Agent

The Agent Profile relates to Travel Agents. Many Hotels work with Travel Agents and want to keep their contact information which includes mailing information, iata code and commission details. In a multi-property database environment, Agent Profiles can be shared with the other properties in the database. 

To access Agent Relation, go to Relation > Agent > Agent or use the key combination <Ctrl>+<T>. The Seek menu will pop up requiring the user to enter search criteria.

At least one criteria must be given.

Users can add % in front of or after the entered data as a wildcard.

After entering search criteria, the Browse agents browse form is displayed and a Travel agent can be selected or a new profile can be created:



Field Descriptions in Agent Profile Window

 
The agent name entered is displayed in Name . 
The name of the parent agent, if applicable, is entered in Parent agent. To Search for a list of Parent Agents, click on the ... at the end of the parent agent field. See also Parent Agent.
 
The Agent address data fields

There are two address sections, one for mailing address where mail is sent and one for visit address which is considered street address. Mail address is useful if PO box numbers are used. The Mail address is what is used in IDPMS by default on all correspondence and billing. An address, possibly different to the postal address can be entered in the Visit address field. IDPMS will not include this data in letters of confirmation and invoices.

The fields for other agency data

The telephone number of the agency is entered in the Phone field.
The fax number of the agency is entered in the Fax field.
The Internet address of the agency can be entered in the Website field.
The email address of the agency can be entered in the Email address field.
The Chamber of Commerce number of the agency can be entered in the Agent number field.
The TAX number of the company can be entered in the TAX/VAT field.
A language that will be used on letters of confirmation and invoices can be selected in the Language field. If this is not done, IDPMS will use the default language in settings.
Selection of the type of reservation or company can be done in the Source field.
Local Source is used if the hotel activates the local settings in IDPMS and is part of a multi- property or central type environment where source information is local and will therefore not be replicated to central res or other properties. 
 
The Fields for Payments

 
  Clicking on the A/R number icon will create and assign an A/R number. Assigning an A/R number within the agent relation means that the travel agency has met the required credit standards set by the hotel to allow direct billing after stay has been completed. This A/R number will be permanent and then filled in the A/R number field. The number will automatically be assigned by the system unless in settings->Options->Financial(2), the 'External debtor number' is checked. If it is checked, then the user is required to manually assign an A/R number.  If DB (direct bill or A/R (accounts receivable) are the method of payment used on a guest booking linked to an agent, where no A/R number is assigned, then the system will not allow that form of payment without a valid A/R number. Most hotels require credit checks before authorizing any company to have direct billing rights and an A/R account.
 
AP number is used if the relation has an accounts payable account. AP is also used for travel agent commission handling in Agent Profiles. Once a Travel Agent is set up to process and handle agent commissions, IDPMS automatically assigns a AP number to the Agent Profile once checkout of the commissionable booking has been completed. For more information on Commissions, see Processing Agent Commissions
 
Account Number - If applicable, enter the bank with which the agent has an account in the Account Number field.
 
Days Due can be used to set the number of days an invoice is due after checkout if different from the default settings in Settings->Options->Financial(2)  "Default Days Due"
 
 
Other Agent Fields
 

A specific status can be selected for the agent in the Status field, similar to the guest profile. This links to Standard, Cash list or Black list. All reservations made under this travel agent name in future will automatically be given this status.
 

 
Protect - can be checked if this agent profile may not be changed by an unauthorized user. Only a system administrator (super user) may be permitted to remove the check at a later date. Access is based on access rights set up in menu user access rights. The right is under Reservation Rights - "User can edit relation profile" This profile may still be changed in future if the box is not checked.
 
Room Nights - An Agent can be linked to a 'room nights' category. Different room night categories might be assigned to different relations based on the anticipated production of that relation.  For more information, see Room Nights.
 
Source Location - is used to identify source locations and can also be used in the Mailing Wizard tool to extract all agencies from the database per source location. For information on creating Source Locations, see Source Location.
 
Allotment - An Allotment type can be linked to an agent profile.  To see more information on Allotments, see Allotment Booking.
 
Batch comm. - This field is required if hotels wish to process travel agent commission using IDPMS. Select the appropriate form of commission payment. See Batch Commission Payment for details on the specific payments.
 
Discount - A specific discount can be selected (if the travel agent is entitled to a discount) in this field. The selection of a discount amount or percentage will then be factored in automatically in all future reservations made by the agent in question. To see more information on setting up discounts, see Discount.
 
Rate type - Specific rate types can be selected in rate type. This rate type will then be automatically selected as standard/default on each subsequent occasion that this guest makes a reservation linked to this agent. It can be overwritten also in the reservation. It is only advisable to fill this field if the agent only ever books one specific rate type.
 
Def. Currency-  A specific currency can be linked to a company. The picklist is based on maingroups that are marked as foreign currency. See Exchange Currency  for more details.
 
Comm. plan - A default commission plan can be linked in the Agent profile.  All future bookings linked to the agent would then have this default commission plan filled in on the reservation screen under commission.  If left blank, the person making the reservation is responsible for filling in the commission field in order to confirm that the booking will be commissionable.
 
