What are Originating Agents?
Have you ever wonder where most of your reservations actually originate from? You may know which agent gives you the most business but now you can track one level back and keep a record of who gave them the business.
An Originating Agent is an agent or company that requested another agent or company ( a ground handler) to make and manage a reservation on their behalf. This is very common with outbound and inbound tour operators. More simply, an originating agent is the travel agent at the start of the reservation.
For example in a reservation there may be all or some of the entities below:
- A guest – the actual person staying in the room
- An originating agent – the first travel agent involved in the guest’s stay
- A ground handler – a local travel agent that handles the booking within your property’s region
To start tracking your Originating Agents, add them to the list here by clicking ‘LINK ORIGINATING AGENT’. You will be able to select any other Client as the Originating Agent to the Client you are managing. So, if Company A sends you lots of business via Company B, then link Company A as the Originating Agent of Company B. During the Reservation process you will be able to credit Company A as the Originating Agent of the Reservation if the Reservation belongs to Company B.
If Company B always sends you business from other agents then you can choose to ensure an Originating Agent is always selected in the Reservation process by selecting ‘This Client always requires an Originating Agent’. In this case you will not be able to complete the Reservation process unless an Originating Agent has been selected for this Client.