THE OUTSIDE
SALES SUPPORT NETWORK asked the Caribbean Tourism
Organization to explain how agents will be involved in the CTO's
new "super Web site," which will be operated with Travelocity. OSSN
is concerned that the site will bypass home-based travel agents. In
a letter, OSSN President Gary Fee asked the CTO for a "full,
complete, detailed, and public explanation of this project, and the
degree to which U.S. travel agents will be involved, before the
site's announced debut in mid-November."
AT A RECENT
CTO conference, a Travelocity executive said the new Web
site will launch next month. Afterwards, OSSN said, CTO officials
could not release any information on whether the site will take
direct bookings from consumers who typically book Caribbean
vacations from traditional U.S. travel agents. Fee said that the
timing of the site's debut is unfortunate, given the battle being
waged by Caribbean leaders with U.S. officials now over the new
U.S. passport requirements that could hurt Caribbean tourism levels
in 2007 and beyond.
AMERICA'S
VACATION CENTER, the San Diego-based host agency with
several hundred independents, released Agent Power 5.0, an upgrade
to its Web-based software that provides access to book live
inventory, customer relationship management, automatic commission
tracking, and other tasks. David Anderson, chief information
officer, said the upgrade will spark productivity gains for its
agents. In addition to booking inventory, the software offers
community forums, an online knowledge base, Web tutorials and other
resources for agents. Professional travel agents interested in
affiliating with the host agency can visit www.joinavc.com. The
agency is a member of the American Express Travel Representative
Network.
THROUGH THE
PORTHOLE: Following installation of wireless service
aboard its fleet earlier this year, Crystal Cruises said it plans
to enable cell phone service on both the Crystal Symphony and
Crystal Serenity via a partnership with SeaMobile.
FAM OF THE
WEEK
California
Dates
valid: Through Dec. 31 for overnight stays.
Sponsor: The Claremont Resort & Spa,
Berkeley, Calif.
Cost: 50% off the lowest available
rate.
Noteworthy: Agents booking clients for
stays between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31 get 15% commission.
Contact: (800) 551-7266.
Home-Based
Agent Editor:
Donna
Tunney
Phone: (508) 221-3674
[email protected]
For promotional
opportunities in the E-letters, contact [email protected].