Luxury Travel Reservations Consultant  

Our client requires a luxury Travel Reservations Consultant  to sell specialist tours directly to the public and via travel agents while performing as the first point of contact for new reservations  The primary duty is to answer the initial booking enquiry and ensure where possible the outcome results in a sale. This should be achieved through the delivery of a high standard of customer service and the application of excellent product knowledge and selling skills; ensuring the customer feels that their every query has been answered to their satisfaction.

Product Knowledge:

The Luxury Travel Reservations  Consultant is responsible for maintaining comprehensive knowledge of a wide range of products. Knowledge of new products is gained by attending product talks and gathering information through reading brochures and accessing relevant information sources. This includes unique selling points and relevant technical details. With this knowledge, the Luxury Travel Reservations Consultant should be able to answer any query regarding the product thereby advancing the booking enquiry and ensuring customer satisfaction

Luxury Travel Reservations Duties

• Sell directly to the public and via travel agents either over the telephone, by email or face-to- face with customers visiting the office.
• Help maintain a growing database of loyal existing customers and attract new potential customers.
• Ensure that every effort is made to convert enquiries into options, and options into confirmed bookings.
• Use product knowledge to confidently cross-sell to other products if the required holiday is unavailable or unsuitable.
• Answer initial queries about the holiday. Determining suitability and suggesting alternatives, where applicable.
• Use an in-house reservations system to check availability and make bookings, or pass all relevant information to the Travel Consultant if the tour is on request.
• Ensure special requests (i.e. dietary requirements, wheelchair assistance, etc.) are properly attended to, that appropriate advice is given, and all relevant members of staff are informed, where necessary.
• Answer queries for existing bookings, process amendments, where required, and help resolve any issues through liaising with Reservations Management and Customer Relations.
• Follow up on recent options and maintain communication with clients to ensure we achieve a high conversion rate of sales. 
• Review availability alongside waitlist bookings, and contact waitlisted customers to ensure maximum sales.
• Attend travel exhibitions and road shows. Provide an excellent first impression of the company and build interest of our product range amongst new potential customers.
• Support the rest of the department with its administration to ensure deadlines are met and service levels remain high.
• Use knowledge gained from customers to inform the marketing and commercial departments of new trends and potential destinations.
• Other duties required to ensure the smooth running of the reservations department and the delivery of excellent customer service.

Luxury Travel Person Specification:

A successful applicant must have excellent customer service skills including a superb telephone manner. This is a great opportunity for someone with keen people skills and who enjoys speaking to customers. They should be sales focused, able to think quickly on their feet, and have strong communication skills for liaising with various departments within the company.

Criteria:

• Minimum of 2 years travel industry experience  
• Minimum of 1 year customer service / sales experience, dealing with the public, ideally in a sales environment with a high volume of calls.
• A highly professional, patient and attentive telephone manner.
• An effective sales technique with the ability to close a sale and offer suggestions of suitable alternatives.
• GCSE passes (or equivalent) in English & Maths are essential.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Enthusiasm, dependability and self-motivation.
• Working knowledge MS Office and a CRS (CRS preferred but not essential.)