travelscreen hotel all brand enhancement advisory · travelscreen hotel all brand enhancement...

TravelScreen Hotel All Brand Enhancement

Confidential – Internal Use Only 1

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Product Contact: Laurie Crone (303-397-6029) Date Created: 4/28/05 Date Updated:



TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS....................................................................................................................................3 SECTION 1: CUSTOMER ORIENTED ....................................................................................................4

PRODUCT OVERVIEW....................................................................................................................................4 PRODUCT DESCRIPTION................................................................................................................................4 FEATURES AND ADVANTAGES......................................................................................................................5 PRODUCT FUNCTIONALITY ...........................................................................................................................6 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ..............................................................................................................................6

Hardware/Software ..................................................................................................................................6 IMPLICATIONS TO OTHER PRODUCTS............................................................................................................6

SECTION 2: SALES ORIENTED...............................................................................................................7 TARGET CUSTOMER .....................................................................................................................................7 GEOGRAPHIC MARKET .................................................................................................................................7 KEY SALES STATEMENTS .............................................................................................................................7

Functional Advisory .................................................................................................................................8 Product Toolkit ........................................................................................................................................8

DEPLOYMENT ...............................................................................................................................................8 AAT.............................................................................................................................................................8 PRICING/BILLING..........................................................................................................................................8 FOCALPOINT/VIEWPOINT OFFLINE TRADITIONAL AGENCY PLATFORM ..........................................................8 XML SELECT/GALILEO WEB SERVICES ONLINE PLATFORM........................................................................8 SIGN UP/ORDER PROCESS/CONTRACTING ....................................................................................................8

SECTION 3: SERVICE ORIENTED..........................................................................................................9 RESPONSIBILITIES.........................................................................................................................................9

Account Manager/Specialist (US/CA)......................................................................................................9 Advanced Solutions Manager (ASM) .......................................................................................................9 Backroom Account Manager/GPS (GlobalWareSM Product Specialist) ...................................................9 Contract Specialist ...................................................................................................................................9 Customer ..................................................................................................................................................9 Help Desk.................................................................................................................................................9 IBM/ISM...................................................................................................................................................9 Installation Project Manager (IPM) ........................................................................................................9 Sales .........................................................................................................................................................9 Training Specialist/Instructor ..................................................................................................................9

PRODUCT SUPPORT.....................................................................................................................................10 Atlanta Customer Support Center (ACSC).............................................................................................10 Denver....................................................................................................................................................10

TRAINING ...................................................................................................................................................10 Internal Training....................................................................................................................................10 External Training ...................................................................................................................................10

REFERENCE MATERIAL ..............................................................................................................................10 Internal Reference Materials .................................................................................................................10 External Reference Materials.................................................................................................................10

SECTION 4: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS .............................................................................11 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................................13

APPENDIX A: PRODUCT FUNCTIONALITY ...................................................................................................13 ENHANCEMENT DESCRIPTION ....................................................................................................................13

TravelScreen Hotel Membership Screen ................................................................................................13 TravelScreen Hotel Preference Screen ..................................................................................................14 Availability Process ...............................................................................................................................14



Section 1: Customer Oriented PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Hotel brand codes are used to identify hotel chains that are associated to a particular brand or conglomerate. For example, a Traveler has a membership number for the Starwood all-brand code (SW) which includes the following hotel chains: Westin, St Regis, Sheraton, Luxury, Four Points, and the W. Today, eleven all-brand codes support over 60 major hotel chains and the number of all-brand code/chain code associations will grow as the hotel industry continues to consolidate.

TravelScreen is used by agents to add traveler hotel preference information to PNR/BFs

in Apollo/Galileo. All-Brand codes were not widely used when TravelScreen was initially developed. Currently, TravelScreen supports only 10 hotel membership numbers for hotel chain codes and does NOT support hotel all-brand codes. Agents must manually enter all-brand codes directly in Apollo/Galileo traveler profiles or enter all individual chain codes associated with a brand code into TravelScreen. PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

This enhancement will extend the allowable vendor code options in the TravelScreen Hotel Membership and Hotel Preference screens to include any All Brand Hotel Codes available in RoomMaster. It will also allow for All Brand Codes that are entered in the TravelScreen Hotel Membership screen to be used during the Roommaster availability and sell process.



FEATURES AND ADVANTAGES

Feature Advantages

Ability to input Hotel All Brand Code on TravelScreen Hotel Membership screen (SP*MI/HOTEL)

In addition to being able to enter individual chain codes on the Hotel Membership screen, the user can now enter Hotel All Brand Codes. This will be a time saver for the agents. In addition, since there is a limitation of 10 membership numbers on the Hotel Membership screen, this enhancement makes good use of the 10 slots. Example: The user can now enter SW for Starwood on the TravelScreen Hotel Membership screen. Previously, the user would enter each individual chain associated with Starwood, (Westin, St. Regis, Sheraton, Luxury, Four Points, W).

