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agent training | report
With increased investment, incentives and more focused products, specialist training initiatives are strengthening partnerships between suppliers and agents, reports Judy Jacobs
CONSUMERS MAY HAVE access to more travel information than ever before, but there’s still a need for agents who specialize and truly know the products of their chosen niche. To help them get to know their products better, several destinations, cruise lines, tour operators and hotels are revamping their existing specialist programs, while others are creating new, multimedia initiatives. T ese specialist programs have been around
for several decades but weren’t widely off ered at fi rst. Now, greater numbers and more types of suppliers have developed these initiatives, which in recent years have gone through a metamorphosis. Not only has the format of these programs
changed, but the standards have also improved considerably. “One of the reasons they’ve improved is
there’s been an eff ort to not just speak about the destination and the product, but to also teach the frontline how to qualify the client and identify those who might be appropriate for a product,” says Guida Botelho, director of training for T e Travel Institute. “Bringing these elements into the specialist program teaches consultants how to sell and how to market that specifi c piece so they can sell it more.” While programs previously consisted of print
texts with tests that had to be mailed in — some suppliers still off er this form as an option — now
AGENT OFFERS
ROYAL CARIBBEAN: Travel agents completing the Royal Caribbean University of WOW specialist program receive a certifi cate, electronic badge for social media posting, CLIA credits, an agency locator, priority check-in coupons for a vacation of their own, and an onboard coupon booklet worth up to $200.
theuofwow.com
COLLETTE: Travel professionals can become Collette Specialists by completing fi ve modules of Collette University — an e-learning program — and passing their various tests. Upon completion, agents receive a personal 40% discount on any Collette tour of their choosing, and for every client booking they receive $20.
gateway.gocollette.com
UNIWORLD: Agents who complete the Uniworld River Cruise Specialist program receive an array of benefi ts, including placement on Uniworld’s online consumer referral program, additional savings off travel agent rates, bonus commissions for up to 10 client bookings and a complimentary cruise.
uniworld.com/river-cruise-specialist
nearly all are online. In addition to text-based information, they also include video, interactive elements and audio so agents can learn on the go. Many programs can be completed in a few
hours, while others take much more time and require agents to update their knowledge on a regular basis. To reach higher levels of specialization in the case of destinations, agents can be required to visit the country. Ensuring agents can better sell products seems
to be the driver behind most specialist programs. Collette launched its fi rst ever program, Collette University, in January this year. In its early days the company sold directly to consumers, but in recent years has engaged more and more travel agents in its distribution chain. T e new specialist program is the latest eff ort to create stronger partnerships with the agent community. “T ese programs create a deeper partnership
between a supplier and an agent,” says Dan Sullivan, Collette’s president and CEO. “We tell our agents that we hope they’ll see us as a partner. We see them as an extension of us. We live in a world of specialization. Agents knowing 300 products and people coming to them for expertise is not what it once was.” Suppliers recognize well educated agents are
better able to sell their product and are investing a tremendous amount of time, energy and money to upgrade their programs. Tourism Australia has
made a huge investment to revamp its 26-year- old Aussie Specialist program and make it more interactive, with fresh content and 60 suggested itineraries. “T e investment has been signifi cant,” says
Jane Whitehead, Tourism Australia’s vice president, regional general manger, the Americas. “To design the new program, we interviewed 100 agents in each key market globally and reviewed 48 competitor destination training programs.” “In addition to the new training platform,
and in partnership with our state and territory tourism organizations, we are hiring one part- time and two full-time staff members to increase our face-to-face training support throughout North America. We currently have around 1,400 Aussie Specialists in North America. Our target is to double this number in the next 12 months.” Although many suppliers off er monetary
incentives such as credit toward trips and cruises, for most agents, it’s the knowledge gained from the programs and the leads they generate that remain the real benefi ts of specialist programs. “I do them mostly for knowledge and referrals,
and usually for places I really like,” says Lois Howes of Superior Travel in Freeport, N.Y., and a past national director of ASTA. T at includes France, which she’d visited more than 100 times before but still came away with new ideas from a destination specialist program on France she recently took.
fall 2015 | ASTAnetwork | 51
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