PASS Consulting

Launches Booking

Engines

By George Dooley

Travel agents, including home based independents, and agency consortia are the key markets for PASS Consulting Corporation’s innovative technology that can deliver an average 20% savings on booking time, according to Michael Strauss, CEO of the Miami- based PASS Consulting Corp.

“Our PASS XX/1 and VTO (Virtual Travel Offices) systems are high performance booking engines that can help agents and consortia deliver substantial gains in productivity while increasing agents’ ability to serve their clients professionally,” Strauss said.

PASS stands for Process Automation Systemconcepts and Solutions. The company expects to launch its home based agent product this summer, offering an affordable state-of-the-art option.

Strauss is responsible for introducing PASS technology in the U.S. and is a member of PASS Consulting Group, focused on IT consulting for the travel and transportation industry.

“We are inviting travel agents, including independent home based and host agents, to take a look at our PASS XX/1 and VTO technology that offers tested state-of-the-art support. PASS technology offers integrated solutions for the future challenges that agents face. This includes combating competitive inroads of online travel sellers,” Strauss said.

While new to U.S. travel agents, PASS already works closely with major CRS/GDS, including Amadeus (and Amadeus e-travel), Sabre, Worldspan and Galileo. PASS technology is also now being used by major agencies and corporations with a need for integration and service quality, Strauss said. They include MTS Travel, Omega World Travel, Discovery Travel Systems, Morgan Stanley and Fairlogix.

PASS technology offers many interfaces that support agency operations, Strauss noted, including cruise sales and marketing. “Travel agents must have the technology that retrieves information and data from many sources — GDS, the Internet, industry suppliers and airlines — if they are to identify the best offer, including price, for their clients. This is what PASS provides,” Strauss noted.

In addition to search and booking capabilities, PASS puts agents in control of their pricing, fee and profit margins by giving them the ability to see profit margins on-screen — information that can provide agents with a powerful competitive weapon against the Web fares that clients might quote, noted Strauss.

Travel agents get the tools to compare offers from different sources and to compare their own offer against competitors. PASS technology is a total agency management system that is invaluable for forward-looking agencies that want control over transaction profits, said Strauss. “Building solid relations with customers and delivering superior service in a very competitive, price sensitive market is essential for agent survival.

Moreover, productivity gains — as much as an average of 20 minutes a call — are being realized along with increases in customer satisfaction.

“The travel agent’s ability to pull together all the elements of a trip for their clients — hotels, car, cruise, air, land excursion — is invaluable. Increasingly, dynamic packaging is what consumers want and expect from their agents,” Strauss noted.

“We want to work with professional agents and agency groups as well as suppliers who appreciate the importance of technology to their future growth,” he added. “The travel industry remains at the forefront of technological innovation and change. Travel agents must grasp these opportunities.”

Travel agents who want to learn more about PASS technology and its value to their agencies can visit www.pass-consulting.com/e or call (305) 269-6975 (PASS). PASS Consulting will also have a booth at the Travel Trade 23rd Annual CRUISE-A-THON, June 4-7, in Seattle.