FORT LAUDERDALE — Amadeus reps provided a sneak peek to
CruiseWorld attendees of its upcoming Amadeus Total Cruise booking platform,
which is slated to launch early next year.
Hali Belfatto,
segment marketing manager and a product manager who was integral in the development of the product, took
time during the conference's annual Think Tank session to go over Total Cruise
highlights. Among the changes: A home screen that alerts agents to immediate
pending tasks, an comparison-shopping screen and interactive deck plans.
"We're so excited to share our baby with all of you,”
said Carolyn Cauceglia, Amadeus’ vice president of strategic sales, commercial
business development.
Amadeus reps were scheduled to preview the
platform during the CruiseWorld trade show on Thursday.
In the Think Tank format, delegates get a chance to take the
floor — the microphones were provided by moderators Joanie Ogg and Mary Pat Sullivan,
who, as per tradition, kicked off their heels to run around the room -- to talk
with their peers about best business practices, problems and industry topics.
Amadeus, which sponsored the session, fostered conversation by polling the
audience on various topics. The answers were displayed on a screen in graph
form.
A lengthy discussion centered on how agents make the
majority of their cruise bookings. About 66% of respondents said they tend to
book on a cruise line's tool, and 16% said they use their consortia or host
agency. Only 12% said they used the phone; 5% said a GDS.
Respondents cited a majority of factors in picking a tool to
make a booking, including checking consortia or GDS rates against a cruise
line's site, training options available on a cruise line's site, or familiarity
with a system.
In the Think Tank format, delegates got a chance to take the floor — the microphones were provided by moderators Joanie Ogg and Mary Pat Sullivan (pictured) — to talk with their peers about best business practices, problems and industry topics. Photo Credit: Ed McDonald/Ed McDonald Photography
The question of "which product attendees would most
likely sell alongside a cruise" required agents to select options such as
hotel, insurance, air, car or a tour. Insurance took the largest slice of the
pie, at 44%, prompting attendees to exchange strategies for how to present
insurance options to clients.
"I have one line that usually does it all," said
cruise seller Craig Satterfield. "If you don't want anything to happen,
buy insurance."
Another question was the importance of technology to agents'
business. "Anyone who checks 'I don't use technology,’ I'm coming after
you because you responded. That means you have a smartphone!” Sullivan
threatened. (As it turned out, 100% of respondents selected that technology was
either "valuable" or "extremely valuable" to their
business.)
But the lighthearted
exchange prompted a discussion about tech comfort levels and concern about the
prevalence of technology in the daily lives of both agents and clients. One
agent said her agency ran a survey that revealed that a majority of her clients
wanted to unplug when they were away vacation. "Families are asking for
destinations where they don't have WiFi," she said.
For those suffering
from smartphone overload: "Literally, just take your phone and either put
it in another room at night, or turn it off," advised Dilworth Daley, a
travel adviser based in Severn, Md. "If I can get to staying away from
that phone some time over the weekend, then I'm headed in the right direction.”