Local Sales and Marketing Reference Guide

Travel Agents 

Travel agents are an important resource for Thrifty Car Rental.  They provide nearly half of the total reservations that are received for Thrifty locations in the United States and internationally.

Commissions

While many travel agents have made the move to charge service fees for their livelihood, commissions are still of primary importance.  Thrifty sets itself apart from the competition with great rates, and by paying on time and mileage totals as opposed to paying on reservation only.  This means that the travel agent will receive more commission from Thrifty than most of the other other car rental companies.  Thrifty currently pays 10% on leisure rentals.  (We did follow the industry in eliminating base commissions paid to travel agents on selected corporate rentals.)

Travel Agent Loyalty Program (Look To Book®) 

Time has proven that you can affect behavior with reward.  No where is this more evident than in the travel industry.  For years, airlines have earned customer loyalty by rewarded travelers with frequent flyer miles.  Over the last several years, many hotel and car companies have developed incentive programs to earn that same loyalty from booking travel agents.  Radisson was the first hotel to develop such an incentive program.  Seven years and 250,000 agents later, their Look To Book® program is the premier travel agent loyalty program.

Thrifty is proud to be Radisson’s first and only non-hotel partner in the Look To Book® rewards.  This means Look To Book® members earn 5 points for every dollar booked on completed rentals every time they book Thrifty.  They also receive their full Thrifty commission.  Members can trade their points for a wide variety of merchandise found in the Look To Book® catalog.

If a travel agent is already a Look To Book® member, she simply enters /SI-ZT-LSMITH (first initial, last name) in the SI field of the reservation booked through a GDS. If a travel agent is not a Look To Book® member, they can sign up by booking a client into a Radisson Hotel. This includes Country Inns & Suites®, Park Plaza®, and Park Inn®.  The room should be booked through the GDS using the same entry as shown above, replacing ZT with RD.  

Travel agents can redeem points for everything from a laptop computer to an African safari or a Tahitian cruise.  As Look to Book® members, travel agents receive an annual catalog that showcases everything they can redeem points for, including vacations, hi-tech electronics, housewares, apparel, sporting goods and more.  If they don’t want to wait for the catalog, they can go to www.looktobook.com on the internet.

For more information, travel agents can access ZT keyword “promotions” in the GDS, call Thrifty at 800-TA-BUCKS, or access the website at www.thrifty.com.  For complete information on the Radisson Look To Book® program and account balance inquiries, call the Look To Book® Hotline at 800-333-5600.

Travel Agent Advisory Council

Thrifty was one of the first car rental companies to develop a Travel Agent Advisory Council.  The council is comprised of nine active members who own or manage a full service retail travel agency.  The council meets formally twice a year and has regular conference calls with Thrifty management.  The purpose of the council is to help Thrifty make sound business decisions and policies with respect to commissions and other travel industry related issues.  The council members are recommended to Thrifty by their peers, and once they become appointed to the board, serve a three year term.

Consortia 

A consortium is a group of travel agents that have collectively bound together under one name in order to increase their purchasing power with travel industry vendors.  Airlines, hotels, cruise ship companies, and car rental firms often negotiate Preferred Supplier Agreements with consortia in order to receive preferential consideration among its member agencies.  In exchange for being endorsed as preferred supplier to all of the member agencies that make up the consortium, Thrifty pays up to a 2% override commission to the home office of each group.  In return, those travel agencies produce a substantially greater volume of reservations for Thrifty.

Thrifty has a Preferred Supplier Agreement with over 13 consortia groups.  If you would like a current list, or have specific questions regarding consortia, please contact Greg Billingsley, Director of Travel Agent and Internet Sales, at 410-922-7990, or e-mail greg.billingsley@thrifty.com. 

Contract Sales Representatives 

Thrifty has a sales force of multi-line sales representatives making sales calls on travel agents in 26 U.S. and Canadian territories on a quarterly basis.  These representatives are exclusive to Thrifty in the car rental category.  Their primary responsibility is to promote Thrifty and make travel agents aware of promotional programs offered by Thrifty.

Discount Programs 

In an effort to promote the use of Thrifty Car Rental by travel agents and other employees of the travel industry, Thrifty offers the following discount car rental programs:

• Travel Agent - 25% off published retail rates good at all Thrifty locations worldwide. Use PC0169 or RC0169 when booking.
• Travel Industry - This program is available to employees of airlines, hotels, cruise lines and other travel-related associations and organizations. 

