4 minute read
UCHL, the UK tour operator for all-inclusive specialists Sandals and Beaches Resorts, reports strong increase in sales just two months after implementing Traveltek Tour Operating Platform
Traveltek Group Ltd has marked a major milestone in its strategy to corner the niche tour operator market following the successful roll out of a new customised platform for Unique Caribbean Holidays Ltd (UCHL), the UK tour operator for Sandals and Beaches Resorts.
The tour operating platform has delivered instant results for ultra all-inclusive specialist UCHL, with trade bookings increasing 10% year on year since its implementation.
At the same time, agent web bookings as a total of the UCHL trade business have increased from 10% to 30%.
Traveltek’s tour operating solution ticks all the right boxes for UCHL. It enables the travel company to take total control of its sales distribution, expand its market reach, enhance the customer experience, boost in-house productivity and as already proven, boost multi-channel sales — all on one integrated platform.
“We continue to witness leading niche tour operators such as UCHL migrate to our platform because we provide a one-stop shop for their unique, multi-faceted requirements,” explained Peter Whittle, Global Sales Director, Traveltek.
“Our platform handles the contracts, availability and pricing for products including hotel, flight, transfers and events, providing established tour operators and savvy travel agents with the opportunity to sell them as individual components or complete packages, combined with other third-party products. At the same time, Traveltek plugs into more independent travel agency desktops than any other technology provider.
“The benefits we offer niche tour operators are unrivalled and as more travel firms like UCHL to better manage their distribution and inventory, we anticipate strong demand for Traveltek’s one-of-a-kind platform.”
The UCHL tour operating platform was built according to a complex brief. One of the main ambitions realised by the implementation was to grow the firm’s travel trade sales.
This was aided by the significant number of independent travel agents and chains that use Traveltek’s iSell reservation system, including Hays Travel, Barrhead Travel, Dawson & Sanderson, Global Travel Group, Freedom Travel Group and The Midcounties Co-operative, to name a few.
Powerful distribution capabilities aside, key platform features also include the ability to package and professionally merchandise land-only and air-and-land holidays for agents and consumers using net airfares and accommodation and applying the relevant pricing, sales channel and booking rule management.
The system also connects to a selection of data feeds for product inventory including those provided by third parties and includes inventory management capabilities.
Design played an important role when building the platform too, with the inventory now presented to the end user in an appealing and consistent fashion across all customer touchpoints, incorporating UCHL brand values to inspire engagement and loyalty.
At the same time, the fully-integrated, end-to-end system drives efficiency and productivity gains across every back-office function to ensure the customer experience is flawless and with CRM functionality built in, the platform provides a holistic view of the customer profile, helping UCHL to better shape its future product and sales and marketing strategy.
“The Traveltek platform has been built exactly to our brief and has transformed our business in a very short timeframe,” said Karl Thompson, Managing Director, UCHL.
“Since its implementation two months ago, we have completed a highly-successful campaign that has exceeded expectations, driving more bookings through the travel trade. Traveltek has played a major role in helping us achieve our business goals and set us on the right path for future growth in 2017 and beyond.”
Dominating the niche tour operator sector is just one facet of Traveltek’s ambitious business development strategy. The company is also ploughing funds into product development, recruiting new talent and driving international expansion after securing a £5.3 million capital investment from private equity fund manager YFM in late 2016.
