NEWS agents at sixth annual event, themed ‘The Future is You’. Andrew McQuarrie reports from Sorrento


Company harnesses AI to create ‘Content Concierge’


I Tricia


Handley- Hughes


nteleTravel has unveiled an AI tool intended to help agents reach new clients on social media. ‘Content Concierge’ has been designed to generate engaging social media content and blog posts and save


agents time so they can focus on their core tasks. InteleTravel executive director Mike Putman said:


“We think this is going to be a massive switch in how agents are going to be able to pull in customers who might book internally with hotels and brands.” He claimed the results could mean an agent who might


otherwise receive 10 impressions on their post could end up receiving 10,000, enabling them to reach new clients. “If an agent is at ground level now and they’re not doing


well recruiting customers, if they use this consistently, they should have plenty of customers and enquiries,” he said. “Our agents told us they are now trained and they


just need people to sell to. This will definitely drive engagement.” Content Concierge is due to be launched on November 15. InteleTravel has also been designing an itinerary-


building tool, which draws on AI. Company president and co-founder James Ferrara said: “I’ve personally been blown away by what AI can do and I want you to see it too.” He added: “The purpose of AI is to save you time and


effort and to help you compete better and improve your results. It’s not some big scary technology.” Putman said uptake of the agency’s app had been


“phenomenal” since it was introduced in the summer, with “a lot of bookings” coming through it. He said: “It’s a native


0 agents at 2025 event The programme will be planned


for between 750 and 1,000 agents, significantly up from this year’s figure of more than 500 in Sorrento. InteleTravel UK and Ireland


managing director Tricia Handley- Hughes said: “Every year, the bar has been set higher.” The first conference was held in Glasgow in 2019, before the event went virtual during Covid. Valencia hosted the gathering in 2021, Belfast in 2022 and Malaga last year.


Mike Putman


app that gives agents the ability to make live bookings even when they’re sitting in a coffee shop or on a train. “They can also see their commissions paid and


the number of IntelePerks [reward scheme] points they have. They have access to basically everything they have through our booking engines.” Another recent addition is that agents are now


able to see suppliers’ commission levels on the agency’s booking engines, an idea proposed by an InteleTravel homeworker at last year’s conference.


Trade ‘needs regular training’ on accessibility and disabilities


The travel industry still has a lot of work to do to ensure travellers with hidden disabilities and additional needs receive the support they require, InteleTravel’s annual conference heard. Ireland-based


agent Doey Mulligan, who was involved in a road collision 10 years ago that continues to


travelweekly.co.uk Doey Mulligan


affect her everyday life, said regular training was needed “from the top to the bottom” of the sector. Pointing to her sunflower lanyard, which indicates a wearer has hidden disabilities, she said “there still needs to be a whole load of work so people understand what this is”, adding that one-off training on


accessibility was not sufficient. Delegates were also encouraged


to adopt a different mindset during their stay in Sorrento and thereafter. “Adjust your lens as you’re


walking around the hotel,” she said. “How far is it to walk to the


toilet? How long to the restaurant? “When you’re on fam trips


or invited to any cruise ship or hotel, look at it through the lens of somebody with a less able body.”


17 OCTOBER 2024 15


PICTURES: Fotocenter Studio


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