Transition to Travelport Smartpoint Exceeds Expectations
The client, a leading commercial furnishings company with its own dedicated in-house travel department, selected Fox World Travel (Fox) as their new travel management company. Before partnering with Fox, the client used a different reservation (GDS) system than the Travelport Smartpoint platform offered by Fox. The challenge presented to Fox was to ensure a seamless transition to Travelport Smartpoint with the least amount of disruption to their travelers or organization.
Fox applied the following customized programming, comprehensive training and dedicated support that would exceed expectations:
Fox assigned an operations manager to perform a detailed evaluation of the client’s current travel operation. This audit included observing the day-to-day workflow of the on-site travel agent, identifying manual processes, scripts and pain points to determine necessary custom programming and training.
Based on the evaluation, Fox set up client-specific programs and custom scripts within Travelport Smartpoint, including:
Smartpoint Translation
Feature This valuable feature enables the agent to mix and operate multiple GDS system languages in the same record, such as Sabre, Galileo, Apollo and Worldspan. For example, Travelport will translate entries into the system language if an agent inadvertently enters a command from another GDS.
Smartpoint Plugin
Fox’s proprietary Smartpoint Plugin guarantees that the client’s information is displayed consistently for the agent to access and utilize during the reservation process. The plugin ensures that policy, contract management and group travel are managed directly at the agent’s point of sale, streamlining the booking process.
The dedicated Fox operations manager conducted a customized two-week training session. The first week included:
By the second week of training, the focus shifted to the agent booking live reservations independently, with the dedicated Fox operations manager providing support. As a result, the agent confidently did not need further training.
In addition to the ongoing support provided by the Fox operations manager, the client’s agent is also supported by the Fox On-site Support Team to help answer any questions or provide assistance with ticketing or exchanges, if required.
Since transitioning from the antiquated, dated technology of their previous GDS, Travelport Smartpoint effectively replaced the client’s original blue-screen system and cryptic controls with an intuitive graphical user-friendly interface. The interactive, point-and-click booking tool made the end-to-end booking experience faster for the traveler and more convenient for the agent. Combined with the dedicated training and the ease of the customized Fox scripting, Fox has eliminated all manual entries, improving program efficiencies, agent productivity and overall program financial success.
On July 19, 2024, Fox World Travel faced a major IT disruption due to a faulty update from CrowdStrike, which led to widespread system failures and a significant increase in call volume and duration. Our IT team swiftly mobilized, prioritizing customer-facing roles, and successfully restored functionality by the afternoon, ensuring our commitment to exceptional service remained intact despite the unprecedented challenge.
As part of Sysmex’s North American travel program, they utilize a local, in-country TMC in Canada to service their Canadian-based travelers. The Canadian TMC is essential in accessing local fares, complying with regulations, reporting on taxes, and providing Canadian French-speaking agents. With traveler data flowing from multiple sources, Sysmex preferred to consolidate their travel data into a single source to streamline data and reporting.
Ashley Furniture previously relied on static reporting, pulling travel program performance data manually to create reports. This process became tedious and labor-intensive, which ultimately hampered problem-solving efforts for the travel manager. Having to manually create reports also limited visibility to real-time data, where stakeholders were only able to view basic metrics and lacked real-time data insights.
Signify had a specific division comprised of travelers based in Canada that faced the challenge of centralizing North American travel services and data globally for their Canadian-based division. The goal was to provide a single service platform for travelers from Canada and the U.S., establishing a single operational and reporting system that would facilitate streamlined services and travel experiences for their Canadian travelers. Additionally, Signify was required to comply with Canadian laws and regulations while ensuring access to Canadian airline content.