Special Promotions and Partnerships 

One of the missions that the Travel Industry Sales Department has is to pursue opportunities with other travel industry organizations that will promote the use of Thrifty.  These opportunities often include, but are not limited to the following organizations:

•  The American Society of Travel Agents
•  The Association of Retail Travel Agents
•  The Travel Industry Association
• Airlines, hotels, cruise lines, visitors and convention bureaus, theme parks, local attractions, promotional groups, tour operators, credit card companies, global distribution systems and associations.

Communications 

There are a number of ways we can communicate with agents on your behalf:

• Fax agents in specific area codes at $.11/delivered page
• Fax special offers to our consortia partners
• Travel agent area of www.thrifty.com
• Special marketing messages in the CRS systems (cost varies based on method used, system, etc.)
• Tradeshows

The Sales Call 

Travel agents are a great source that will help fill-up your parking lots as well as provide leads for local and commercial accounts.  They have agreements with companies to book their travel, and many travel agents have a sales effort calling on businesses.  Once you've developed a relationship with the agency, their sales people may give you leads and information on their accounts to help your sales efforts.

Planning 

Generally your sales call on travel agents will not be an appointment, but rather a "cold call".  When you enter the office ask for the manager.  If the manager is busy, see if there is a secondary decision maker with whom you may speak.  Your time will be limited, so speak to their point of interest.  What are those interests?  Primarily commissions, service and promotions.  Also introduce yourself briefly, speak to the front line agents and leave them collateral or coupons.  Be sure each time to ask for their commitment to distribute this collateral.

Many sales people in the travel industry (airlines, hotels, cruise ships and car rental) call on travel agents.  All are competing for their business.  It’s a good practice to make regular calls on your agents (once a quarter or more).  On repeat calls, monitor their use by keeping records of supplies (coupons, upgrade certificates, etc.) and ensure they are using them and have adequate future supplies for their customers.

On each call, repeat your benefits until they can tell you what they are.  Remember, customers forget 90% of what you tell them by the end of one week.  Repetition is key.  Additionally, keep them updated on current programs and how they benefit them and their customers. 

Thrifty's Travel Industry Sales Department often organizes travel agent sales blitzes, where the objective is to make as many cold calls on agents as possible during the scheduled blitz time frame which is normally one week.

The contract sales representative is a good person to contact before making your calls.  If the CSR has just been to the agencies in your city, you will want to be aware of this before your visit.  The contract sales representative would also be happy to distribute any information that you give them and help cover your territory. 

Bookings

Travel agents can make reservations by calling the 800 number, your local phone number, using the CRS systems, or booking through www.thrifty.com or another internet site.  You do not need to be an expert on these systems because Thrifty has its own travel agent/CRS helpline to answer any questions they may have...and travel agents generally know this number.  

Helpful Hints

• Commissions paid on time and mileage vs. reservation only
• 5% commission on government and corporate rentals
• 10% commission on leisure rentals
• Look To Book® travel agent reward partner
• Travel agent rates, 25% off published retail rates
• Travel agent executive desk 1-800-331-9111
• Upgrade certificates & promotional materials 1-800-441-5394
• Agency commission inquires 1-800-TA-BUCKS
• Travel agent/CRS hotline 1-800-527-7075
• Worldwide reservations 1-800-THRIFTY

ACCESS "ZT" (CRS booking formats)

• SABRE:  Y/CAR/QZT
• AMADEUS:  GGCARZT
• GALILEO/APOLLO:  CADZT
• WORLDSPAN:  G/CAR/ZTZ

If a question arises during your travel agent sales call that you do not feel comfortable answering, direct the agent to:

1. The Direct Reference System in their CRT (SABRE, GALILEO/APOLLO, Amadeus, or World Span). 
2. The Travel Agent Help Desk (1-800-527-7075)
3. The Thrifty Travel Industry Sales Department:

Scarlete Pelfrey, Director of Travel Industry Sales (918) 669-2231 or scarlete.pelfrey@thrifty.com 

Laura Gonser, Administrator of Travel Industry Sales (918) 669-2217 or laura.gonser@thrifty.com 

Becky Stevens, Marketing Coordinator, CRS (918) 669-2317 or becky.stevens@thrifty.com

Prev      Home      Next