TravelCLICK Joins With WPS to Automate Commissions
Hotels That Withhold Commissions Are Losing Travel Agent Business
CHICAGO, IL / SEVILLE, Spain, March 9, 2009 - Today, the GDS still drives over 25% of global hotel bookings, or almost $20 billion in hotel revenue. It is a proven channel that allows hotels to target qualified consumers with specific travel requirements. Yet the industry is plagued by a poor track record for travel agent commission payments. What many hoteliers don't understand is that not paying commissions can negatively affect their travel agency relationships-and ultimately reduce GDS bookings. According to Jeff Bzdawka, chief operating officer at TravelCLICK, one of the top travel agency obstacles is commission recovery. Speedy payment does have its advantages for issuers as well as recipients. "When commissions are paid on time, more hotel bookings are generated by travel agents," Bzdawka says.
Suppliers face challenges in processing commissions including administration of small payment amounts, high banking costs and complex payment reconciliation. Using services to help process commissions can surmount these challenges and improve business relationships.
"It's simple-when hoteliers pay their referring travel agents on time, they get more travel agent bookings," said Pedro Fern'andez-Salvador, CEO of WPS, a leading commission processing firm specializing in travel. "On average, our hotel customers experience an annual increase in GDS bookings when they automate commission processing."
TravelCLICK has teamed with WPS to offer automated payment processing, tracking, reconciliation and billing of travel agent commission payments through its iHotelier Central Reservation System. The interface allows TravelCLICK clients to have full visibility and control of the commission payment process through the web-based WPS Webportal. Over 80% of payments are made electronically, so hoteliers save on time and resources while building a stronger relationship with key sources of booking revenue.
"Through this alliance with WPS, TravelCLICK is helping build a connection between hoteliers and travel agents worldwide by facilitating accurate, on-time commission payments," continued Bzdawka. "It's a win-win proposition that ensures commission recovery will not limit hotel bookings potential. Hoteliers drive incremental bookings while agents book the property that will deliver the best guest experience for their clients."
With this new service, TravelCLICK brings even more capability to its comprehensive Distribution Solution portfolio, which in addition to iHotelier includes the award-winning iStayTM web booking engine and ChannelDirectTM, a robust channel management system that allows hotels to manage price and inventory across all third-party sites through a single, web-based interface-all designed to maximize online bookings.
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