SKILLS OF A GOOD TRAVEL DESK MANAGER
The travel industry has significantly improved in recent years. An undeveloped economy has made travel managers more inventive in the way they do business to be sure that they can maintain a successful enterprise in the tourism domain. The travel business is one of the fastest growing ventures in the world. Also, with the recent developments in technologies and trends, the travel industry has helped with numerous new open doors for travel devotees. While there are a number of jobs related to travel and tourism, travel desk manager is one of the most challenging yet the best job you can ever get.
Before getting into the field of travel manager, you need to acquire essential skills and certain expertise over few things. A travel desk manager is a person who looks after everything in a tour right from the passenger attendance at the tour to make sure they are getting proper food and sightseeing properly. A travel manager is generally appointed by the any type company itself. While there are a number of benefits of being a travel desk manager, you need to acquire certain skills before joining in as a travel coordinator.
A travel desk manager has to look upon everything including the pre-booking work, post booking work and the work while on the actual tour. Thus, it is a hectic job altogether. But, the strongest the benefit of being a travel manager is, you get to travel different places. And the best part is, absolutely free of cost. The company covers all of your travel expenses for the total tour duration. But, you have to make sure, that everything goes well on the tour.
Let us take a look at the role of a travel manager in detail:
1) Communication Skills - The very basic purpose of travel manager is to have effective and open communication with the passengers while on tour. If there is any problem that customers are facing, then the travel manager should be able to resolve it efficiently and as soon as possible. Thus, communicating with passengers about their issues is one of the most important roles of travel manager.
2) Fun and Interactive – A travel manager has to face all aged people on a tour right from from little youngsters to senior citizens. Consequently, it is critical for him to be good, fun and interactive while on the visit. He ought to be constantly well intelligent with the travelers in regards to everything without exception they require.
3) Knowledgeable – It is very important for a travel manager to be well knowledgeable about the spots on the tour. People might ask a alternative question while on a tour which he should be able to answer. Likewise, he ought to be well educated about the airlines, hotels, taxi and immigration/visa places of the area.
4) Planning and Executing – A travel manager should possess the excellent planning and executing abilities. He is responsible for covering all the places properly in the itinerary. Additionally, he should take proper care of food and accommodation while on the tour. On the off chance that any traveler has an issue with respect to their rooms or food, he should instantly be able to resolve the issue by giving them alternate services.
5) The Art of Negotiation - When there are websites that offer unwanted rooms for a fraction of the cost in hotels all across the globe, a travel manager needs to possess the ability to negotiate with different businesses so that he can provide a competitive rate for their customers. Expect that you might have to negotiate rates by also making a concession that their hotel or airline will be your first recommendation when presenting a travel package to a customer. The tourism industry is very competitive, so you need to be prepared to offer your best when negotiating prices with possible future partners.
06) Leadership Skills- The first prerequisite for being a good leader is, of course, having a fair amount of leadership experience. Consider the fact that your employees must be able to count on you when facing any roadblocks while planning an upcoming trip for a client. You need to be able to withstand the stress caused by overbooked hotels or displeased customers so as to give a good example for your employees.
7) Knowledge of alternative travel- Prepare yourself to encounter different clients with different desires. Some of your customers might be unable to fly due to flight anxiety or to certain health issues. In these circumstances, you have to provide your clients with a wide variety of travel options to meet their particular needs. Once very popular, trains are a unique way to make it to a destination while still admiring a part of the country otherwise missed when being 40,000 feet in the air. But more comfortable and stress-free can be the option of booking a professional ground transportation service that can provide City to City Car Service.
8) Tech Savvy-A good travel manager needs to have a certain amount of technological knowledge in this continuously changing world of online travel booking. You should get accustomed to the latest updates regarding travel industry technology so you can provide your customer with the best experience every step from booking their trip to returning home. Remember that the technological feature of the travel industry will get more and more complicated in the years to come, so you should remain on top of it now to be more prepared for the future.
9) Finance & Budget Knowledge-A successful manager in any industry must possess a basic knowledge regarding finance and budget. It will be easier to make a profit if you can understand the relation between the cost of operating a business versus the amount of income you can get from each vacation you book.
10) Language Skills-It’s very helpful to be able to sustain a conversation, but that’s not enough. Take into consideration that the India are also named the melting pot for a reason: this country accommodates lots of people with different cultural backgrounds and different languages. So, it will be great for your business if you can provide to this people someone who understands their languages and better yet speaks it fluently.
In this competitive travel industry, you will ensure your success and supremacy by cultivating as many skills as possible, not only the ones specified above. Your goals must be to make your clients feel comfortable choosing you and your business to plan their trip and also, to make your employees look up to you as well. When combined, these can all lead to a more productive outcome.
Nowadays, an executive travel manager is obliged to have also a trusted partner, a corporate ground transportation company which knows that business travel is a different matter. It needs to be stress-free, productive but also enjoyable.
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