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In celebration of World Consumer Rights Day, which is held on the 15th of March, we wanted to discuss the travel industry’s commitment to consumer rights. In this post, we will discuss some best practices and highlight how technology, particularly Traveltek’s innovative suite of products, can be a powerful tool for travel agents to champion and uphold these fundamental rights.
Consumer Rights in Travel
From complying with regulations to ensuring your customers can confidently enjoy their holiday, consumer rights in travel cover a broad range of topics but ultimately come down to the fundamental principles; the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose, and the right to be heard.
While the travel agent acts as an agent for the travel service providers, they have an important role to play by providing clear and accurate information on their travel options, ensuring fair pricing practices and delivering dependable services.
Best Practices for Travel Agents:
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- Transparency is key: Ensure your customers have access to all the information they need regarding their travel options, from pricing, options and the terms and conditions of their bookings.
- Fair pricing practices: In the age of online travel, it’s more important than ever to ensure travelers have access to the best rates from a competitive standpoint. However, it is also important to ensure they have a full understanding of what the pricing entails and that you disclose all costs upfront to avoid any surprises.
- Regulations and standards of the services provided: While different countries and regions will have their unique standards governing the travel industry, agents should be well-versed in the regulations relevant to their operating regions so that they can ensure compliance and adherence to the highest standards.
- Reliable services: During the booking process, it’s essential to provide clear and comprehensive information about the travel services – especially when it comes to package travel. Provide accurate and up to date information, confirm reservations promptly and offer support throughout the travel process. This is particularly important in the case of unforeseen circumstances that the traveler may need to deal with.
- Timely response and support: It’s important to inform travelers about the help they can get while they’re on their trips, such as healthcare and what to do in emergencies. Having a reliable 24-hour contact point is like a safety guide they can turn to whenever they need assistance.
How Traveltek Supports These Best Practices:
Traveltek’s extensive range of travel technology solutions provides agents with the tools they need to ensure they are creating a safe, secure and legal agreement for customers.
Our iSell and CruiseConnect platforms offer live and accurate pricing, empowering agents to make informed decisions and optimise profit margins – all while ensuring compliance with business policies and consumer rights.
In addition, Traveltek’s iBos mid-office system and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can efficiently manage these essential aspects of your services, ensuring transparency, accuracy and efficiency.
Whichever step of the booking process you need help with, all our software options work together to create the ultimate travel technology hub for travel agents and travel companies can benefit from to build stronger relationships with their customers.
If you would like to learn more about how we can help you build up your technology foundations, please feel free to reach out to our team by clicking here.
