How does your business travel booking come about?
Booking a business trip often involves a little more than just searching and booking. Our Business Travel Consultants are always looking for the best prices, most favorable travel schedules and take into account any policies from your organization. To give some more insight into how we book, search or support when you book yourself, I would like to take you on a look behind the scenes at Uniglobe Alliance Travel.
From request to booking
A travel request comes to us by phone or email. Each request is handled by the same Travel Consultant, from acceptance to actual booking and administration. This is convenient for the booker who has the same contact person and also for the Travel Consultant, who knows all the wishes of the traveler.
Multiple options are always offered for all travel components. The request is then processed into a clear quotation that is sent by e-mail. The booker then chooses from the options offered, after which the reservation is converted into a final booking. The tickets and any vouchers for car rental and/or hotel are issued and sent by e-mail, along with the invoice.
All your preferences we will take into account!
In order to offer the customized proposal, whenever possible we work with traveler profiles, which are loaded into our booking system, and usually include the traveler's needs, preferences and loyalty programs. When requesting a flight, we offer several options, both direct and with a transfer. After all, for one traveler, flight times may be more important than the ticket fare and vice versa. The advantage of Amadeus is that all scheduled flights of renowned airlines and also some low-cost airlines are loaded into the system. This gives us a quick overview of all flight options.
In addition, business travelers are often "frequent flyer members" of one or more airlines. This allows them to earn points and receive discounts on seat reservations, for example. Amadeus recognizes the "member number" and corresponding status of the traveler and applies the appropriate discount for extra services immediately. The corresponding points are also automatically awarded.
Amadeus CRS
Reservations for our customers are facilitated by various booking systems. The main system Uniglobe Alliance Travel uses for booking flights is Amadeus. But what exactly is Amadeus? Amadeus is a European real-time computer reservation system (CRS for short) designed for airline reservations. In addition, other types of reservations such as hotel bookings, car rentals and charter flights can be made in Amadeus. In it, travel agents can request current prices and availability of flights and make reservations directly.
Also hotels and car rental with benefit and convenience
In addition to Amadeus, we also use the booking tools of our "preferred suppliers."
- For car rental, Uniglobe Alliance Travel has partnerships with Sunny Cars, Hertz, Avis, Sixt and Europcar, among others. This allows us to often offer cheaper rates and favorable conditions.
- We make hotel reservations using a system that includes prices and availability from Booking.com, Expedia or Ratehawk. The advantage over these separate websites is that reservations can be made by voucher and payment is made in advance. The traveler does not have to pay for the stay on the spot and this saves a lot of extra work with regard to submitting claims.
- For train travel, the NS reservation system, called Atlantis, offers a solution. All trains within the Netherlands and most train connections within Europe can be booked through this system.
Now even more convenience with UBI: book and manage your business travel yourself
In August 2020, from Uniglobe Travel, we launched a new online booking tool called UBI. UBI stands for Uniglobe Booking Intelligence and is the "one-stop-shop" for all travel products. Flights, hotels, train, car rental and other products can be booked and managed in one system. The perfect solution for the modern business traveler!
UBI has the ability to connect to both Amadeus and the booking systems of all our preferred suppliers. In addition, UBI not only provides booking of travel products, but the system also proactively offers suggestions (via self-learning). The system is in constant development to continue to meet traveler needs and grow with technological advances. All Travel Consultants at Uniglobe Alliance Travel are UBI-certified and, based on their experience and professional skills, can explain and assist the traveler in the booking process when questions arise.
UBI and your customized business account
Business travelers do not always travel alone; sometimes colleagues take a trip abroad together. When making a booking through UBI, you can view options for up to five travelers simultaneously and make a reservation. You can then immediately compare all types of products, for example a flight and hotel, and have this sent to you in separate quotes.
Furthermore, UBI allows business account information to be stored and displayed for our Travel Consultants and you as a booker and/or traveler. This way there is access to specifically negotiated rates for products, supplier preferences, travel policy information, reference fields and other items related to your organization at all times. The information is displayed during the booking process and is accessible within one click before you begin your trip; all information at a glance.
Your Business Travel Consultant is waiting for you!
As you can read, there is quite a bit of work on the "back end" to set everything up custom search and booking. We as Business Travel Consultant are happy to get to work every day and puzzle out all the requests for the best offer and the most travel convenience. Thanks to our new system UBI, this can be even easier and faster, both for you and for us!
Want to know more about the operation and benefits of UBI? Please feel free to contact with us for more information or book directly a free online demo!
Update: This blog first appeared on Dec. 8, 2020, and was updated with new information on Oct. 14, 2021.
