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No more ‘one size fits all’ for Amadeus
Amadeus claims to have found success by sharply diversifying its approach to the leisure and business markets.
Managing director UK and Ireland, Stephane Durand told TravelMole: “Until recently we had a one-size-fits-all approach but now we are building very different products for our leisure and business markets.
“On the leisure side the focus is on access to deals and ease of use, while for travel management companies (TMCs) the focus is productivity.
“For leisure agents, moving from commissions to service fees has been a challenge, but we can help by providing them with the tools to add value – more content and better technology,” he said.
Durand says Amadeus is doing this through its updated Amadeus Vista product, which is upgrading from a black cryptic entry screen to a graphic screen that can be used with little or no training and will help agents to sell add-on products.
The new version is being rolled out over the course of this year and Durand claims agents already using the new Vista are reporting doubling hotel sales.
One agent using the system is Travelsphere Holidays managing director David Clemson. He said: “It was an easy decision to switch to Amadeus. Amadeus is providing flexible and efficient systems, which help us deliver a quality service to our customers. As a significant player in the distribution of cruise product, we required a robust system to allow us to operate in the most efficient way for reservations and Amadeus is supplying a tried and tested solution that works for us.”
According to Durand, on the business travel side Amadeus is looking to help its customers integrate front, middle and back office technology, which is why it acquired back office specialists Ace, and developed the self-booking tool, e-Travel. “Together with the GDS these are the three weapons for TMCs,” he said.
Most of Amadeus’ business travel customers are TMCs, says Durand, with corporate clients now in the minority. This is because the company has established reseller agreements with major TMCs including Amex, Radius and BTI, which sell its Aergo product onto companies, and act as support for the corporate once the technology is up-and-running.
“Our project and support team is bigger than our sales team because the BTIs and TQ3s are selling our technology for us,” he said.
Report by Ginny McGrath
Ginny McGrath
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