Ability to input Hotel All Brand Code on the TravelScreen Hotel Preference screen (SP*HP, SP*HB)

In addition to being able to enter individual chain codes on the Hotel Preference screen, the user can now enter Hotel All Brand Codes on the preference screen. This will be a time saver for the agents. In addition, since there is a limitation of 4 hotel chain preferences on the Hotel Preference screen, this enhancement makes good use of the 4 slots. Example: The user can now enter SW for Starwood on the TravelScreen Hotel Membership screen. Previously, the user would enter each individual chain associated with Starwood, (Westin, St. Regis, Sheraton, Luxury, Four Points, W).

When a hotel property is sold through RoomMaster, and TravelScreen is active, the All Brands membership information will be appended to the sell transaction

Previously if the traveler had an All Brand Membership number, such as Starwood, the user would have to manually append this information to the sell transaction. Now if the membership number resides in TravelScreen, the information will be automatically appended to the sell transaction.

Hotel Availability will reflect Hotel All Brand Preferences from TravelScreen

The TravelScreen All Brand Hotel Preferences will be appended to the hotel availability request, and the response will be all hotels that that are included as part of the All Brand Code This will be a time saver for the agent because they will see availability for all chains in an all brand code with just one entry. Example: The user enters SW (Starwood) on the Hotel Preference screen. When an availability request is made, SW is appended to the availability. The response will be all available hotels for Starwood, which includes Westin, St. Regis, Sheraton, Luxury, Four Points and W.



PRODUCT FUNCTIONALITY See Appendix A SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

HARDWARE/SOFTWARE

This function is housed within the Apollo and Galileo host systems, therefore, no new hardware or software is required. IMPLICATIONS TO OTHER PRODUCTS None



Section 2: Sales Oriented TARGET CUSTOMER All

GEOGRAPHIC MARKET

Region/Country Currently Available

Languages Release Date

United States Yes English April, 2005 Canada Yes English April, 2005 Latin America Yes English April, 2005

KEY SALES STATEMENTS Benefits to the customer: Time Efficiencies – The agent can enter one Hotel All Brand Membership number into TravelScreen, instead of multiple individual chain codes. Also, because of the limitation of ten membership numbers in TravelScreen, this enhancement makes more efficient use of the ten slots. The agent can enter one Hotel All Brand code on the TravelScreen Hotel Preference screen instead of adding individual chain codes. Also, because there is a limitation of four hotel vendors on the Preference screen, this enhancement makes more efficient use of the four slots. Accuracy – These enhancements eliminate the need for manual entry of hotel membership information, which decreases the potential for omissions and errors in the data. In addition, the hotel membership information is automatically appended to the hotel sell transaction, decreasing the chance that the membership information is not passed, or incorrect information, is passed to the vendor. Competitive situation: Prior to these enhancements, the value and use of TravelScreen for managing hotel information was declining. Both WorldSpan and Amadeus have similar products that include the all brand functionality. These enhancements bring us to a Parity Position with them. Sabre does not currently have a similar product. These enhancements will further solidify our leadership position with them for this product area.



FUNCTIONAL ADVISORY

A Galileo TravelScreen Hotel All Brand Enhancement Functional Advisory is available for internal communications. The Functional Advisory gives details of the product functionality.

PRODUCT TOOLKIT

Apollo® Briefings In the US, information on the TravelScreen Hotel All Brands Enhancement is available in HELP, HELP ENHANCE-TVLSCREEN ALL BRANDS In Canada, information on the TravelScreen Hotel All Brands Enhancement is available in HELP, S*GEM/TVLSCREEN ALL BRANDS DEPLOYMENT The TravelScreen Hotel All Brand Enhancement is already loaded in the Apollo and Galileo host system so it can be used immediately upon receipt of this advisory. AAT No AAT changes

PRICING/BILLING No pricing/billing changes FOCALPOINT/VIEWPOINT OFFLINE TRADITIONAL AGENCY PLATFORM This enhancement is available to Focalpoint and Viewpoint users. XML SELECT/GALILEO WEB SERVICES ONLINE PLATFORM N/A SIGN UP/ORDER PROCESS/CONTRACTING No sign up/order process/contracting required



Section 3: Service Oriented RESPONSIBILITIES

ACCOUNT MANAGER/SPECIALIST (US/CA)

Account Managers/Specialists should become well versed with the TravelScreen Hotel All Brand Enhancement. It is important for Account Managers/Specialists to be able to address customers’ questions and possible issues in a clear and concise manner. Account Manager/Specialists should be able to help agents understand the positive benefits of the TravelScreen Enhancement.

