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| Q. |
Can I use this technology
platform with my own ARC, IATA or CLIA number? |
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| A.. |
Yes, the system
is specifically designed to work with your agency's own identifying
numbers. You control all access points your agents have
to any vendors and booking engines using your ARC, IATA or CLIA
numbers. Agent RC is the only true host agency platform
available today that allows you to brand the technology and still
have bookings flow through your agency identifiers. |
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Q.. |
Can I keep my companies identity and
branding? |
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A. |
Yes, you can completely customize and brand
the platform, content and information with your agencies logos,
colors and information. |
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Q. |
Who gets credit for bookings our agents
make? |
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A. |
Your agency does. You control how your
agents make vendor reservations and how they process them.
Your agents will continue to make bookings the same way they did
before, either by calling on the phone or via any online vendor
booking engine. |
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Q. |
Is The Travel Zone a host agency as well? |
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A. |
Not any more. We have since eliminated our
Seller of Travel, ARC, CLIA and IATAN appointments. Our company was a successful
host agency for over 7 years. We have bundled all the
knowledge we obtained from operating a host agency into the next
generation host agency technology platform. The 'Agent'
version of our platform simply is our technology bundled with one of
the nations leading host agency fulfillment operations. The
Travel Zone does provide fulfillment or work directly with agents
anymore. |
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Q. |
How does Agent RC differ from other host
agency programs or technology offerings? |
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A. |
Agent RC is the worlds first and only true
host agency technology platform. While there are other booking
tools, accounting systems and applications available today, no other
system provides a completely integrated platform for managing an
entire host agency operation. In other words, some other
technologies provide just one or two pieces of the puzzle.
Agent RC provides all the tools a host agency needs to be successful
and more. The main advantage Agent RC offers is the flexibility of
the system enabling your agency to integrate whatever other tools
are available and bring them into your agent portal.
While there are some "host agency" or "sub
agent" programs available today. These all required your agency to
funnel outside agent bookings thru another host agency. Agent RC is
also the only technology platform that allows your agency to keep
control of it's identity, bookings, revenue stream, accounting and
independent contractors. |
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Q. |
How does Agent RC allow our agency to
create a new revenue stream? |
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A. |
The Travel Zone business model is centered
around providing our agency partners with advanced technology that
they can in turn mark up and resell to their network of home based
agent accounts. |
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Q. |
Does The Travel Zone take a piece of our
setup, transaction or annual fees? |
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A. |
No, The Travel Zone simply charges a small
monthly fee to your agency for each active agent account on the
system. Your agency is free to charge or bill your agents
whatever markup, setup fees, annual or transaction fees you wish.
We do not control in any way how you price your program. |
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Q. |
Does The Travel Zone bill our agency or
agents for the monthly fees? |
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A. |
We will only bill your agency directly for the
total monthly fees for all your agent accounts. We do not bill
your agents directly. Basically, we will charge your agency
one time per month for all active agent accounts you have.
Most agencies charge their agents in advanced to offset our monthly
charge. |
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Q. |
Can we use this platform if we are an
existing host agency? |
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A. |
Absolutely, In fact it is specifically
designed to do just that. Many of the nations top host
agencies are already using Agent RC and many more are considering
it. |
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Q. |
When can we expect Version 2 of Agent RC? |
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A. |
The Travel Zone programmers have already
started on new and exciting features that we will be adding to the
Agent RC platform over the coming months. Our expected launch date for the Version 2
features is October 31, 2006. |
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Q. |
What kind of support does The Travel Zone
provide? |
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A. |
Our support staff is highly trained in all
areas of the Agent RC platform and also have a thorough knowledge of
host agency operations. We offer phone support Monday
thru Friday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Est. Emails and support ticket
requests are responded to 7 days a week. Our staff also
utilizes an advanced remote assistance system to remotely
control and support your agencies computer to train, display or fix
any technical issues with the Agent RC platform. |
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The Travel Zone generally only provides
technical assistance to your agency and not to your agents.
Our level of support relates only to the Agent RC platform itself
and not to other non related software or online applications.
Basically, your agency is responsible for training and assisting
your agents with the platform. The Travel Zone support staff
will however support and assist your agency with any agent issue or
technical problem that arises with the platform. In the
coming months, The Travel Zone will also be offering online training
sessions for all agents using our system.
Another major benefit your agency will receive
is unlimited support calls to our staff concerning questions,
issues, advice or consulting. Our staff has over 7 years
experience with managing over 250 outside agents thought-out the
united states. The Travel Zone will be more than happy to
share or provide ideas, experiences, advice or general information
that may assist your agency with improving a business or operational
practice. |
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Q. |
How easy will it be for our agents to learn
the system? |
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A. |
The Agent RC platform was designed from many
years of experience with working with professional travel agents and
"newbie's." It is extremely user friendly and offers online
video tours for agents to teach themselves on how to use the
different applications. The system also offers an extensive
knowledge base of frequently asked questions and integrated quizzes
on system functionality. Everything provided in the Agent RC
system is designed to reduce the training and support calls to your
agency. It is specifically designed to allow your agents to
start making bookings as quickly as possible. |
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Q. |
What default content and information comes
with the platform? |
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A. |
Every agency receives a default set of content
when they receive access to the system. This allows agencies
to get up and running with their program very quickly. The set
of default content can also be hidden, deleted or edited if need be.
