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CCRA Check-In is distributed
bi-monthly to all of our hotel partners worldwide.
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29219 Canwood St.,
Suite 115
Agoura Hills, CA 91301
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Phone: 818.575.4300
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Fax: 818.889.4547
www.ccra.com
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Director of Supplier Strategies
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Bill Lawrence
Director of Supplier Strategies
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Jolene Volkart
Sales Assistant
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Samuel Jinich
Programmer/Analyst,
RFP Services
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Marketing Coordinator
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CCRA Travel
Agency Partners
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2010 Sales Kit
Don't Take Our Word For It: |
"Our partnership with CCRA is essential to an overall increase in occupancy and revenue. Their professionalism is paramount to our success."
Linda Schilling
Director of Travel Industry Sales
Noble House Hotels and Resorts |
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"The CCRA marketing department is a huge help to us and easy to work with. As a result of their experience with our marketing, Harrah’s is looking forward to
2009 with CCRA!"
Brooke Johnson
Sales Manager
Harrah’s Las Vegas
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"CCRA offers a multitude of affordable opportunities. I continue to support CCRA marketing because of their large distribution channel. The ROI is realistic and achievable. They are cutting-edge in terms of marketing tool development!"
Colleen Kempf
National Director,
Travel Industry Sales
Omni Hotels
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"CCRA provides one of the widest and most economical platforms available to get our messages across to the global travel agency community. We value the relationship and appreciate the positive results
of their efforts."
David Kreindel
National Sales Director
Choice Hotels International
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You Still Have Time to Put Your 2010 Rates in Front of 23,000 Travel Agencies and Over 50,000 Individual Agents!
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Message from Mai
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Dear Hoteliers,
As we are in the midst of RFP season, we at CCRA would like to take this opportunity to remind you that it’s not too late to sign up for the 2010 CCRA Hotel Program. If you haven’t done so already, please click here to visit our RFP page where sign up easy!
For the upcoming year, we’ve added two new marketing tools that you’ll want to be sure to take advantage of – First Place listing in ccratravel.com and CCRx Reports. These reports give you the chance to compare yourself to your competitive set and find out more about travel agencies who book your market. CCRA will provide you the detailed report, but you have to sign up for the hotel program first! If you have already signed up, then check out the ads below for these two new programs for more information, including how to order.
Also in this issue, we’ve brought some interesting business tips to you focusing on how and why travel agents are still an important market for you to continue to tap into. We’re proud to be your vehicle to do this. With items like our monthly Travel Agent Newsletter, weekly eBlasts, and hotel webinars, CCRA continues to reach this growing market on your behalf.
In the past month we’ve also expanded our suppliers to include Maverick Aviation Group and iTravelInsured. These are two services we’re pleased to offer to our travel agents, once again proving that CCRA helps deliver what the agents need.
If you’re interested in marketing for the 2010 season, or some last minute marketing for the fourth quarter of 2009, visit http://www.ccra.com/suppliers/travelsuppliers.php or email sales@ccra.com with your inquiries.
We look forward to working with you again!
Sincerely,
Mai Meyaart
Vice President and Managing Director
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CCRA Adds Two New Travel Partners to CCRAtravel.com
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 CCRA is proud to introduce our newest travel partners, iTravelInsured®, Inc. and Maverick Aviation Group.
iTI® is a virtual insurance agency licensed in all 50 states. iTI specializes in marketing, managing and servicing travel insurance programs and worldwide emergency travel assistance, 24/7. iTI programs provide a multitude of travel insurance benefits and non-insurance travel services no matter where travelers go.
Now agents registered at CCRAtravel.com can improve their bottom line by accessorizing cruise, tour, hotel, and vacation package sales with an iTI travel insurance program. This new partnership means additional revenue for CCRA travel agents, who earn a 20% referral fee on all consumer travel insurance sales.*
Says Mai Meyaart, VP and General Manager of CCRA, “Like CCRA, iTI is a proud supporter of the professional travel agent. That is why we are so pleased to work with them and to make their service available to our agent community.”
Adds Bill Dismore, Executive Vice President of iTI, said, “We are excited to partner with CCRA, who searches for programs that bring value to their members, especially those programs that provide additional revenue streams. Travel Insurance has proven to be one of the best ways to earn additional dollars as an adjunct to the travel sale.”
Also this past month we partnered with Maverick Aviation Group. Maverick specializes in Las Vegas and Arizonian air and land sightseeing. Agents can now book their next tour of the Las Vegas Strip, the West rim or South Rim of the Grand Canyon through CCRA! They have over thirty air conditioned eco-star helicopters and turbo jets. The helicopters and jets have been used on television shows such as CSI. Maverick has also been Travel Channel’s pick two years in a row for views of the Las Vegas strip!