Mealplan -
Tax on commissions -
 
The Info tab
 
Specific information relating to the Travel Agent can be entered in the memo field. This text will be copied to all memo fields on reservations linked to this agent.

 
The Bill tab
An alternative account address can, if applicable, be entered in the Bill tab. IDPMS will then use this address instead of the mail address.

 
The Rates tab
The rates available to this travel agent can be indicated in the Rates tab. To assign specific rate types, drag the rate types from 'Not available' pane to 'Available' pane and save. When a reservation is linked to the agent, only those rate types in the Available pane will be available to book. If nothing is moved to the 'Available' pane, the default is that all rates are available.
 

 
In the example below, All rates are available to the travel agency because nothing has been moved to the Available pane. 
 


The mealplans tab
The mealplans available to this travel agent can be indicated in the Mealplans tab. To assign specific mealplans, drag the mealplans from 'Not available' pane to 'Available' pane and save. When a reservation is linked to the agent, only those mealplans in the 'Available' pane will be available to book. If nothing is moved to the 'Available' pane, the default is that all mealplans are available.


 
The extras tab
The extras available to this travel agent can be indicated in the extras tab. To assign specific extras, drag the extra from 'Not available' pane to 'Available' pane and save. When a reservation is linked to the agent, only those extras in the Available pane will be available to book. If nothing is moved to the 'Available' pane, the default is that all extras are available.


 
The mail groups tab
The mailing selections with which this agent may participate can be indicated in the Mail groups tab. If no mailing is selected, this agent will automatically not participate in a selection on the basis of mailing code. See Mailing.  
The mailing tab works with the Mailing Wizard tool in IDPMS.  It allows the user to link a company to specific mailing(s) and when these mailing are selected using the mailing wizard, agencies that are linked, will be included in those mailings. See Mailing wizard.
 
Indicate the mailing selections in which this agent may participate in by dragging and dropping to the right window marked 'Include'. If nothing is in the 'Include' pane, this means that the agent is not included on any specific mailing lists. To remove an agent from a mailing list, drag the mailing selection back to the 'Exclude' pane

 
The Distrib tab
Number - An access number can be entered here if the hotel uses the CWI interface (Customer Web Interface). Companies can then pull up their rates via the website using the CWI interface and this special login number and pin.

Pin Code - Customers that use CWI have the ability to assign a pin number to access their profile. This number is stored here.

Internet username - Customers that use CWI have the ability to assign a username to access their relation profile in IDPMS via the website and this information is stored here.

Internet password - Customers that use CWI have the ability to assign a password via the website and this information is stored here.

Subchannel - Currently, this field is not used.

IATA code - Travel Agent IATA codes are stored under the distribution tab. The field can be set as a mandatory field as shown in the example below.
 

 
The Front Office tab
Text entered in the FO message field will pop up for all bookings linked to this relation profile. The message will also appear on check-in, checkout and copying of folios linked to this relation
 



 
Option Local
IDPMS offers local options if option 'Use local rates and info' is enabled. This is used in a multi- property environment where local memo text, rates, mealplans and extras can be linked to a relation and will not be uploaded or replicated to other properties linked to the hotel. The information remains local to the hotel and visible only within the property.
The 'local' options need to be activated if a hotel wants to use it. It can be activated under, Settings > Options > Modules, 'Use local rates and info'. See Option Modules.  
 
The Local Information tab
This is used in a multi- property environment where local memo text can be linked to a relation and will not be uploaded or replicated to other properties linked to the hotel. The information remains local to the hotel and visible only within the property.
 

 
The Local Rates tab
Local rates can be used in a multi- property database, where relation profiles are shared. Some hotels on the central database may offer different or additional rate codes to the same agent.  If local rates is activated at a hotel, the hotel can assign available rates that they offer the agent locally. When a reservation is being booked by the agent, local active rates (those dragged over to the 'Available pane' in local rates) will be visible.
 
The information remains local to the hotel and visible only within the property.


 
The Local Mealplans tab
Local Mealplans can be used in a multi- property database, where relation profiles are shared. Some hotels on the central database may offer different or additional mealplans to the same agent. If the option 'local rates' is activated at a hotel, the hotel can assign available mealplans that they offer the agent locally. When a reservation is being booked by the agent, local active mealplans (those dragged over to the 'Available pane' in local mealplans) will be visible.
 
The information remains local to the hotel and visible only within the property.
 

 
The Local Extras tab
Local Extras can be used in a multi- property database, where relation profiles are shared. Some hotels on the central database may offer different or additional extras to the same agent. If the option 'local rates' is activated at a hotel, the hotel can assign available extras that they offer the agent locally. When a reservation is being booked by the agent, local extras (those dragged over to the 'Available pane' in local extras) will be visible.
 
The information remains local to the hotel and visible only within the property.

 
When the agent data has been entered satisfactorily, click on the green check mark to confirm the data input. 
 
Other icons are available at the bottom of the Agent window and are explained below:

 
This is the seek icon. Using this will open the seek window and allow search criteria to be entered to find a specific Agent Relation.
 