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Each agency will receive dozens of content
pages including training information, policies and procedures,
marketing tips, operations manuals, how to setup your business etc.
Your agency will also receive dozens of knowledgebase articles,
quizzes, sample online forms and databases, vendor contact files and
more. Your agency will also receive all dynamic content from
third party vendors automatically. |
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Q. |
Does this platform interface with my Trams
database? |
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A. |
Yes it does. Your agency will install a
small file on the computer where Trams is installed. The setup
is completed in five minutes. All of your trams data is
automatically synchronized with your agent portal every 30 minutes.
There is nothing more to do other than using Trams to post vendor
commissions and entering new sales transactions as you normally
would. |
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Q. |
Is my Trams data secure? |
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A. |
Yes it is. Your Trams data is uploaded
to our secure encrypted servers. Our servers utilize the
latest advances in firewall, antivirus, hacking and spy ware
protection. All of your Trams data is referenced and stored so
only your agency and agents can view and see the data. |
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Q. |
What if our agency does not use Trams. Can
we still use the platform? |
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A. |
Yes you can. Your agency can continue to
process commission reports from another accounting system or use any
other online commission reporting system. The main
disadvantage to not using Trams with our system is many of the
integrated reports and commission tracking features will not be
available to your agency and agents. |
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Q. |
What does Agent RC stand for? |
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A. |
Agent RC is short for Agent Resource Center. |
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Q. |
If we are a large host agency and already
have an agent portal, what are the advantages of using the Agent RC
technology platform? |
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A. |
The Agent RC platform offers many advantages
to even the largest host agencies. While your agency might
already have an online agent portal, it most likely does not offer
all the features and functionality that Agent RC offers to both your
agency staff and outside agents. The system is also designed
to automate many of the tasks that your agency might be performing
manually right now. Another big advantage is the ability to
bring your entire support staff into the system to contribute
content, collaborate and support your outside sales agents as a
team. |
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As your technology provider, The Travel Zone
will continuously enhance and upgrade the Agent RC platform allowing
your agency to concentrate on servicing your agents. This
effectively will reduce or eliminate your ongoing web design and/or
programming costs of enhancing your own existing online platform. |
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Q. |
Is this software that we can host
on our own servers? |
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A. |
No it is not. Agent RC is designed to be a
hosted web based service. We do not allow agencies to install
it on their own servers. |
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Q. |
Is the platform complicated to setup? |
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A. |
Not at all. The platform is completely web
based so there is no complicated software to install, configure or
setup. In fact, we have your portal setup the same day with default
content and tools already pre loaded and ready to go. All your
agency has to do is customize the portal with your own logo, colors
and information. |
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Q. |
How quickly can I expect to be up and
running with the platform? |
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A. |
You can spend as much or as little time
customizing the content and information before you launch your
portal. Remember, you can always add, edit and customize the
information and tools contained within your portal.
Generally, most agencies can expect to spend about a week
customizing their portal. It's all up to you. Your
agency is in complete control. |
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Q. |
What booking systems does Agent RC work
with? |
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A. |
Agent RC works with every booking system!
Your agency and agents can link to or utilize any current booking
method that is currently being used. The platform
provides links to dozens of default online vendor booking engines
that are widely used by most professional travel agents.
However, your agency can add your own or provide access to any GDS
provided booking tools. |
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Q. |
Does Agent RC offer an integrated GDS air,
car & hotel booking system? |
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A. |
Yes it does. Version two will offer a
point and click system enabling your agents to make air, car and
hotel reservations in real time. All PNR's will be queued to
your agency for ticketing and fulfillment. This system will
allow your agency to deploy a simple to use booking system to your
agents without the hassles of installing software and learning
complicated formats. There will be a small PNR transaction fee
for each booking. |
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Q. |
How customizable is the technology platform? |
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A. |
The Agent RC platform is highly customizable, and best of all, there is absolutely no need for a expensive
webmaster or programmer. Virtually every content page can be
edited using a simple to use editor. If your support staff can
use Microsoft Word then they can edit a content page. Your agency
can also add unlimited pages to your portal. You can link to
internal pages or any external web site or URL. Upload
your agencies own Word, Power Point, Excel and Text documents.
The platform is designed to allow your agency the flexibility to
customize every area of the portal. |
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Agent RC is also completely modular which
means your agency can use or not use certain applications contained
within Agent RC. You may also insert or link to any other
third party system. In other words, if your agency wants
to use your own help ticket system, GDS booking engine, Live chat
system, commission tracking system or any other type of online
system then simply deactivate the one provided in Agent RC and link
to the one you prefer. Your agency is not limited or
restricted in any way by using Agent RC. Quite the contrary.
Your agency now has the tools to take advantage of all the emerging
travel industry technologies available now and in the future. |
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Q. |
Can we auto login our agents to vendor
booking engines? |
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A. |
Yes you can. Agent RC will
allow agencies to insert auto login capabilities for many of the top
vendor booking and GDS systems. Your agents will love not
having to remember logins for their favorite online booking systems.
