Booking Hotels: It’s Not a Gamble Any More!
by Liz Badras – CCRATravel.com

article continued from

Some travel agents have experienced a client reaching his or her hotel to find that the front desk clerk either tries to sell the client on an upgrade, advises the room originally booked in is not available, or simply does not find the reservation at all. In each of these cases, the travel agent is usually no longer able to collect commission for the revisions made to the original reservation. It then becomes a paper war, not to mention the time involved, for the travel agent to prove that he or she is entitled to a commission.

With the Internet discount travel Web sites and many hotels offering direct-to-consumer discounts on their own Web sites, travel agents are finding it more difficult each day to provide service to customers and still be able to make any kind of profit. So what is an agent to do? Give up? Not a chance!

There is help today with Web sites such as CCRAtravel.com. This travel-agent-only Web site takes into consideration the struggle of today’s travel agent and makes booking hotels less of a headache and more profitable at the same time. At CCRAtravel.com, a travel agent can see live multiple inventory types on one screen. There is inventory from the GDS, from Internet discount Web sites, and now inventory from wholesale providers (called Net Rates).

The Net Rates are the new wave of the future and make the struggle to book hotels for profit a lot easier for many travel agents. There are agents who already book vacation packages from wholesale providers. Now, hotels are available without having to purchase an entire package – and at a discounted rate, oftentimes better than the Internet discounts found on consumer travel Web sites.

How does selling Net Rates work? Travel agents find a hotel with a Net Rate option, currently only on CCRAtravel.com, and have the ability to compare this rate with Internet discounted rates and GDS rates on the same screen. On CCRAtravel.com, estimated taxes (and sometimes breakfast) are included in the daily and total rates. If the travel agent chooses the Net Rate option, he or she then has the ability to calculate a commission and apply this to the final sell rate. Because the Net Rate is made available from wholesale inventory, it is prepaid and non-refundable. As seen today on Internet discount Web sites, hotel Web sites, and even the GDSs, this practice of prepaying for a non-refundable room is becoming more and more common and better accepted by consumers.

Typically, travel agents are able to mark up commission anywhere from 20 percent to 30 percent. The maximum mark up allowed on CCRAtravel.com is 100 percent. In addition to finding lower rates and saving clients money, the travel agency receives commission on Net Rates within two weeks from the date of booking. No more paper wars, no more time out of the day to chase down commissions. Reporting is immediate and easily available on the same CCRAtravel.com website. A travel agent can view and cancel a booking and also see the status of commission payment for all bookings.

In today’s environment, hotel bookings can be a win-win situation for everyone involved – including the travel agent!

Liz Badras is manager of travel agency membership for CCRA International, the parent company of CCRATravel.com. You may reach her at liz.badras@ccrainternational.com.

(Credits: CCRA International; Hilton Hotels; Outrigger Hotels)