ADVANCED SOLUTIONS MANAGER (ASM)

Advanced Solutions Managers should become well versed with the TravelScreen Hotel All Brand Enhancement. It is important for Advanced Solutions Managers to be able to address customers’ questions and possible issues in a clear and concise manner. Advanced Solutions Managers should be able to help agents understand the positive benefits of the TravelScreen Enhancement.

BACKROOM ACCOUNT MANAGER/GPS (GLOBALWARESM PRODUCT SPECIALIST)

This enhancement does not impact GlobalWare.

CONTRACT SPECIALIST

There are no contract requirements for this enhancement.

CUSTOMER

Customer is to review HELP ENHANCE – TVLSCREEN ALL BRANDS (in US) and S*GEM/TVLSCREEN ALL BRANDS (in CA).

HELP DESK

Atlanta Customer Support Center (ACSC) will provide first level support and escalate functional issues.

IBM/ISM

N/A

INSTALLATION PROJECT MANAGER (IPM)

N/A

SALES

Sales Executives should fully understand the features and benefits of the TravelScreen Hotel All Brand Enhancement and use this as a selling tool with their customers.

TRAINING SPECIALIST/INSTRUCTOR

Training Specialists/Instructors should become well versed with the TravelScreen Hotel All Brand Enhancement and the benefits it offers. It is important for Training Specialists to be able to have a good understanding of the TravelScreen Hotel All Brand Enhancement in order to address customer questions and issues while onsite or in the classroom.



PRODUCT SUPPORT

ATLANTA CUSTOMER SUPPORT CENTER (ACSC)

ACSC will provide first level support and escalate functional issues to GSC/Denver for TravelScreen related issues. All Problem tickets will be routed per normal routing procedures. Once a problem has been resolved, ACSC Desk will contact the customer.

DENVER

Global Support Center/Denver (GSC) will provide second level support for all Orbit tickets. TRAINING

INTERNAL TRAINING

Minimal training is required. No formats have been added or changed to support this enhancement.

EXTERNAL TRAINING

Minimal training is required. No formats have been added or changed to support this enhancement. REFERENCE MATERIAL

INTERNAL REFERENCE MATERIALS

Apollo Online HELP (US and Canada) HELP ENHANCE-TVLSCREEN ALL BRANDS (US) S*GEM/TVLSCREEN ALL BRANDS (Canada) US: http://support.galileo.com/acsc Canada: http://support.galileo.com/canada

EXTERNAL REFERENCE MATERIALS

Apollo Online HELP (US and Canada) HELP ENHANCE-TVLSCREEN ALL BRANDS (US) S*GEM/FARES-TVLSCREEN ALL BRANDS (Canada) US: http://support.galileo.com/acsc

Canada: http://support.galileo.com/canada


http://support.galileo.com/acsc

http://support.galileo.com/canada

http://support.galileo.com/acsc

http://support.galileo.com/canada


Section 4: Frequently Asked Questions The following frequently asked questions and answers are provided to help you with addressing common scenarios that may arise with the TravelScreen Hotel All Brand Enhancement. Who can use the TravelScreen Hotel All Brand Enhancement? The Hotel All Brand Enhancement is accessible to anyone using TravelScreen. There are no format changes with this enhancement. Instead, TravelScreen has been updated to accept Hotel All Brand codes for Hotel Membership information and Hotel Preferences. Did you expand the number of hotel membership numbers that can be added in TravelScreen? No, you can still only enter ten hotel membership numbers, but with the enhancement to accept Hotel All Brand codes, the user can now put in one hotel brand code, such as SW for Starwood instead of having to enter each individual hotel chain under the Starwood code. Did you expand the number preferred hotel vendors that can be added in TravelScreen? No. You can still only enter four vendors, but with this enhancement you can now enter the all brand code as a preferred vendor, thus eliminating the need to enter multiple vendor codes on the hotel preference screen. If I already have a chain code membership number in TravelScreen for a hotel that is affiliated with an All Brand, do I need to re-enter the corresponding All Brand Membership information in TravelScreen? No. This enhancement will not impact any current membership information that is stored in TravelScreen. When hotel membership information is appended to the RoomMaster sell transaction, the system will first look for an exact match of the chain code that is being sold. If there is not an exact match on the chain code, the system will look for an All Brand code that matches. Is it okay to have a chain code membership number, such as Westin, and an All Brand Membership Number, such as Starwood, in TravelScreen? Yes. When hotel membership information is appended to the RoomMaster sell transaction, the system will first look for an exact match of the chain code that is being sold. If there is not an exact match on the chain code, the system will look for an All Brand code that matches. In this example, when the SW all brand information is added, it would be appropriate to remove the individual item for Westin. What response will I receive from Apollo hotel availability if I have a Hotel All Brand Code and a Rate Access Code entered on the Hotel Preference screen (SP*HB, SP*HP)? The system will return the available hotels for the specified All Brand Code and the negotiated rates associated to the specified Rate Access Code. Is it okay to enter an individual chain code, such as Sheraton (SI) on my Hotel Preference screen and also enter a Hotel All Brand, such as Starwood (SW), since Sheraton is part of Starwood?



