commission
- Easily gain global recognition and brand expansion
- Detailed reports and analytics
- Increases brand visibility and global reach
- Reduces the human workforce Policy and Security
- Compliance