Group Opportunities
Overview
Group Opportunities are designed to help users consolidate all requests submitted by the customer to the group operator into a single form. Many of the details entered in this form will later carry over to the Group Header.
This process allows operators to:
Collect important customer preferences and requirements
Begin building a quote
Seamlessly convert the initial request into an active, traveling group
Creating a Group Opportunity
To create an opportunity, users must first access the contact associated with the request. This contact can be either:
A Travel Agent
A Lead Passenger
Once the contact is selected, users can initiate and complete the opportunity form based on the details provided by the customer.
Note: A contact must already exist in the Softrip CRM first. If the contact does not already exist, users can create a new contact profile. View the Softrip CRM document for more information.
Creating New Opportunities
There are two available paths users can follow to verify a contact and begin creating a Group Opportunity:
Through Reservations
Through the Softrip CRM – specifically, the Manage Contacts screen under the Marketing subsystem
Both options allow users to search for an existing contact and initiate a group opportunity that will be directly tied to that contact.
Accessing the option to create an opportunity
In order to create a new opportunity, users will select the plus sign. This will open the opportunity form.
The opportunity form provides users with the option to collect and enter different details regarding the group request. Below outlines the different fields available to the users.
Note: The goal of this form is to gather information in order to allow a group operator to begin researching hotels, contracting and building services, adding costs, and confirming/adding inventory. Some of this information is added to the group header.
Product Name
The Product Name is often times the name of the group traveling.
Example
The Miller party is planning their 10th annual family reunion trip. Each member of the family wants to do something different, but they have all settled on New York as their destination. When the Miller party contacts the groups department to provide details on their upcoming trip, the group operator will enter "Miller Family Reunion" under the product name.
Tour Type: Users can select either a "Custom" or "Tour Series" tour type from the drop-down.
Custom- Users will select "custom" if they are requesting a brand new group that isn't tied to an already existing tour.
Tour Series- Users will select "tour series" if they are creating a group under an already existing tour.
Example
Company X sells set departures that tour all along New York. The Miller family is excited about one particular 8 day tour. Users will select "tour series" under the tour type.
Product Code: The product code option is designed for users to choose an already existing product code as a point of reference for the group request. This is particularly helpful in a situation where a new group would like to mimic their itinerary off of another group of friends and family they are traveling with.
Example
The Miller family always travels with the Reyes family and this year is no different. The Reyes family is a little ahead of the game and has already requested and deposited their trip to New York. The Miller family knows this, so they advise the group operator that they would like the same itinerary as the Reyes family.
As the group operator is adding the requests into the opportunity form, they choose the "Reyes" group under the product code list.
Departure Date: Select the departure date that the group is requesting.
# of Days (number of days): Select the number of days the group would like to travel.
Note: This is the number of days the group will be traveling and not the number of nights.
Return Date: The return date will be automatically filled in as the user tabs from the departure dates and number of nights.
Departure City: If a group is adding block air, users should include the primary departure city for the group. Since these fields are intended for informational purposes only, it is acceptable to list multiple departure cities if applicable.
To document additional departure cities, users can utilize the "Additional Notes" section of the form.
Destination City: The destination city should be the city in which group is traveling to. These cities are stored under "City Codes" under "System Settings" in Security.
In the Miller Family Reunion example, the destination city would be "New York."
# of Pax: The number of passengers field allows users to input the estimated number of passengers that will be traveling on the group.
Star Rating: If the group is unsure of which specific hotels they will be staying at but knows they want accommodations of a certain standard—such as at least a 4-star hotel—users can select the desired star rating from the dropdown menu.
Budget: Users can collect the budget details. This can either be in the form of a total budget for the entire group, or the per person budget.
Number of Rooms: Users have the option to request the total number of rooms. This piece of information when an operator is communicating and finalizing the contract with the hotel. The available room types are as follows:
# of Double
# of Twin
# of Single
Note: If a group requires additional room configurations outside of the fields listed above, such as triples or quads, then users can enter those details into the "Additional Notes" section.
Date Flexible?: The group may request a specific departure date; however, if the departure and return dates are flexible, users can select the "Date Flexible" checkbox to indicate that the travel dates may shift.
If the group has specific flexibility parameters (e.g., “±3 days” or “only weekdays”), users should enter those details in the Additional Notes section for clarity.
Example
The Miller family would like to travel on April 19th 2020 so that they can celebrate the grandparent's birthday while they are on their trip.
Their birthday is on April 24th and it is a multi-day trip. They are flexible with their departure, but, they want to make sure they are at least on their trip on the 24th.
Users can select the "date flexible" check-box and then enter details into the additional notes field such as "Group is flexible with their dates but they must arrive to their first destination no later than April 22nd.
Group Profile
Users can enter the details regarding what type of group is traveling.
For the Miller Family Reunion example, users would select "friends and family" under the "group profile" option.
Note: The profile of the group is for informational use only and does not carry over with the group once the group is converted. These details can be updated under the "system settings" screen in the Security subsystem.
Opportunity Status: Group opportunities can have one of the following statuses:
Active
Converted
Inactive
Active
An opportunity is marked as Active when it has been entered into the application but has not yet been converted into an official group.
This status is automatically applied when a user selects “Save” within the opportunity form.
Converted
An opportunity is marked as Converted when it has been officially recognized as a group.
This occurs when a user selects “Save and Convert to Group” in the opportunity form.
Priority: Users can either mark the opportunity as "high," "medium," or "low." The priority is up to the operator and the business rules that the company follows.
Example
Two different group requests were submitted. One is traveling in 9 months, the other is traveling in 12 months. Users can mark the opportunity that is traveling in 9 months as "high" so that an operator can start working on confirming space.
Assigned To: As an opportunity is created, users can assign the opportunity or potential group to another individual. Users can also assign the opportunity to themselves.
Note: Users can either view opportunities and who they are assigned to in reservations or in the opportunities screen. If users want the assigned opportunity to display on an internal users calendar, they will need to fill out the reminder details.
Additional Notes: The additional notes section allows users to enter any additional information that may not already be captured with the fields provided.
Reminders: Reminder details will automatically display on the calendar of the individual the group is assigned to. Users have the option to fill out the following fields:
Reminder Note: The reminder note field is a free form text field, often the subject of the reminder.
Reminder Date: The reminder date should be the date the reminder should appear on the calendar.
Reminder Type: The reminder type is how the customers should be contacted.
Reminder Priority: Users can select from allocating the reminder as high, medium, or low.
Reminder Status: Users can either select from "open" or "closed."
Cancel: Users can select "Cancel" exit out of the group request form. This will refresh the page, however, users will remain the contact's profile.
Save: By selecting "Save" the opportunity will store as "Active." Users can later view the opportunity under reservations, the contact profile, or the opportunities screen and can be converted into a group at a later time.
Save and Convert to a Group: Once the details have been entered on the Opportunities screen, users can select “Save and Convert to Group.” This action transfers key data from the opportunity into the new group setup.
After conversion, users can enter any additional information into the Product Header before saving and retrieving the Group Booking Number.
Creating a New Opportunity
Viewing Opportunities
Users have three options for viewing Group Opportunities:
Through the Reservations screen
Through the Opportunities screen
Through the Contact’s Profile
In each of these views, users can see key information, including:
Opportunity ID
Date Created
Associated Reservation Number
Reservations
Opportunities Screen
Using the opportunities screen provides users with additional search options that are not available in the reservation system. This screen can be particularly helpful to team leads, supervisors, or managers to view open opportunities so that may require action.
Contacts Profile
