Travelport ‘paves way to travel retail revolution’ with tech enhancements

Roll out offers more choice, automation and self-servicing capabilities to agents

Travelport has released enhancements to its next-generation agency platform to give travel sellers more choice, automation and self-servicing capabilities.

The GDS and travel technology developer said the modern retailing tools are “paving the way to revolutionise travel retail and modernise the booking experience”.

It added the updates make it easier for agents using the firm’s Smartpoint desktop tool to offer more choice and deliver better service to their travellers.

Jen Catto, chief marketing officer at Travelport, said: “As part of our mission to revolutionise the travel industry’s retail experience, we continue to evolve, simplify, and automate the most critical technology tools.

“Today’s enhanced features empower travel agents to offer more choice, enable greater self-service capabilities for travelers, and simplify the most complex servicing processes.

“All Travelport+ customers enjoy a more modern, digital-first retail experience when connecting through our platform.

“That includes our desktop customers, who have said that the latest version of Smartpoint has managed to transform mundane travel management tasks into superior servicing opportunities.”

Travel agents using the latest version of Smartpoint can now access a suite of features aimed at simplifying everyday tasks.

Enhancements include more customised itinerary quotes in Trip Quote as well as faster assisted ticketing capabilities that streamline complex ticketing and exchange tasks.

Rachael Keller, operations manager at Globetrotter, said  Travelport+ has made its agents’ lives’ “so much easier”.

“The improved trip quote capabilities within Smartpoint means we are much faster at providing travellers with highly customized itineraries that better meet their needs,” she said.

Travelport has also launched a new Trip Manager portal on Travelport+, offering travellers the ability to service their own trip, and carry out fast, easy transactions on the go.

The self-service option for travellers using the new portal allows agencies to manage resources while providing an improved experience and add extras to clients’ trips.

Lenka Nemcova, head of business travel at OK Tours, said: “Trip Manager provides everything our customers need to self-serve on tailoring their trip – all in one place.

“From adding meals, bags, selecting seats and automatically checking into their flight it simplifies the travel process, allowing our customers to enjoy the experience.”

Improved API connections are driving Travelport’s ‘intelligent storefront’ strategy aimed at making it easier for agents to understand offers and compare brands with similar attributes.

Travelport customers are being helped to identify upsell offers with NDC (New Distribution Capability) and ATPCO fares, through a simpler, more modern browsing and shopping experience.

Travelport said agencies can “better manage the hotel bookings they sell” with a simple self-service rules engine called the Content Optimizer.

This builds on previous improvements to fare management tools so agencies can create and customise their own content rules to maximise revenue.

Travelport+ is also broadening the range of content available from multiple sources, including NDC standard content.

Travelport said it is continuing to expand its NDC connections having, it claimed, become the first and only GDS to sign NDC distribution deals with all three major European airline groups (Air France-KLM, International Airlines Group (IAG), and Lufthansa Group).

Adrian Kazim, chief operating officer at Emirates, said: “Together Emirates and Travelport are starting their journey to deliver the future of travel retail; kicking off with our first-ever GDS joint agreement that is inclusive of NDC content; that will enable the flexibility to innovate Emirates’ products and deliver more dynamic and personalized offers.”