TORRANCE, Calif. -- Patheo is offering agencies several tools to
expedite the booking of consolidators' fares, including one that
will enable consumers to book from agencies' Web sites.
Patheo, based here, has relationships with 20 consolidators and
a database of more than 8 million fares to help agencies leverage
the power of their Web sites.
"We feel we are well-positioned to have a strong place in the
travel agency market by providing the needed alternatives of low
fares," said Hany Syed, Patheo's director of Internet retail
distribution.
Patheo Retail Online Booking Engine(PROBE) lets consumers book
consolidators' fares directly from agency Web sites.
PROBE can be installed on an agency's Web site in about 15
minutes, said Patheo chief executive officer and president Syed
Hasan. The source code is downloaded and then PROBE is cut and
pasted onto the agency site.
The agency specifies to Patheo the markup -- either by
percentage or dollar amount -- and the consolidators whose fares it
wants to resell.
With PROBE, on-line bookings can take place through Sabre,
Galileo International or Amadeus reservation systems.
Formed by Infotech Marketing in 1996, the company name became
Patheo in April 1999. Consolidators in its database include Trans
Am Travel, Costamar, Picasso, Pacific Gateway, Skybird, Solar Tours
and Agents Advantage.
Several agencies use an additional PROBE module to book
published fares on their sites as well, Syed said.
Patheo charges a $500 setup fee for PROBE, with no monthly fee
if more than 20 tickets are sold.
To sign up for PROBE, the agency has to be a member of Patheo
Agency Link (PAL).
With the PAL network, instead of consumers booking directly from
agencies' sites, the agencies check consolidators' fares and
availability on a PAL site and book them there.
PAL facilitates the transaction between the agency and the
consolidator, saving the agency the time and expense of telephone
bookings.
Patheo charges agencies a PAL setup fee of $99 and a $19 per
month service fee that's waived if 10 tickets are sold.
Some 15,000 agents in the U.S. are PAL members. Agents can sign
up for PAL on Patheo's Web site at www.patheo.com.