Full Speed Ahead for

@Home With HAL

By Carol Eannarino

Home based agents have a strong ally in Holland America Line, according to Richard Meadows, CTC, senior vice president, market and sales.

Last year, recognizing the growing impact of home based agents on the distribution system, the line launched its @Home with HAL program.

@Home with HAL, tailored primarily to meet the needs of home based agents, has been proceeding full throttle over the last several months, according to Meadows.

“It’s been picking up a tremendous amount of speed to make it a meaningful program. We have over 7,000 agents registered — with 350 signing up in the month of January, alone.”

The cornerstone of the program is the 31 inside sales department members who are dedicated to working with agents who register for the program. (They can do so by going to www.hollandamerica.com, clicking on the For Travel Agents link on the lower right side of the home page, then checking the @Home with HAL box at the bottom).

A few days after registering, the agent receives a phone call from an inside sales representative who explains the opportunities available to them via @Home with HAL.

“When you work at home, you have a different set of needs,” said Meadows. The inside sales reps keep home based agents in the “loop,” informing them about special deals, group promotions and other offerings, as well as helping them fulfill collateral and supply needs more efficiently.

“The main part of this program is the relationship between the home based agent and our dedicated inside sales team — one based on communication,” said Meadows. “Agents have someone they can call who will walk them through the details of an unusual booking, help them book a family reunion, and so on.”

Reps also can explain how to use the online tools Holland America makes available to travel agents — such as customizing an ad slick for a direct mail piece, and other services on the Travel Agent HQ agent-dedicated site, such as the ability to to download images, order sales materials, view commissions and post payments.

HAL recently started a monthly E-mail newsletter focusing on the home based agent and @Home with HAL. Moreover, home based agents soon will be offered WebEx conferencing training programs.

Meadows noted that implementing the @Home With HAL program represents a “big commitment” on HAL’s part. “Home based agents represent a very important market — our goal is to provide the best at-home agent support of any cruise line.”