Las Vegas (June 16, 2008) — Vacation.com® – North America's leading travel services marketing organization – has unveiled the first phase of EZguider, a fully integrated leisure-focused selling system and booking platform designed exclusively for its member agencies to sell preferred supplier products. The announcement was made at the 10th International Conference & Trade Show in front of a record 1,400 attendees in Las Vegas.
EZguider is being developed exclusively for the benefit of Vacation.com members and is provided at no additional cost. In addition, member agencies are being offered booking based incentives as high as $1,000 in the first 12 months after they begin using EZguider.
Users have the ability to research, plan, quote and book comprehensive cruise, tour, insurance and ancillary travel products in an all-in-one, easy-to-use Internet-based site.
"EZguider is clearly a significant advancement for our membership as it offers a dedicated booking engine connecting preferred suppliers on one desktop platform," said Steve Tracas, president and CEO of Vacation.com. "We are taking the required time to get it right and will do the same during the implementation process for our members," he added.
Multiple booking capabilities of tour, cruise, insurance, add-ons and potentially air later this year, with a diverse variety of suppliers has not previously been available in a single travel agent desktop tool anywhere in North America.
"As our industry continues to grow in both complexity and volume, we are driven to develop new tools for our members to ensure they stay ahead of their competitors," said Tracas. "EZguider is intended to bring more value to both the membership and our preferred suppliers," he added.
The state-of-the-art platform features:
- Web-based access from any Internet connected computer
- Fast, efficient and intuitive search
- Side-by-side product comparison
- Best value pricing
- Integration with other software already in use by member agencies
- Extensive vacation content from preferred suppliers
- Tour, cruise and insurance products that can be combined via a shopping basket
- Easy client record management
- Simple booking management including booking tracking
The search feature allows agents to search by multiple criteria including destination, type of trip, dates, length of vacation, preferred supplier and type of package, cruise or tour. The search results include itinerary details on a day-by-day basis, plus a brochure-style description of the trip along with photos, maps and other features.
Vacation.com evolved EZguider with member agency input. "We enlisted our Advisory Board and other members to pilot the product last fall and identify the features and functions they would like included," Tracas said. "We then developed a product to address the key needs of our diverse membership that will continue to evolve throughout the year with more preferred suppliers, features and functionality," he added.
With over 60% of Vacation.com membership revenue driven by the cruise segment, EZguider will enable access to Amadeus Cruise for those agencies that already use that tool and now equip those members without a cruise booking option with EZcruise, a cruise booking solution that provides side-by-side comparison of cruise products and booking capabilities without jumping from supplier site to supplier site.
The 10th International Conference & Trade Show set the stage to register member agencies to use EZguider, allowing the individual agents to become familiar with the site and ensuring that the agents are credentialed with the suppliers available on EZguider. Vacation.com has created a support desk to assist members in making the most of their EZguider experience.
"We are introducing this product to our members on a measured timetable," Tracas said. "We want to implement the product correctly by aligning the right members with the current functionality as appropriate for each individual agency. We will continue to add more features and benefits, assessing our progress, adding more functionality, more members and reassessing our progress over the course of the year," Tracas said.
Preferred suppliers participating in the initial launch of EZguider with both content and connectivity include:
- Tour: Globus Family of Brands (Globus, Cosmos, Monograms, Avalon Waterways), Travel Impressions, and Travel Bound currently; Classic, CIE, Central Holidays and Viking River Cruises later this year
- Cruise: Avalon Waterways, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Oceania Cruises, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises
- Travel insurance: AIG/Travel Guard, CSA Travel Protection, RBC Travel Protection and Travel Insured
"In addition, our goal is to provide scheduled air displays via EZguider by year end for those members who do not have access to a traditional GDS" said Tracas. "It's a very large project for a diverse membership, but it is the right project at the right time to support our members with the tools to make them more productive and help cut through the clutter of so many products and options now available to the consumer," he added.
Tracas told the agents at the Vacation.com conference: "Technology will always be an enabler to help travel professionals be more efficient. It can never replace the experience and knowledge so many of you provide to your clients. But technology coupled with that wealth of experience can be a very powerful combination."
EZguider is a cooperative effort of Vacation.com, Amadeus IT Group, Vacation.com’s parent company and Comm-tec Solutions, Inc, the U.S. division of Comtec (Europe) Ltd., a leading software provider to the leisure travel sector, headquartered in the U.K.
Vacation.com
Vacation.com is a travel services marketing organization currently serving more than 5,100 travel agency locations across the U.S. and Canada. Vacation.com facilitates "The Power of the Partnership" between a network of quality preferred suppliers and member agencies who earn higher profits from disciplined marketing, training, and booking tools. Focused on leisure travel distribution and - "Powered By Real Travel Agents" - Vacation.com is North America's largest vacation selling network.
Interested in maximizing your agency’s profit potential? Visit JoinVacation.com to learn why Vacation.com is the right choice for your agency.
Vacation.com is a subsidiary of Amadeus IT Group, SA, and maintains its headquarters in Alexandria, VA.
For further information, contact Vacation.com at 1650 King Street, Suite 450, Alexandria, VA 22314; tel: 800-843-0733.
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