PHOTO: The Hilton Travel Professionals Program (HTTP) keeps agents updated on the Hilton brands, such as the lobby renovation at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago.

While it’s hard to keep track of all the hotel brands and properties these days, let alone their amenities and services, hotel companies want to provide you with the resources that can help you match the right property to your clients’ needs — and keep your bookings coming.

That’s why they have come out with resources for travel agents that include intensive training programs that educate you about their different brands and the hotel industry in general.

Here’s the information you need to sell effectively across five major hotel companies that have a strong presence in the market. You will find contact information for each company’s brands in the sidebar.

Best Western
The Best Western Travel Agent Advantage online education and resource center is specifically designed for agents. This program provides you access to information about Best Western’s global portfolio, key initiatives and programs via a five-chapter interactive course. It also includes the Sales Center, where you can hone your sales skills and participate in regular contests and sweepstakes. The resource center also provides news about the company via its Media Center.

PHOTO: The Best Western Travel Agent Advantage online education and resource center provides access to information about Best Western’s global portfolio, including the Best Western Rebstock in Wurzburg, Germany.

Travel agents who work with Best Western personally receive 50 percent off standard rates at hotels in the U.S. and Canada, and 25 percent or more off at international locations.

Most rates are commissionable by Best Western, except for certain net rates and some specially negotiated rate plans.

Tell clients about Best Western’s loyalty program. Best Western Rewards points can be used for a variety of benefits, including free nights at hotels across the globe, travel-related gifts, entertainment, food and beverage experiences, airline miles, shopping credits and gift cards.

Best Western also offers benefits to families, seniors, AAA/AARP members and FIT travelers.

For more information on Travel Agent Advantage, visit www.bwtravelagentadvantage.com.

Hilton Worldwide
Hilton Worldwide features more than 4,300 managed, franchised, owned and leased hotels and timeshare properties, with more than 715,000 rooms in 94 countries and territories across the globe.

Corporate, rack, weekend, group and package rates are commissionable across this vast collection, which spans 12 different brands.

There are also now six travel agent training modules available in the Hilton Travel Professionals Program (HTTP). This program familiarizes you with the Hilton Worldwide portfolio of hotels. It also guides you through a series of modules with facts and information about Hilton Worldwide brands, as well as new ventures that the company is embarking on. The most recent module highlights Homewood and Home2Suites by Hilton.

Hilton also participates in Unlimited Rewards, an agent-focused loyalty program through Budget Rent a Car (formerly Unlimited Budget). Points are awarded for bookings via GDS or online at budget.com/agent, www.hiltontravelagents.com, Carey.com, Embarque.com, the Embarque reservations hotline and Carey Worldwide Reservations center. Carey and Embarque are participating brands in Unlimited Budget.

As for programs that benefit your clients, the HHonors loyalty program offers members a variety of rewards and perks, including free Wi-Fi.

Go to www.hiltontravelagents.com/agenttraining for more information.

Hyatt Hotels
The Hyatt Travel Specialist travel agent education program gives agents valuable knowledge about the company’s brands and products. The four-chapter course, accessible at Travel Agent Academy, defines Hyatt brands, highlights properties and outlines key selling points for leisure and business travel.

Agents who complete the course and pass the chapter quizzes become Hyatt Travel Specialists and can then enroll in the Hyatt Master’s course, which teaches how to sell destination weddings, honeymoons, romance and more.

Hyatt also features the Hyatt Resorts Slice of Paradise program. With Slice of Paradise, if agents sell three or four consecutive paid client nights, they receive one free night, depending on the destination.

Travel agents who book Hyatt can also arrange to have their clients welcomed with an extra amenity upon arrival at the hotel.

As part of its “Golden Rules” commitment to travel agents, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts pays 10 percent commission to approved travel agencies for all individual travel bookings, including Hyatt packages.

You’ll want to enroll clients in the Hyatt Gold Passport loyalty program, which includes exclusive benefits such as room upgrades, airline miles, a guaranteed bed type, free Wi-Fi, expedited check-in and more.

PHOTO: The Hyatt Travel Specialist travel agent education program can be accessed at the Travel Agent Academy.

Go to www.hyatttravelagents.com for more information.

Marriott International
Marriott sponsors the well-known travel agent training program called Hotel Excellence! The mobile-friendly program consists of five modules in a variety of languages. The modules are self-paced and interactive and they cover Marriott’s portfolio of brands, provide background on the hotel industry today, cover effective sales strategies and give an in-depth look at Marriott innovations and products.

Join the Marriott Affiliate Program and earn commissions on completed hotel stays and vacation packages.

Enroll clients in the Marriott Rewards loyalty program, which gives them the opportunity to earn points and receive rewards at thousands of hotels across 15 brands in more than 70 countries worldwide. Marriott Rewards include free nights and upgrades at hotels; shopping credits at major retailers such as Apple, Michael Kors and Canon; prime food and beverage options; and experiences such as golfing, cruises, spa treatments and authentic outdoor adventures.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Starwood’s loyalty programs stand out in the hospitality industry. Not only will clients who are Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) members be enticed to visit Starwood properties regularly, but the new SPG Pro loyalty program for travel professionals is aimed at motivating travel agents and meetings planners to book more Starwood properties.

SPG members can use their accumulated Starpoints from stays to receive free nights and access to special experiences, from concerts to sports to culinary lessons. Members can also receive Starpoints easier than ever before and apply them toward upgrades, free nights and elite member status. They will receive credit for B2B business booked, including corporate off sites, office holiday parties and personal occasions like weddings or anniversaries.

They can also receive Starpoints on an individual level, which means, for example, that agents affiliated with a company can still maintain their own record of sales success. This also means that if you change companies, all of your hard work isn’t automatically wiped clean. You keep your points and continue to accumulate them at your new company on an individual basis.

Agents will also want to enroll in Starwood’s ProLearning travel professional education program.

The program consists of modules that teach agents about Starwood’s vast portfolio, which includes 1,200 properties across nine brands. ProLearning also offers information on destinations and selling skills and strategies.