CCRA is proud to make more travel resources available to agents through CCRAtravel.com, once again proving we continue to put the travel agents’ needs first. Our goal is to make ccratravel.com the number booking tool for agents in more than just hotels, and we’re on our way!
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Listen Now on How to Steal Business from Your Competition
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 In our last Check-in newsletter, guest columnist, Bill Todd, interviewed Don Farrell on tips about stealing market share from his new book, “Ethical Theft: How to Steal Business from Your Competition."
Don is a travel industry leader and innovator and was the founder and chairman of Signature Training. Currently he is Founder and Chief Cultivator for Fresh Revenues, a consulting company that specializes in customized training programs and processes that, upon execution, will increase market share, revenues and ROI (http://freshrevenues.com/site/)
Don and Bill have created a podcast especially for CCRA Check-in readers. Now you can listen as Don reveals some his secrets for outthinking, outsmarting and outselling the competition.
Click here to listen to the podcast. Once you've brought up the new web browser, simply click on the play button at the top of the page to begin listening.
Bill Todd is one of the travel industry’s most sought after sales motivational speakers and trainers. He is the co-author with Stephen Covey of Speaking of Success. www.BTodd.com |
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Travel Agents Remain Vital, Here's the Proof
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Hey, hotels! Travelers are reaching out again to travel agents, and CCRA puts you in touch with these travel professionals. With so many online booking sites giving you a piece of the pie but not showing you the entire picture, travelers are turning to agents to sort through the labyrinth of fees, restrictions, and options. They're choosing to be smarter by turning to a professional to give them the ins and outs without the small print while insuring a more pleasant trip.
Here's an article written by Vicky Karantzavelou that further empasizes that travel agents are coming back.
Travel agencies remain vital to the travel experience, says Amadeus
Written By Vicky Karantzavelou
 Travel agents are an essential link in the distribution of travel and tourism products, viewed as trusted experts who deliver consumers a great travel experience and peace of mind, according to Peter Smith, Vice President of Amadeus Asia Pacific’s Business Solutions Group.
During a recent speaking tour to Osaka and Tokyo, Smith said that brick and mortar travel agencies form an essential part of the distribution chain, as do online travel sellers. Travel agents are particularly relevant in Asia Pacific, where people value and appreciate the personal touch.
“The choices for booking travel could be, on a simple level, compared to those for hosting a dinner,” said Smith. “The decision depends on one’s degree of involvement and the perceived rewards from that choice. For a casual meal we may simply want convenience foods - a fuss-free, quick option. Other times, for a special occasion, we may wish to go to a restaurant renowned for great food and service.”
“Similarly, for trips like a honeymoon, anniversary or a family gathering, travelers turn to their travel agent, who has the expertise and knowledge to organize trips with a high degree of complexity and personal involvement. You wouldn’t buy sushi from a vending machine for a special dinner, and most people wouldn’t book an important holiday event online. As long as people are traveling for these kinds of special occasions or are engaged with niche needs such as diving, adventure or specialist touring, there will always be a need for knowledgeable travel agents.”
However, Smith pointed out that change is a constant in the travel industry, especially in the volatile Asian region. Travel agencies need to evolve in order to stay ahead of the competition.
Smith suggested two areas where travel agencies should focus their attention:
1. Harness technology for a competitive edge
“Today’s challenging economic environment means that cost and efficiency awareness is at an all time high,” said Smith. “Agencies need to cut costs while increasing efficiency levels to retain customer loyalty. More travel agencies in the region are recognizing the importance of partnering with the right technology experts to improve efficiency and customer service, as well as cut costs.”
For example, Amadeus invests more in research and development than any other company in the industry, and develops solutions that target the specific needs of travel agents. One such solution is the Amadeus Custom Desktop, which allows agents to integrate all data and external applications directly into the Amadeus Selling Platform on a single customized display. Agents can thus propose a wider offering, reduce manual errors and save booking processing times. The Amadeus Agency Manager, the travel industry’s most widely used mid and back office solution, also automates all internal processes across all agency offices in different countries, enabling improved productivity, service and data quality.
2. Competing with the online channel
Consumers looking for convenience and lower prices are researching and booking directly online, and this is actively encouraged by airlines and other travel providers in order to cut their costs. To date, Amadeus has seen online travel agency bookings in Asia Pacific grow by 21% compared to the same period last year - this is certainly a business opportunity that travel agencies need to grasp.
