NEW YORK -- Spa Finder here, a company that sells and markets spa
vacations, unveiled two projects for travel agents: a spa
reservations system with live inventory and a spa sales training
program.
The reservations system, Spa Finder Spa Res, is on the Web at http://travelagent.spafinder.com.
Jose Barreiro, Spa Finder vice president of travel, said the
training program, incorporated into the Spa Res system, will help
agents book the right spa vacation for their clients.
The misconception that spas still are only "fat farms" played
into the company's decision to put together the training program,
Barreiro said.
"A lot of consumers are being turned away at the agency level,"
he said. "[Agents] don't know enough about the niche."
Agent training has become a "top priority" at Spa Finder,
Barreiro said.
"We need to help agents gather information about their clients,
ask them the right questions."
The spa training program includes a glossary of terms, an
overview of treatments, a page of frequently asked questions,
reviews of different properties based on treatments and details on
spa etiquette.
Agents can search for spa facilities in Spa Res using multiple
criteria, such as price, travel dates, type of spa or available
services.
Completion of the training program will be worth four to six
Institute of Certified Travel Agents continuing education units,
Barreiro said.
In addition to booking spa vacations and packages, Spa Res has
the capability to import air reservations, car rental bookings and
other travel data from Sabre. Agents then can print out a complete
travel itinerary for their clients from the Spa Res site.
Barreiro said the company hopes to eventually offer that option
with more GDSs.
Commission on Spa Finder vacations starts at 10%. Once an agent
registers on the
Spa Res site, their commission can be tracked on line whether
the package was booked via the site or through the company's call
center, at (800) ALL-SPAS.