Today’s reservations agents need specialized training for conveying complex rate structures to educated consumers
Due to the advances in revenue management philosophies, processes and technology systems, those in charge of pricing and distribution have found evermore creative ways to “fence” rates such as by the booking window, distribution channel, length of stay, stay pattern, market segment, room type restrictions, membership affiliation, or by requiring special terms such as advance purchase / non-refundable.
At the same time, today’s callers are armed with more information than ever before caused by the transparency resulting from online distribution channels.
Therefore, today’s agents are required to convey (and often to defend) the most complex rate structures and availability restrictions in the history of the lodging industry to the most educated callers our industry has ever faced.
Yet at the same time, most revenue and marketing managers are spending the majority of their time focusing on online distribution channels, making “voice” reservations the forgotten channel.
The result is that today’s agents struggle along on their own and do their best to defend some very direct and often harsh lines of questioning such as:
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