by Robin Amster
Last updated: 12:00 PM ET, Fri November 18, 2016
Image courtesy of Dream Vacations, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc.
Home-based travel agencies Dream Vacations, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. recently launched Cruise Fare Watch, a new technology tool to automate tracking cruise fares.
The tool is aimed at putting travel agents ahead of the competition by providing daily notices of price changes. Since its introduction at the end of October, more than 7,700 watches have been created and more than 5,000 alerts have notified agents of price changes, according to the host agencies.
"We are continuously evolving our technology, whether it is creating new tools or enhancing existing resources, that will make running a home-based business more efficient and profitable," said Sandi Szalay, vice president of information technology at Dream Vacations , CruiseOne and Cruises Inc.
"Cruise Fare Watch is a game-changer for our network of travel agents because it enforces the value of a travel agent by giving them the ability to provide compelling and competitive price advantages to customers."
Housed in My Cruise Control, a proprietary Customer Relationship Management tool and live booking engine, Cruise Fare Watch enables agents to monitor cruise line price changes based on date and cabin category.
Agents can set three different types of watches using the Cruise Fare Watch tool:
• From a booking - This links to an existing booking and can help agents demonstrate the value of booking in advance, as well as create opportunities to upgrade for less money or upsell to a higher cabin category.
• From a customer - If a prospective customer is interested in a specific sailing, but has not yet booked, this watch can be used by the agent to notify the customer when the cruise fare has reached a certain price point.
• From a sailing - Not tied to any customer or booking, this watch can be used as a marketing tool if an agent sells a lot of a specific itinerary or cruise line.
Agents can select if they want to be alerted when a price drops or increases by a specific dollar amount or percentage.
Cruise Fare Watch can also be used as a future selling tool to track trends in cruise fare pricing.
"The new Cruise Fare Watch is an amazing tool to have in our arsenal," according to Alicia Geiger, Dream Vacations franchise owner in Sinking Spring, Pa.
"It allows us to watch the hundreds of cruises we have booked to make sure we're giving the best deal to our clients," Geiger said. "If the Fare Watch Tool finds a cruise that dropped in price, we can check and possibly get the reduced price or get upgrades for the client. Conversely, if the fare goes up we can notify clients who are thinking of booking to let them know that now is the time before the rate goes any higher. It's a win-win."
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