WEST ISLIP, N.Y. -- Vacation.com will unveil a new product called AgentNet
at the Travel Weekly Conference 2000, set for May 3 to 5 in
Chicago.
"Basically, AgentNet is how we will keep our membership
connected," said Christopher Dane, executive vice president of
operations for the company, based here.
Features include a product called Site Builder, which enables
members to build their own Web sites with a user-friendly
point-and-click system, he said.
"Previously, agents had to work with separate vendors to create
Web sites, and now, for the first year at least, that will not be
an expense," he said.
Another feature, called Lead Manager, shows member agencies how
the company tracks leads and passes them on to members, according
to Dane.
"The third piece is what I would call 'everything else' about
AgentNet," he said, including a feature that tracks each member's
individual performance on preferred-supplier sales -- information
that previously has not been available to agents in any form.
AgentNet also will provide development data, such as exclusive
Web sales for member agencies, Dane said. In addition, Vacation.com
is developing a consumer site designed to drive leads to the agency
members by ZIP code and track their responses, he said. Referrals
can be within a 100-mile radius of the selected ZIP code, he
said.
Under the plan, the consumer fills out a profile and selects an
agency on the site, after which the information is forwarded to the
member agency, he said.
"The agent has to respond to that lead, so we know that consumer
was handled," according to Dane. "AgentNet will be the agents'
lifeline to Vacation.com, its consumers and our preferred
suppliers. In short, it is the vehicle that will bring all these
elements together," Dane said.
In the past, the company has had to rely on traditional methods
to keep members connected, such as faxes and mailings, he said.
Describing the new product as easy to learn, especially for travel
agents with experience on the Internet, Dane said users will
probably only need training on how to set up their own URLs.
"We have a document that walks them through that, or they can
learn it electronically," he said.
Members of Vacation.com will receive AgentNet at no extra charge
beyond their membership fee, he said. The product, after the
preview in the trade show at the Travel Weekly Conference, will
makes its debut formally in June.
"Like all technology, it's a work in progress, but we have had a
beta-test going on with about 50 member agencies, who have been
very vocal in giving us feedback," Dane said.