One solution is to join the competition by developing a corporate website. With the Amadeus Agency Internet Engine, Amadeus is helping many travel agencies of different sizes to quickly and easily build an effective website enabling travel bookings and searches online - making it convenient and easy for customers to reach them.
Travel agencies also need to differentiate themselves effectively from the online channel, by being more than just travel order-takers.. “Agents can offer customers expert advice and personal service that a generalist website cannot provide - hence the continued demand for travel agents in this digital age,” said Smith.
Travel agencies can reinforce this demand by offering personalized service, understanding the specific needs of consumers and selling themselves as expert consultants. To do this, they need to demonstrate a keen understanding of customer needs and the shifts in the travel sector, and deliver superior service.
“As more agencies realize the need for change, they also recognize the integral role of technology toward their success. Amadeus will continue to support travel agencies by providing IT solutions that will give them a differentiating edge and help them stay relevant in the industry,” Smith concluded.
TDN INTERNATIONAL EDITION - http://www.traveldailynews.com Daily Travel & Tourism Newsletter for the International Travel Trade Market since 1999
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It's Time for Your Business Travel Clients to Get Back on the Road
and We Can Prove It
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| Written by: Mary's Contact - name?
 CCRA members and their suppliers have just survived the most severe economic recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Starting in 2008, many of our business travel clients started informing us that they would be cutting back or even eliminating travel altogether. We know too well that this lucrative market segment is extremely vulnerable to economic hard times.
The good news, however, is that most economists and business leaders finally agree that the recession is over. Realistically, we are now in the very early phases of a slow recovery. Yet, we have learned from the last three recoveries that business travel does not voluntarily rebound quickly. Recent history coupled with new research indicates that our corporate clients’ apprehension to resume business travel during this recovery will definitely result in lost sales and lost profits in 2010; and an agonizingly slow return to business as usual.
The last three economic recoveries taught travel professionals not to wait for the phone to start ringing again. We have reach out to motivate our business clients to start hitting the road, or risk losing market share, sales and net profits to more aggressive competitors.
The great news is that you now have access to powerful new research, the “Oxford Economics Business Travel Study.” This information can be shared with all of your clients at no cost. Simply reaching out and sharing this exciting market research with your clients will position you as a true business partner in their eyes.
This research was sponsored by the Destination and Travel Foundation, in collaboration with the U.S. Travel Association. Their findings are crystal clear; business travel in 2009, in and of itself, is a powerful economic stimulus for any company.
“This study shows that not all spending cuts are smart cuts,” reports Adam Sacks, Managing Director, Oxford Economics. “When companies reduce their travel budgets, there are negative consequences, in terms of lost revenue and profit growth, and in terms of giving competitors a distinct advantage, that can now quantify.”
“In tough economic times, many business executives have an understandable short-run focus on managing costs. The report points out the less visible, but still significant, long-term benefits resulting from business travel, such as (sales) partnership building and new business opportunities,” said Dr. Martin A. Asher, Adjunct Professor of Finance, the Wharton School. “Increased business travel in this economy can actually increase sales and reduce the financial decline companies might otherwise suffer.”
Among the key research findings of this report are:
- Curbing business travel can reduce a company’s profits for years to come
- The average business in the U.S. would forfeit 17% of its profits in the first year alone by eliminating business travel. It would take more than three years for profits to recover
- Both executives and business travelers estimate that 28% of current business would be lost without in-person sales calls and/or meetings
- Both executives and business travelers estimate that roughly 40% of their prospective customers are converted to new customers with an in-person sales call or meeting
- More than 75% of customers either require or prefer in-person sales calls or meetings, according to business travelers surveyed in April 2009 by the Kellogg School of Management
Clearly, cutting back on business travel poses significant business risks. According to business travelers across all industries, 25% of existing customers, and 28% of revenue, could be lost to competitors if customers are not met in-person. This risk appears to be most acute within the manufacturing sector, where 36% of customers, and 38% of revenue, could be lost to competitors.
I highly recommend that you download a copy of the executive summary of this powerful report today. Next, immediately share it with every co-worker that services the business travel market. Next, start creatively generating new sales by reaching out to your clients and offering to share this information in person.
Sharing this report is a opportunity for new face-to-face sales calls that will help position your company as a true business partner in both good times and bad. This report is also a powerful tool for your team to share when prospecting for new business. In fact, I strongly recommend you initially take direct aim on your competitors’ clients, who will certainly wonder why their current agency is not bringing this information to their attention.
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You are receiving this newsletter as a benefit of your participation in the CCRA Travel Solutions Hotel program or have requested to receive news from CCRA Travel Solutions independently through our website.
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