Travel biz in his blood

With commissions of up to 17%, "groups are the future of the agency business," according to Matt Carozza.

This travel agent, who is also an accounting and computer specialist, has created a product that aims to help agents take full advantage of groups' potential for profit. Group Wizard is a software package that enables agents to keep track of all aspects of group planning, from the initial budgeting to the final payment.

Carozza first developed the program for use in the agency where he has worked since 1992, Four Seasons Travel in Elmira, N.Y. As the agent in charge of groups, he used to do all of his recordkeeping manually, keeping files in boxes. But Group Wizard eliminated the need for such primitive procedures and helped him develop more group business. Since this past February he has decided to focus on selling it to other agencies.

Carozza's long-term travel background helped him fine-tune Group Wizard. That background might as well have been carried in his genes, as Carozza is a fourth-generation travel retailer. His great-grandfather started in the business in 1914, selling steamship tickets out of a grocery store.

This enterprise snowballed into a full-blown travel agency after World War II, which was eventually handed down to Carozza's grandfather and then to his father, Julius. "My first memories having to do with travel are when I'd go with my grandfather, helping to lead cruise-bound groups to motorcoaches bound for the New York City pier."

Carozza started carrying bags and calling taxis at the age of 7; later, he would help his grandfather on European tours. After Carozza received a degree in history and computer science, he started working for a consulting company.

But the business was still in his blood, and it called to him. When the chance presented itself to join Four Seasons, working for his father, helping out in accounting as well as handling group bookings, he jumped at the chance. "Part of the offer was a free lunch, and that sounded good, so I took it."

Becoming a group wizard

When Matt Carozza joined his father's agency, Four Seasons Travel in Elmira, N.Y., and started handling groups, he concluded that there was no computer program around that could handle agents' needs when selling groups.

Automation was especially necessary for this segment of the industry, he felt; otherwise, "you get overwhelmed with paperwork. If you aren't automated, you're stuck," he said.

So Carozza used his background in computers and accounting to develop Group Wizard software. The product "automates the entire life cycle of a group," he said.

The Wizard worksheet enables the agent to project the sales and commissions of a group, as well as determine the break-even point, measured in terms of passengers booked. "Most people grab a pencil and a calculator and try to figure this out manually," he said, but with Group Wizard the agent can plug the tour elements into the template, including tour conductor credits, which vary for each company, as well as fixed costs, to get the correct figures quickly.

The inventory control function helps to assign cruise cabins, plane seats and hotel rooms to members of the group, Carozza said. And complicated final payments for each individual vendor can be automatically calculated, as well, he said.

It will cost agencies $948 a year to use Group Wizard. Call (800) 253-0677 or (607) 732-4781.

"I've made 15 airline reservations and seven hotel reservations on the Internet for my family. If you can beat their prices, I'll let you have my business." So said the gentleman who walked into our office one Saturday morning as he plopped a one-inch-thick stack of papers onto my desk.

I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. My husband Jack slowly got up and walked into the back office, closing the door behind him. This man, the fearless warrior who had helped me raise three teenagers and battle everything from commission caps to bypass, wanted no part of this scenario. Jack is known as Mr. Diplomacy. I'm not.

I looked at the stack of papers, then back up at the man. I was still smiling because I was calculating how many segments this guy was holding, not to mention the duplicate hotel rooms. "I have two questions for you," I said. "First, how long did all of this take you?"

"Well, uh, not too long," was his reply.

Liar, I thought. It probably took him most of his free time for the past week. Second question. "What makes you think I want your business?" I asked.

"You don't want business?" he said, seeming confused.

"Of course I want business," I said. "I just don't want to wade through a morass of technobabble created by a closet travel agent.

"So you have three choices; you can take this elsewhere, you can pay me double my normal deposit to read this stuff or you can pay my regular deposit and just tell me what you need."

He stared at me, then sat down and took out his credit card. As I threw his mess of papers into my trash can, he only winced once.

Lucy Hirleman, CTC, MCC, owns Berkshire Travel in Newfoundland, N.J. E-mail her at [email protected]. Fax, (973) 208-1204.

For travel agents, there is a lot of untapped potential in the car rental category. In fact, according to Mariela Archer, director of travel agency sales East at Alamo Rent a Car in Mashantucket, Conn., only 50% or less of all car rental sales are made through agencies. This statistic also means that roughly $7 billion worth of rental sales come from consumers booking directly.

Archer was giving a pep talk to agents during a lunch at ASTA's Eastern Regional Conference, held last month in Mashantucket, Conn. "When you want fast food, the person behind the counter asks, 'Do you want fries with that?' "

Archer urged agents, "Learn to sell the fries. Ask 'Do you want a car with that?'

"If every one of your agents books one additional car per day, that's an extra $15 per day, $75 per week and $3,900 per year," she said.

"If you have 10 agents, that adds up to an extra $39,000 a year, a significant jump in profits."

New York-based tour operator Journeyworld has scheduled a September departure of its fam tour to India and Nepal. From Sept. 22 to Oct. 4, tour members will visit the India destinations of New Delhi; Jaipur, where they'll get the chance to ride elephants; Agra, where the Taj Mahal is located, and Varanasi; Nepalese destinations will include Patan, Katmandu and Bhaktapur.

The cost for IATAN agents is $1,550 per person, double. The price includes roundtrip air fare from New York, domestic air fare within India and to Nepal, accommodations in deluxe hotels, daily breakfast, six dinners, comprehensive sightseeing and arrival and departure transfers.

For non-IATAN agents or companions, the tour price is $2,450. The single room supplement is $510. For more information, call (800) 635-3900 or (212) 247-6091.

The on-line discount hotel service, which was acquired recently by USA Networks, expanded the number of its properties in New York, Paris and London.

It also expanded its geographic scope by adding hotels in Milan and Rome, Italy, and Amsterdam, Netherlands.
www.hoteldiscount.com

Small Ship Cruises

When smaller is better for your cruise clients, take a look at this site, which provides all sorts of details for finding the right match between people and ships. Searches can be done by destination or type of cruise.

Park Place Travel in St. Petersburg, Fla., is the agency which does the bookings for this site.
www.smallshipcruises.com

Compiled by Jennifer Dorsey. E-mail suggestions to [email protected]