This icon is used to enter departments of the Agent. There is no limit to the number of Departments that can be linked to an Agent
IDPMS will display a message on the first occasion that this icon is clicked:
 
Yes may be selected in this box to access the department screen. If No is selected, the system will automatically return to the agent profile.
 
The department entry screen:

The user can opt to either enter the data manually or copy (transfer) all relevant data from the agent profile. Copy address data from the agent profile by clicking on this icon.
This icon makes it possible to combine/ merge two departments. When this icon is clicked, IDPMS will display a list of all departments for the travel agent. IDPMS will then combine the selected department with the new department. When two departments have been merged, this can not be undone. The department in question will have to be entered again.
Use this icon to add a contact person to the department in question or directly to the agent profile. Clicking on this icon will display a list of all contact persons already entered for this agent. A contact person may be selected from this list who is representative of the department in question. If this contact person is not on the list, they can be added by selecting the add icon.
 

 
Contacts can be assigned a Status. This is primarily to keep track of those contacts that may no longer be active within the travel agency. The hotel may want to maintain the contact information but not include them in future mailings for example.  To assign a status, select from the drop down menu at the top of the Contact window.  To find out more about creating contact status codes, see Contact Status.
 
 Assign to user can be used to assign the contact to a specific employee at the hotel or a member of the hotel's sales force team.
Mailgroups can also be linked to a contact.  This allows the hotel flexibility in assigning specific mailings to contacts of a company .
 
 The user can opt to either enter the data manually or copy (transfer) all relevant address data from the agent profile. Copy address data from the agent profile by clicking on this icon.
 
 
  This icon is used to merge contacts. Once the action is completed, it is irreversible. First select the contact that needs to be merged to another contact.
 
 
  Use this icon to assign an AR number.  Clicking on the AR number icon will create and assign an AR number. Assigning an AR number within the relation means that the travel agency has met the required credit standards set by the hotel to allow direct billing after stay has been completed. This AR number will be permanent and then filled in the A/R number field. The number will automatically be assigned by the system unless in settings->Options->Financial(2), the 'External debtor number' is checked. If it is checked, then the user is required to manually assign an AR number.  
 
  This icon is used to merge two Travel Agent profiles together. When selected, a window will pop up with a list of Agents, select the agent to merge the data to. This action is irreversible once completed. All data will be merged under the selected agent which includes all guest stay data and revenues.
 
 
  Access the `Relation analysis' screen of the agent in question with this icon. This provides precise information on how frequently an agency has made reservations in a specific period, how many guests have stayed overnight and what the total revenue is of all bookings made by the travel agent. Averages of revenue per stay, per night and per guest are also displayed. This screen is therefore very handy for statistical purposes.
 
  Use this icon to check the history of all guests booked by the travel agent in question that have ever stayed at the hotel. Click on this icon to access a screen with a list of these guests. In a multi-property environment, all stays are listed and specified by property code prefix.
 
  Click on this icon to view or add a trace action . This is a contact management option for the Sales department which will not always be active. Whether this option is activated or not depends on the rights assigned to the user and if the sales module is activated.  See Contact Manager  for more information.
 
  This icon copies the relevant address data to the clipboard (memory). By selecting `paste' in a word processing application such as Microsoft Word®, the copied data will be `pasted' into the current document. Using this icon can therefore save a great deal of time when creating letters or other forms of communication.
 
 This icon is used to set up default charge routing for the Agent. For example, if the Travel Agency always pays room and tax charges, this can be set up using this icon and all reservations linked to the agency will have the option to copy the charge routing rules set up within the agent relation profile. The warning message on a new booking linked to the agent with charge routing would appear as follows:
 

 

 
  This icon is used for adding or linking a discount per property code. In a multi-property environment where relation profiles are shared, a different discount per property for the same agent can be used.  For example, the agency may only offer a discount to one of it's hotels or different discounts at different hotels. See Discount
 
 The printer icon within the relation profile window is used to open a document from editor. An example may be a welcome letter. The letter first needs to be created in editor and then added to the confirmation list. See Confirmations
 
 

 
At the bottom of the relation profile window, there are two fields that show Created and Changed.
 
Created will identify the user that created the relation profile initially. The date created is also noted.
Changed - will identify the user that made the last change including the date of change.
 
Seek an Agent
 
It is possible to search for an Agent using the following seek characters in the reservation screen.
 
From the Agent field, entering a # allows the user to search an Agent by IATA code.
Entering a @ seeks by visit address zipcode or postal code.
Entering a $ searches by distribution code.
 

The Agent can also be added or searched from the reservation screen when making a reservation. In the Agent Field, an Agent name can be typed in and the <Tab> key selected to seek the Agent. When searching by Agent name, it is advisable to enter an asterisk (*) in front of the name which is the wildcard search character.  
By entering an *, IDPMS will try to match the combination of letters entered in the search and return those matched results.  A browse window will appear with all Agents that match the text entered in the Agent field. 

It is also possible to search for a travel agent by iata code. To do this, first enter a # and then the iata number.
To search by distribution code, enter a $ and then the distribution code.
To search by zipcode, enter @ and then the zip or postal code.
 If there is no Agent name matching, a window will appear asking if a new agent profile needs to be created.