Travel agents logging on to avantidestinations.com will find this opening message: “We think making travel arrangements for your clients should be simple and profitable, and since 1981, we have been helping travel agents to do just that. And our website expands our ability to provide the most up to date independent travel options to Europe, Central and South America.”
With agent profitability in mind, Avanti’s latest boost comes with its offer to pay an additional 1 percent commission to travel agents booking any Avanti product or complete itinerary online from now until May 31, 2015.
Avanti’s president, Harry Delgaard, points out that “because many travel agents have come to rely on speaking with our knowledgeable reservations agents to make their bookings, they may not be aware that more than 90 percent of Avanti’s product line is easily booked online with our PRO FIT planning/booking engine, which can speed the booking of even complex, multi-destination itineraries.” According to Delgaard, by using the website themselves, agents can both earn extra commissions and eliminate any extended hold times during the busiest season.
In addition, for the first time, agents can also save time by sending Avanti booking or quotation requests directly to [email protected], and an Avanti reservations agent will respond within 24 hours with a complete, priced itinerary. To assist agents in providing the necessary data to book or provide a quote, a sample informational template is available front and center on the company’s homepage.
While as much as 70 percent of Avanti’s bookings are multi-destination customized vacations, the tour operator also offers simple add-on products, such as pre- and post-cruise city stays, transfers and sightseeing in popular port cities such as Barcelona, Naples and Athens. “Nowadays, cruise clients are increasingly demanding more onshore options than cruise lines traditionally offer,” says Delgaard, “and agents have learned the value of offering them specially tailored arrangements such as personalized excursions and pre- and post-stays at boutique hotels—Avanti style.”
Avanti’s destination-by-destination inventory of leisure travel packages is extensive, its hotel inventory enormous, and regardless of how those are booked, commissions start at 10 percent. “Using our easy-to-use online planning, searching and booking tools will reward our agent partners with that 1 percent bonus,” emphasizes Delgaard. For more information, call (800) 422-5053 or visit avantidestinations.com.
