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Who it affects:
Groups Next operators
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Marketing
Multiple Customers using one IATA (Host Agencies)
We have introduced the concept of Host Agencies with this release. These are agencies that have multiple sub-agencies working under the same IATA but as different entities/agency names. There are multiple changes to the travel agent registration process as well as the internal CRM processes. The idea is that now, when a new Customer is created in either process, if the IATA number exists that was entered the system will add a counter to the end of the Customer ID (12345678-01, 12345678-02, etc.). The Host Agency will have the actual IATA number of 12345678. This will allow for reporting, searching, etc. to be done as a wildcard and be able to see all information for that given IATA.
In the travel agent registration process, if the entered IATA has multiple records the system will now give the choice to the agent of which agency they are registering under. If their agency does not exist yet, it will give them the ability to create a new agency with the same IATA and the system will automatically add the counter to the end based on the number of sub-agencies already registered.
In the CRM search for internal users, the Customer ID search field will now automatically do a wildcard search so that the user can pull up all customer’s starting with that IATA. The same process for adding the counter automatically will happen in the Create New Customer process. The internal user will only need to enter the IATA number and the system will calculate how many sub-agencies are registered to add the counter to the end.
NOTE: No changes to accounting or commission processes have changed. All commission will be sent to the sub-agency based on the address entered on their record.
Why it’s important:
More and more sub-agencies/host agencies are starting to come around where larger agencies are acquiring smaller agencies but the smaller ones need to operate under the same IATA number. This change allows for the system to handle these types of agencies easier without the tour operator needing to manually check this and create the Customer ID’s accordingly.
Who it affects:
Marketing / CRM Next operators
Reservations Next operators using the Travel Agent Registration process
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Reservations
Insurance Per Booking
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