Booking platforms, technology on topic at Think Tank

FORT LAUDERDALE — Amadeus reps provided a sneak peek to CruiseWorld attendees of its upcoming Amadeus Total Cruise booking platform, which is slated to launch early next year.

Hali Belfatto, segment marketing manager and a product manager who was integral in the development of the product, took time during the conference's annual Think Tank session to go over Total Cruise highlights. Among the changes: A home screen that alerts agents to immediate pending tasks, an comparison-shopping screen and interactive deck plans.

"We're so excited to share our baby with all of you,” said Carolyn Cauceglia, Amadeus’ vice president of strategic sales, commercial business development.

Amadeus reps were scheduled to preview the platform during the CruiseWorld trade show on Thursday.

In the Think Tank format, delegates get a chance to take the floor — the microphones were provided by moderators Joanie Ogg and Mary Pat Sullivan, who, as per tradition, kicked off their heels to run around the room -- to talk with their peers about best business practices, problems and industry topics. Amadeus, which sponsored the session, fostered conversation by polling the audience on various topics. The answers were displayed on a screen in graph form.

A lengthy discussion centered on how agents make the majority of their cruise bookings. About 66% of respondents said they tend to book on a cruise line's tool, and 16% said they use their consortia or host agency. Only 12% said they used the phone; 5% said a GDS.

Respondents cited a majority of factors in picking a tool to make a booking, including checking consortia or GDS rates against a cruise line's site, training options available on a cruise line's site, or familiarity with a system.

The question of "which product attendees would most likely sell alongside a cruise" required agents to select options such as hotel, insurance, air, car or a tour. Insurance took the largest slice of the pie, at 44%, prompting attendees to exchange strategies for how to present insurance options to clients.

"I have one line that usually does it all," said cruise seller Craig Satterfield. "If you don't want anything to happen, buy insurance."

Another question was the importance of technology to agents' business. "Anyone who checks 'I don't use technology,’ I'm coming after you because you responded. That means you have a smartphone!” Sullivan threatened. (As it turned out, 100% of respondents selected that technology was either "valuable" or "extremely valuable" to their business.)

 But the lighthearted exchange prompted a discussion about tech comfort levels and concern about the prevalence of technology in the daily lives of both agents and clients. One agent said her agency ran a survey that revealed that a majority of her clients wanted to unplug when they were away vacation. "Families are asking for destinations where they don't have WiFi," she said.

 For those suffering from smartphone overload: "Literally, just take your phone and either put it in another room at night, or turn it off," advised Dilworth Daley, a travel adviser based in Severn, Md. "If I can get to staying away from that phone some time over the weekend, then I'm headed in the right direction.”