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Eurostar’s Voyager booking portal ‘is up to 85% faster’
Ben Ireland
Eurostar’s trade booking portal will be “60%-70% faster” when it launches this spring. New system Voyager will
replace Opera and also Elgar, an older system used by a small number of tour operators. Eurostar said tests had shown
the average time to make a return booking on Voyager was one minute and 38 seconds – 19 seconds faster than Opera.
Other transactions were found
to be quicker too. Refunding one leg of a journey took 10 seconds rather than 37 and booking a group without a deposit typically took one minute and 25 seconds instead of three minutes and 47 seconds. Voyager will also enable agents
to upgrade all passengers in a group booking in an average of six clicks rather than 20, and to process a refund in three clicks rather than 20. Agents get price parity on
bookings made through Voyager,
which can run on any web browser. Eurostar’s head of indirect sales
and distribution, Paul Brindley, said: “The speed of the transaction, whether you are booking a group, individual or changing a ticket, is significantly quicker. It will be quick and easy for our trade partners.” Brindley added: “It will reduce
transaction times by 60%-70% and, in some cases, Voyager can be up to 85% faster.” Eurostar, which carried
11 million passengers in 2019, is to
Eurostar’s new system will be ‘quick and easy’
launch Voyager alongside an API online feed, which agents can host on their websites as a “self-serve” option for customers that also generates them commission. Brindley, who is urging UK
agents to sign up, said many of the 4,500 agents who had already registered are based overseas in countries such as the US and China and make pan-European bookings. Voyager is expected to go live in
March or April.
eurostar4agents.com
Arena Rail signals VE Day anniversary special tour and five other UK breaks
Arena Rail Holidays has added six UK tours to capitalise on growth in domestic breaks. The tours explore Yorkshire,
the Peak District, Lake District, Durham and the Jurassic Coast, while a special three-day escorted tour will commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE Day. The 75th VE Day
Commemorations & 40s Steam Tour will take guests to London on May 7 on a steam-hauled locomotive. Guests can join from Preston, Warrington Bank Quay, Crewe or Stafford. On May 8, they will cruise along the Thames to see the VE Day celebrations around the city of London. To mark the anniversary,
pipers will play Battle’s O’er, the traditional tune played at the end of a battle.
30 6 FEBRUARY 2020 The Nation’s Toast to the
Heroes of World War 2 will be at 3pm, and bells in churches and cathedrals will ring at 7pm. There will be a gala dinner
with 1940s entertainment at the four-star Tower Hotel. It costs from £695, based on twin-share and includes two nights’ B&B and coach transfers.
arenarailholidays.co.uk
travelweekly.co.uk
The Thames will host VE Day celebrations
PICTURES: Jason Alden; Shutterstock
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