NEW YORK -- Moving forward on the scheduled September launch of its
consumer site, Atlanta-based eGulliver.com announced at a press briefing
here it had partnered to become the exclusive "lead generation
service" for ASTA members.
The agreement with ASTA marks the first major partnership for
the site, which seeks to match mostly upscale travelers with agents
who specialize in a given destination or vacation experience.
According to Stephen McGillivray, senior vice president of
marketing and sales for ASTA, eGulliver was selected as a partner
because of its commitment to "brick-and-mortar" agencies and agency
commissions.
"They are now part of an exclusive group of endorsed products
and services, and that's because we can see in their business plan
a real commitment to contribute to the profitability of our
agencies," McGillivray said.
"Everything they do, it is with the travel agent in mind, and we
think they understand the combination of technology and physical
locations, the 'click-and-mortar' strategy, that will be the future
of this industry."
Under the eGulliver system, agents pay a $100 fee to register
with the site and are grouped according to specialties and
certifications earned from accrediting institutions such as ICTA,
ASTA, CLIA, various tourism boards and others.
When the site goes live, consumers will be prompted to fill out
a questionnaire about the kind of travel experience they are
searching for, their budget and their location and will be able to
search for agents who specialize in their areas of interest.
Following their trip, consumers will be asked to provide
feedback on the agents who served them, and the aggregate consumer
ratings will be published on the site.
Agents will be charged fees of $5 to $25 per lead generated by
the service as well as an additional percentage charge for each
lead that closes.
According to eGulliver chief executive officer Deslie Webb, the
company has registered 70 specialists since the service's "soft
launch" in May and has begun aggressively seeking out agents to
register before the site goes live to consumers in September.
Toward that end, the $100 registration fee has been waived for
all agents who register by September.