BELLEVUE, Wash. -- Expedia on July 1 will launch Expedia for
Agents, a tool that will enable travel agencies to book land-only
packages on line and earn commission on the components.
The product won't be offered to every agency, however. Only
agencies that are preferred distributors of Classic Custom
Vacations -- an Expedia subsidiary -- will be eligible, although
the inventory on Expedia for Agents will represent several
suppliers.
According to Bob Hohman, president of Classic Custom Vacations,
Expedia hopes the tool will help "cement relationships with key
partners" that are committed to selling Classic as a preferred
product off line but want an opportunity to sell online packages
not offered by Classic.
"It's a complementary product that will help [Classic] agencies
make sales that they might be losing to the Internet," Hohman
said.
Classic is best-known for its Hawaii packages, but the company,
to a lesser degree, also serves the Caribbean, Mexico and
Europe.
Hohman said Classic's preferred agencies may be well-positioned
to serve a client traveling to Hawaii or the Caribbean, but when
that same client wants a weekend getaway to Las Vegas, the agency
might not be able to compete with the Web -- or a traditional
agency specializing in Las Vegas -- on price and selection.
The inventory in Expedia for Agents will be identical to that
offered to consumers on Expedia.com. Agents can book vacation
packages to 460 destinations worldwide, Hohman said.
Agencies will earn 10% on hotel, car rental and insurance
components and 5% on tours and activities -- including events sold
by Ticketmaster, an Expedia affiliate. Agencies will be paid within
14 days after a client's travel begins, Hohman said.
Expedia for Agents won't offer cruise vacations because "the
cruise lines don't want us to do it," Hohman said.
"Lines want to control their distribution channels," he said.
"They're offering Expedia certain pricing based on what is sold [on
Expedia.com]. It's a cruise line decision, and we're respecting
that."
Agencies won't be charged to implement Expedia for Agents, and
Hohman said they need not be concerned that Expedia will access
client data and market to travelers directly.
"There is a thick, brick wall around the Expedia for Agents
database," he said. "Obviously, that's key to the success of the
product."
If agencies need to make itinerary changes, Expedia will offer a
phone-support desk dedicated to Expedia for Agents, said Hohman,
who added that agents may be able to make some changes on line.
About 60 agencies are participating in a beta test of the
product, Expedia said.
Agencies will continue to sell Classic products off line, said
Hohman, but Expedia plans to launch a Classic online booking engine
by the end of September.