Travelport, the business services provider to the global travel industry, today announces details of the successful completion of the full conversion of Tzell Travel Group of PA, to Travelport for its Apollo global distribution system. Through the multi-year agreement, Travelport’s Apollo platform has become this regional TMC’s preferred GDS, providing access to travel content including air, hotel, car rental and cruise lines via its Apollo platform.

Jeff Underwood, president, Tzell Travel Group of PA said, “I was reluctant at first to even consider moving GDS providers but Travelport sent a team in to talk to us about our needs and concerns and then put together a very specific program to address each one of them.  The implementation process itself was organized and well executed with all parties actively involved. We received support from Travelport at every step of the way from discovery to start-up and through transition.”

“Previously, our agents could not access Southwest Airlines in our availability display but with the switch to Apollo, we are now able to do so.  The Travelport Flight Select App allows agents to quickly email flight options to customers before purchase. Both of these are huge timesavers. Lastly, the quality control program offered by Agency Technology LLC combined with the Travelport tools, creates an end-to end solution that allows our agents to spend more time on customer service and revenue-generating activity. I’m very pleased with the overall improvement of the reservation process. Since converting to Travelport, my managers aren’t swamped with managing PNRs and ticketing as they used to be. The conversion has gone very well.”

According to Scott Hyden, vice president & general manager, Sales, U.S. and Canada, Travelport, “We are very proud of our ability to deliver smart technology solutions that provide agencies such as Tzell Travel Group of PA with measureable long term value and benefits. Our teams worked seamlessly together to ensure a smooth conversion, which we completed in a matter of weeks.  We are thrilled to begin this relationship with Jeff and his team and we look forward to leveraging our products and services to help in their continued growth.”

*  The agreement provides Tzell Travel Group of PA with several industry leading Travelport solutions including:
*  Travelport e-Pricing™—ensures travelers have the most advanced tools for shopping low fares;
*  Travelport Scripts—streamlines the booking process and facilitates the performance of repetitive tasks;
*  Programmable Keys—stores frequently used formats and launch scripts or applications with a single keystroke;
*  Focalpoint Relay—a suite of productivity timesaving tools, such as queue management, screen capture, profile creation and editing;
*  TravelScreen Plus—an industry-exclusive, it allows the agency to tailor air/car/hotel availability displays based on client preferences;
*  Flight Select App—enables travel counselors to email their customers choices of flights and airfares;
*  Hotel Images—integrates hotel photos, virtual tours, and videos as part of the hotel booking process; and
ARNE: Automated Refunds and Exchanges – automates the process of refunding or exchanging electronic tickets on the Apollo host

Tzell Travel Group of PA will also benefit from the following Agency Technology LLC solutions:

*  Unused Ticket Tracking: reconciled in real time with the agencies back office, with reporting available for end-users and clients via web interface, 24X7;
*  Quality Control and PNR Finishing: branded for each agency and customized for each client;
*  Automatic Ticketing: including both ARC and non-ARC support with customizable service fee configurations by client and/or booking type;
*  Profile Management: manageable by travelers via web interface and synchronized to multiple online booking tools and the GDS, including TravelScreen support;
*  Itinerary Management: customized with client logos in PDF / plain text / HTML formats with calendar attachment technology;
*  Rate Reduction Finder: monitors booked air, car and hotel prices, and alerts the agency on a reduction;
*  Seat Enhancement: improves seat assignments using multiple preference levels.