Your agency can create, store and manage unlimited auto logins. |
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Q. |
If other agencies are using the Agent RC
platform, won't our host programs be identical to each other? |
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A. |
Not at all. While Agent RC provides the
infrastructure for your agency, your program and related technology
platform is only as good as you make it. Remember every agency
using Agent RC can completely customize their portal with their own
booking engines, tools and content. A host agencies online
platform is only one piece of a puzzle which includes service and
support, top commission rates, vendor relationships, partnerships,
pricing and technology. |
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Q. |
Is all of our agency and agent data backed up
on your servers? |
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A. |
Yes it is. All agency and agent data is
automatically backed up every night and transmitted off sight to a
trusted third party company called Intronis Technologies using their
eSureIT online backup service. Your data is encrypted, and
always remains encrypted using a unique 256 bit encryption key.
All agency files are sent to two secure data centers, located
hundreds of miles apart from each other. Each data center has 24/7
monitoring, advanced security technology such as biometric access
controls, backup generators and redundant connections to the
Internet. |
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Q. |
Where are your servers located and how
secure are they? |
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A. |
The Travel Zone servers are located and
managed by
The Planet, which is the premier advanced web hosting company in
the nation. Now boasting a worldwide footprint that exceeds
150,000 square feet, their datacenters, located in Dallas, Texas,
offer complete redundancy in power, HVAC, fire suppression, network
connectivity, and security. It’s a level of convenience and access
that cannot be found anywhere else. |
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Q. |
Do we need to have our own webmaster to use
the platform? |
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Absolutely not. The best part about the
Agent RC platform is it's ease of use and ability for your agency to
manage, maintain and edit your own platform without the help of
expensive web masters. The platform offers an integrated
editor that allows your staff to easily add, edit or change html
pages on their own. |
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Q. |
What if we are a small agency with limited
resources, how can Agent RC help our agency? |
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A. |
The Agent RC technology platform offers small
& medium sized agencies an instant competitive advantage over other
agencies and even existing host agencies. Most small & medium
sized agencies work with some outside agents but find it difficult
to offer the same level of service and technology that larger hosts
can offer. Agent RC levels the playing field for any sized
agency! |
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Your agency can now offer local or national
home based agents the tools they need at an affordable cost and
still create a new monthly revenue stream. |
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Q. |
How do our agents make bookings? |
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Your agents will continue to use any tools at
their disposal to make bookings with vendors. In other words,
your agents can continue to call vendors on the phone or make
bookings on any available online booking system that your agency
provides a link to. Agent RC provides dozens of default
booking engines for your agents to access and we will continuously
be adding seamless logins to preferred vendors systems. Our
integrated booking manager allows agents to display and manage the
data and information they booked in any system. |
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Q. |
How do my agents track and manage their
bookings? |
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As your agents are planning and booking their
client reservations, they will enter and store all relevant quote
and booking information into Agent RC's integrated Booking Manager.
They will create a Booking Card for each new booking that they wish
to track. A Booking Card allows the agent to create customized
trip proposals for their clients, track payments, generate invoices
and quickly submit their booking data to your accounting staff. |
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Q. |
Do my agents still have to fax in their
booking information? |
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Never again. Your agents can store and
submit their booking information to your accounting staff via email
with one click of the mouse. All the required accounting
information will be supplied and transmitted in proper format.
Your staff simply enters it into your accounting system as they normally
would. Version two will offer automated importing of
booking data right into your agencies Trams database. |
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Q. |
Where do my agents login to the platform? |
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Your agency will be provided with a URL for
your agents to login to. The URL will look something like
http://youragency.agentrchost.com |
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Q. |
Can I provide my agents with their own
websites? |
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Yes you can. The Agent RC platform
allows your agency to easy distribute advanced consumer web sites to
your outside agents. You agents can choose from dozens of
templates and customize and edit their own site with easy to use
online tools. All web sites come complete with thousands of
vendor content pages provided by
Passport Online Inc. There is no additional
charge for each consumer web site. |
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Q. |
How can my agents manage their email? |
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A. |
Your staff and agents are both able to view
and manage their own email accounts right from within Agent RC.
They can setup and manage multiple accounts for viewing. Your
agents are also provided with their own branded pop email account
when they setup a web site through Agent RC. The only
limitation to this email system is the email account must be a Pop3
or Imapi. Some web based email accounts may not work
with our system. In that case, staff and Agents can simply add a quick link
to their dashboard for quick access to their web based email
account. |
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Q. |
How does the integrated help desk work? |
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A. |
The integrated support help desk allows your
agency staff to quickly view, manage and respond to incoming help
requests from your outside agents. When your staff enters a
response to a ticket, the agent receives an email telling them that
a new response has been posted. Agents and support staff can
review all the questions and responses on the same "message board
style" screen until the issue is resolved. Support staff can
transfer tickets to other team members. |
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The help desk also offers an integrated
knowledgebase that allows your agency to manage and update your own
FAQ section. |
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Q. |
What if we are new to the host agency
business, does The Travel Zone provide any consulting or assistance? |
