Kensington Tours is walking on air over its new agent portal—KensingtonFIT.com. “Agents are telling us they’ve never seen anything like it,” says Andrew Thorogood, a partner at Kensington Tours. “‘Wow’ and ‘finally’ are two of the most common reactions we get. First and foremost, agents are impressed with the breadth and depth of our FIT services across more than 75 countries and the fast and easy functionality, but they are also ecstatic about the added features and tools like white label itineraries and the ability to set their own margin on every tour.”
So, what’s all the buzz about? Well, consider this: the new KensingtonFIT.com site offers “do-it-yourself quotes” that take only minutes—yes, you read right, only minutes—to complete. And talk about in-depth. These client-ready quotes present you with a trip summary, and a full-fledged itinerary with a thoroughly comprehensive day-by-day look at the trip that includes hotel stays (with colorful pictures, star rating and full description), tour specifics, and transportation information. Additionally, agents have the ability to go in and edit any facet of the tour—because, after all, these are just jumping-off itinerary suggestions. In fact, as Kathleen Doheny, director, marketing, Kensington Tours, points out, the website allows agents to create itineraries where, “maybe the first few days include stays at three-star hotels and then there’s one night that’s all out and five-star. It’s a win-win for all involved and agents become ‘experts’ on these countries in just a few minutes.”
Indeed, powered by proprietary technology, the portal gives agents access to thousands of ground, air, and accommodation services and activities that can be custom tailored on an easy-to-use web platform. To go one step further, the website allows agents to choose between the aforementioned “do-it-yourself” quote that you’ll get in minutes or you can request a custom quote from Kensington’s team of experts that—the company says—have an average turnaround time of three hours. They are quick to point out, however, that for newer regions, these “Kensington expert quotes” can take a couple of days. The “Kensington expert quotes” are, says Doheny, “highly customized and good for agents who really don’t feel comfortable in the region they’re booking.”
Kensington Tours, which provides custom private tours to places as far-flung as Kazakhstan or closer to home in Costa Rica for on average 30 percent less than comparable group tours, feels that this is the perfect time to release this product to the agent community because, as Doheny says, they realized that this would be a “phenomenal tool for agents, because there is a big demand for this due to the growth of the FIT business. Travelers don’t want to be in groups,” she notes, “and this allows agents to build a la carte itineraries.”
In addition to detailed quotes and dramatically increasing the efficiency and ease with which agents can create custom tours, the portal also includes a suite of tools for agents to support business development, customer service, increased profitability and more. These tools include fully white label itineraries, at-a-glance multi-tour status and confirmation updates, online commission tracking, the ability to set custom margins on every tour, as well as access to robust destination and property information and interactive maps and routing details. Moreover, agents have the option of sending a PDF version of the itinerary to the client or an HTML version via e-mail that includes a live Google map with push-pins and links to hotels.
“The Kensington Tours website is easier to use and less time-consuming than any other website that I have used,” says Cindy Ducasse, travel consultant, Vision 2000 Travel Group. “I was really surprised at the extent of the content on their website. You click and choose.
“Although I have not booked a tour with Kensington, I have quoted clients and was really impressed with the quality of the quote that could be sent directly to the client. It is professional, expert quality and really easy to use. It saved me a ton of time, which lets me get back to the client in a timely manner and still service my other clients as well.”
Indeed, the portal’s time-saving element is indispensable in today’s world, especially as more and more travelers are booking travel closer and closer to the departure date. “Imagine building your client’s custom itinerary without hours of research, overseas phone calls or endless follow-ups and confirmations,” says Kymberly Milroy, director of industry relations, Kensington Tours.
Agents can sign up for an online demonstration by contacting Kymberly Milroy at (888) 903-2001, ext. 261 or [email protected]. Or, you can register online at kensingtonFIT.com.
