WASHINGTON -- CityPass, which sells discounted ticket booklets for
sightseeing attractions in seven U.S. cities, is paying travel
agency commissions for the first time since it was founded in June
1997.
As reported, the privately owned firm joined ARC last month, and
will pay 10% to retailers because "it's a way for a small company
like CityPass to get into thousands of travel agency offices," a
spokeswoman said.
The firm wants "to get to consumers at the point when they're
making the decision to travel," she said, adding that "people are
very much using travel agents" despite the Internet.
The company already pays "variable" commissions to wholesalers,
and was getting 10 to 12 e-mails per week from agents "asking if
they can sell CityPass and what's the commission," the spokeswoman
said.
Joining ARC is "the best way to reach agents, since we can't
deal with every one individually," she said.
ARC-accredited agencies can sell CityPass on ARC manual tour
orders, take the 10% up front and remit the remainder in regular
weekly sales reports, effective immediately.
CityPasses are available for Boston ($30.25 for an adult);
Chicago ($30.50); Hollywood, Calif. ($49.75); New York ($32);
Philadelphia ($28.50); San Francisco ($33.25), and Seattle
($28.25).
Prices for youths and seniors are available; Hollywood has no
senior rate.
The booklets contain actual tickets (not vouchers) for admission
to six or eight of each city's most popular tourist attractions in
addition to instructions on how to use public transportation to get
to each site.
Clients present the first service coupon of the tour order at
the ticket booth of the first attraction visited in order to
receive their CityPass booklets.
Thereafter, clients no longer have to wait in line to get
tickets, although they still might have to line up for other
purposes, such as to get an elevator to a viewing tower.
Booklets can be purchased anytime before a trip, and are valid
for nine days after the first ticket is used.
The San Francisco booklet includes a ticket for unlimited public
transportation such as cable-car rides, and the Hollywood booklet
features Universal Studios Hollywood.
CityPass was founded and is co-owned by Mike Gallagher, a former
theme park executive who is based in Napa, Calif., and Mike Morey
of Jackson, Wyo., who also runs a data management company to help
sightseeing attractions analyze their businesses.
Ticketing instructions for agents are available on ARC's Web
site at www.arccorp.com and fax-back service at (800)
811-1608, document 810.
Information on CityPass is available at www.citypass.net or
by calling (707) 256-0490.