How to Verify the Authenticity of Third-Party B2B Travel Suppliers

It’s a lazy weekend afternoon and you’re enjoying some hard-earned family time when suddenly, your phone goes off. Knowing that the group trip you planned is supposed to be checking into their hotel around now, you let the family know it will be a minute and check it out.

Unfortunately, it's a worst-case scenario situation. Somehow, between the time you booked the hotel and the time your clients checked in, the hotel was overbooked. They didn't have enough rooms for your group anymore. And no one was the wiser until the group of 45 people showed up with their bags in hand.

And when you contact the third-party supplier you used to make the booking, they don’t respond.

What do you do?

While a scenario like this is rare, it sadly happens occasionally and can be a complete nightmare to fix.

?A third-party supplier can get you great prices but it can cost you communication with the hotel. That’s why, as a travel agent, you know that it's essential to find reliable travel suppliers. But how do you do that?

Top Tips For Verifying Third-Party Suppliers

In this week's article, we will discuss some tips for verifying the authenticity of third-party B2B travel suppliers. By following these tips, you can help protect yourself from fraud and ensure that you're getting the best possible service.

Check the supplier's website for contact information.

A legitimate travel supplier will have a website that includes contact information such as a phone number and address. You should be able to easily find this information on the website. If the supplier's website does not have contact information, or if the information is incomplete or inaccurate, this is a red flag.

Read customer reviews.

Another way to verify the authenticity of a travel supplier is to read customer reviews. You can find customer reviews online, on social media, and in travel forums. If you see a lot of negative reviews, this is a sign that the supplier may not be reliable.

Ask for references.

If you're still not sure whether a travel supplier is legitimate, you can always ask for references. If the supplier is unwilling to provide references, this is a sign that they may be trying to hide something.

Research their services.

A verifiable third-party supplier that wants your business is going to offer a wide range of services that will help you grow your business because they know that your success will lead to theirs. As an example, here at GRNconnect, we have multiple tools that our registered travel agents can use to be successful.

Oh, and that worst-case scenario at the beginning of this article? That is a lot less likely to happen if you work with us. Why? Because we call the hotel to verify availability when the booking is made through us, and again the day before the booking. It’s just one more small thing we do for our agents to help them succeed.

In the end, following these tips can help protect you from fraud and ensure that you're getting the best possible service when working with third-party B2B travel suppliers.