p50-51 tech oct3 30/9/08 11:14 Page 51
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With potential customers surfing the internet night and
day, it is increasingly important for an agency to have
a fully bookable website. Debbie Ward reports
fees of up to £50 a month, a tailor-made, budget in order to promote the website. Be your website is essential.” He stresses that
pre-bookable site is more likely to cost a five- realistic about what you can expect.” online bookers are fickle consumers. “If
figure sum with monthly fees from £300. For agents choosing the bookability route, your site does offer a booking system, but
With a view to attracting cautious agents, it is not only marketing that needs addressing. for whatever reason your customers find
Traveltek has introduced a template-based Staff will need time to keep the site fresh themselves unable to complete their pur-
“entry level” site that costs around £2,500. and training to help avoid costly uploading chases there and then, then they are likely
Agents taking this option can load their site mistakes. Bob Dowson, operations director to immediately move on to your nearest
with product from a range of pre-selected for Site Confidence, warns that agents also competitor.”
suppliers. They get the cost of the original need to have their site monitored and Chris Brown is managing director of
site refunded if they later upgrade to a ensure it can cope with increased online agency
sunshine.co.uk, which
tailor-made facility. “This is a taster so they traffic. “The travel retail business is is part of Hays Travel.
can get themselves involved,” Picken explains. very seasonal and the number of He says many agents he speaks to are
Da Re meanwhile recommends white-label visitors to a website can vary wildly keen to get into online sales but feel
options, which allow agents to over-brand from January to June. Load testing prohibited by the cost. He advises: “Get
existing sites, as a cost-effective starting yourself a university internet graduate
point.
“You can come in the next
on a retainer of £14-15,000 a year and
Traveltek claims great results from agents
who have gone down the bookability route
morning and you’ve had
perhaps a share of the web business to get
their loyalty.”
but others sound a note of caution. Carmody
bookings while you’ve been
Brown used this unorthodox route and
says: “Don’t expect the phone to be red hot
the next day. You need to have a suitable
sitting in your armchair”
believes it is not only cost-effective but
ensures updates are made speedily.
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