Leading travel industry forces Anite Travel Systems and Cedar AnsaBACK have announced the creation of a powerful new reservations fulfilment service for tour operators, which the two companies claim will significantly increase reservations outsourcing within the travel industry.
The companies have launched ansaBOOK, a managed call centre service which combines the systems muscle of leading e-commerce pioneer Anite with the call centre expertise of software and services group Cedar.
Operators are given the choice of completely outsourcing reservations through ansaBOOK or simply extending reservations hours by outsourcing outside working hours. Additionally, ansaBOOK enables them to outsource late availability distribution, customer service calls and phone assistance to internet bookers. These services are available from just £1 per passenger booked.
Anite and Cedar believe the strength and flexibility of the service, coupled with the appeal of the pricing model, will turn ansaBOOK into the leading service of its kind in the industry.
The joint initiative will offer operators a 24/7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) reservations fulfilment service, with Cedar`s travel trade staff taking bookings in Castlebar, Ireland using advanced telecoms technology and Anite`s market leading operator reservations system. All bookings will instantly be housed at Anite`s data centre in Slough, Berks - the leading managed services facility in the travel industry, or at a tour operator`s own reservation system data centre.
Results of an Anite survey published earlier this year entitled `No Turning Back: Tour Operators and E-commerce` indicate that operators work on slender margins of between 3-5% of the retail sale price of a holiday. The survey goes on to show that administration and IT infrastructure account for 4% of an average £500 holiday.
Said Cedar AnsaBACK managing director Steve Flory: “ansaBOOK has the potential to reduce operators` administration costs for processing bookings so significantly that it will stimulate an industry re-think on the whole issue of outsourcing. Many operators are already beginning to realise how reservations outsourcing makes sense, and the service proposition and pricing model we`ve jointly created with Anite means that it will now make overwhelming sense for many operators to make the transition.”
Said Anite Travel System`s director of business development Mary Jenkinson: “As the industry`s leading reservations systems and managed services provider we believe ansaBOOK fits neatly within our operational mix. We were the first company to offer web bookings to the industry through a transaction-based pricing model, and the success of that initiative is proof that this economic model appeals to the marketplace. We believe there is a sizeable body of operators who will harness ansaBOOK on the grounds of economic and service expedience, as it will improve their profitability and leave them free to concentrate on developing, marketing and operating holiday programmes.”
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