Keen to maximise your US revenue? We had a good chat with the General Manager of The Travel Junction, James Whiting, to discover what’s selling, what’s hot, and what’s coming soon!
We know that the US market is booming for The Travel Junction, so where are you guys at with it all right now?
“The US market is The Travel Junction’s number one destination for Australian travellers, especially California and Hawai’i! With the recent news about the removal of PCR testing for all arrivals, we know this will provide further confidence in Australians booking US holidays.
With the ramp-up in demand and high booking conversions over the past few days, this news could not have come at a better time! Hello, US summer and school holiday trips to the States.
I’ve just returned from IPW in Orlando. It was tremendous to be at an international trade show with a warm reception from our US Supply Partners. They’re so excited to have Australian travellers back in their hotels and experiencing their attractions again.
I was also fortunate to experience Delta Air Lines’s great daily service from Sydney to LAX – the connections were so easy, too. We travelled to Orlando for IPW and then took the opportunity to enjoy the amazing resorts and park attractions at Walt Disney World Resort.”
It sounds like a lot of great new product is coming on board, how does a travel advisor access that?
“We are adding hundreds of accommodation options, tours, attractions, and experiences every month. Any advisors who want to access our global product range can do so via HELiO (sign up here if you want in!).
Once registered, The Travel Junction’s bi-monthly newsletter will keep advisors up-to-date on our best hotel, resort offers, and packages. We make life easy for your trade partners to merchandise directly via social channels. We always include links to all inclusions, bookings, and sales windows.”
You have such great deals with Delta to the USA, how easy is it to create a bespoke package that includes air and land?
“Competitive Delta Air Lines fares can be booked using our wholesale fares on HELiO, provided a three-night minimum has been met. Combine these with fab offers at Disney ‘Good Neighbor’ Hotels, any of our 16 available Disneyland Resort park ticketing options, and return transfers from LAX with Karmel Shuttle. It really makes life easy.
We are all about optimising our travel partner’s margins, and offer full flexibility to control the package sell price to clients.”
Can travel advisors earn commission on these bookings?
“Absolutely! Tickets, experiences, tours, transfers, and accommodation are fully commissionable up to 12%.”
Okay, so HELiO sounds like a great platform, can you provide a little more info on the benefits?
“HELiO is our easy-to-use, one-stop booking platform that we launched in October 2021.
Through its innovative design and our buying power, we’re the only online wholesaler delivering wholesale air, hotel, transfer, tours, attractions, experiences, and car hire to the Australian trade in a single booking platform.
Advisors can access hundreds of curated packages by entering the start destination and month of travel or the unique package code.
We’ve partnered with leading airlines, accommodation, and experience partners to offer inspirational itineraries and road trip recommendations that meet market demand. Our true dynamic packaging option also makes it easy for advisors to create bespoke itineraries.
Our ‘Book Now Pay Later’ option provides added flexibility for today’s trading environment. Payment is generally required only 30 days prior to the travel date now.
Did you know there’s no minimum sales commitment with The Travel Junction? Book one night’s accommodation, a one-way transfer, or a huge extended trip – whatever suits your clients’ needs. HELiO makes it simple to do that!
Stay tuned, as soon we’ll be adding global cruise products to our HELiO portfolio. This will match our ‘no fee’ booking policy commitment, keeping life easy for all partners.”
What are the most popular packages that are selling at the moment?
“The current curated Disneyland and Delta Air Lines California packages offer superb value. Leading in with return airfares from Sydney to LA, 7 nights’ twin share with breakfast at Best Western Plus Stovall’s Inn, plus a 3-day Disneyland Park Hopper ticket. It’s a bargain at $2,268 per person, representing savings of around $450 per person!
Alternatively, upgrade to the Howard Johnson by Wyndham Anaheim Hotel & Water Playground with a 4-day Park Hopper ticket for $2,829. That’s a savings of around $630 per person.
Both of these Hotels are wonderful options for families as they are close to Disneyland Resort and up to four guests are permitted at that room rate.
Need a transfer? Add in airport transfers with ease, using our partner, Karmel Shuttle.
With 250,000 hotels and resorts on the HELiO booking platform, plus 30,000 tours and attractions globally, the sky’s the limit for advisors to create bespoke itineraries for their clients. Take advantage of our wholesale airfares, too, and a variety of accommodation, transfers, tours, experiences, and attractions.”
What message do you have for travel advisors in this new travel landscape?
“We’re here to support you and have no aspirations ever to work in a direct-to-consumer environment.
This commitment is delivered in some key pillars of our business, including never charging booking, cancellation or amendment fees (outside of what an accommodation supplier or airline may impose).
Another example of why we’re extremely trade-focused is our absorption of fees. This includes zero credit card fees and zero ticketing fees on our wholesale air tickets.
We offer competitiveness, above industry-standard commissions, and a great depth of product is important, alongside the imperative focus on great customer support. We exceed travel industry expectations with our 24/7 customer service support, delivered from our four global hubs.
When we seek cooperative partnerships, a trade-friendly philosophy is key. Our current campaign with Disney Destinations and Delta Air Lines demonstrates our desire to work with partners that have this same philosophy. All three of us – The Travel Junction, Disney Destinations, and Delta Air Lines – are committed to providing ongoing support for trade – backed up with tangible actions.
With the impact of reduced commissions in the air space, we want to help advisors optimise their share of their clients’ wallets with compelling and creative global product options.
Through partnerships with quality supply partners and destination marketing partners, our strategy is to focus on delivering a world-standard, online wholesale service. Fundamental to this is to highlight products and educate about compelling and aspirational destinations that we know Australian travellers are keen to explore.
Our aim is to make it easy to do business with us, and for our trade clients to have the confidence that they can be assured of our solvency, stability and security. This is more important than ever in our industry.”
Agents, stay tuned!
“Watch out for our exciting new travel advisor incentive we’re launching in July. It’ll be a 12-month incentive program with monthly prizes culminating in an amazing fam trip for the winners in August 2023!”
Remember, to sign up to The Travel Junction, register here.
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