Yes, when you make a hotel availability request, the system will return all available hotel properties that match either the individual chain code and/or the All Brand code. Duplicate properties will be removed. So if you have SI (Sheraton) and SW (Starwood) entered in TravelScreen and you request availability, the response will include all Starwood properties that are available, including Sheraton properties. But, Sheraton properties will not show up twice, since duplicate properties are removed.



Appendices APPENDIX A: PRODUCT FUNCTIONALITY PRODUCT FUNCTIONALITY The following sections highlight the TravelScreen Hotel All Brands Enhancement functionality. ENHANCEMENT DESCRIPTION This enhancement will extend the allowable vendor code options in the TravelScreen Hotel Membership and Hotel Preference screens to include any All Brand Hotel Codes available in RoomMaster. It will also allow for All Brand Codes that are entered in the TravelScreen Hotel Membership screen to be used during the RoomMaster availability and sell process.

TRAVELSCREEN HOTEL MEMBERSHIP SCREEN

All Brands Hotel Codes that are available in RoomMaster can now be entered into the TravelScreen Hotel Membership screen. The codes can be entered using the current screen edits. There are no screen display changes. Screen Examples: Apollo: SP*MI/HOTEL >SP:MI/HOTEL HOTEL MEMBERSHIP SMITH-JONATHAN 1·SW·1234567890.. 2·..·......................... 3·..·......................... 4·..·......................... 5·..·......................... 6·..·......................... 7·..·......................... 8·..·......................... 9·..·......................... 10·..·......................... >SP*MI· >SP*MI/CAR·



TRAVELSCREEN HOTEL PREFERENCE SCREEN

All Brands Hotel Codes that are available in RoomMaster can now be entered into the TravelScreen Hotel Preference screen. The codes can be entered using the current screen edits. The All Brands codes allowed for input in TravelScreen are validated against the All Brands Hotel codes listed in RoomMaster. There are no screen display changes. Apollo: SP*HB or SP*HP >SP:HB BUSINESS HOTEL PREF SMITH VENDOR RM TYPE NEG RATE CD NBR GUAR ·SW ·... ·...... ·............... ·.. SPCL INFO·NON.SMOKING.................... ·.. ·... ·...... ·............... ·.. SPCL INFO·............................... ·.. ·... ·...... ·............... ·.. SPCL INFO·............................... ·.. ·... ·...... ·............... ·.. SPCL INFO·...............................

AVAILABILITY PROCESS

When TravelScreen is active for a PNR/BF, the All Brands Hotel Codes that are entered in the TravelScreen Hotel Preference screen will be used during the RoomMaster availability process. There are no screen display changes. Availability Examples using Starwood All Brands Code (SW): Apollo: >HOA03APR-1NTDFW/SW -- *SW* STARWOOD IS PLEASED TO OFFER YOU *INSIDE SHOPPER* -- PERS PREF SW DALLAS FT WORTH IN TX 3APR-6APR 3NT 1ADULT MI 1 A +SI SHERATON GRAND HOTE 4440 WEST JOHN CARPE 3NE 159.00-210.00 USD 2 A +WI THE WESTIN GALLERIA 13340 DALLAS PARKWAY 14E 199.00-370.00 USD 3 A +SI SHERATON DALLAS BRO 1241 W. MOCKINGBIRD 13SE 99.95-169.00 USD >HOA*PD· >HOC·... >HOD·... >HOU/PREF-OFF·



Viewpoint Example:

When a hotel property is sold through RoomMaster, and TravelScreen is active, the All Brands membership information will be used as part of the append sell transaction. If the User manually appends the Hotel Membership information at the time of a hotel sell process, the system will look for an exact match of the Hotel Vendor Code in the sell and the Hotel Membership information stored in TravelScreen. If it cannot find an exact match between the Hotel Vendor Code being sold and the Hotel Membership information in TravelScreen, the system will append the All Brands Membership number to the sell of any hotel that is included as a match for the All Brands Hotel Code. Duplicate information may appear in the sell. For example: The User enters: SP01Inside1 … . . . /FG-98999999 It could come back as: 01A1KRAC/FG-98999999/FG-123412341234



There are some differences in the Viewpoint availability displays. When All Brands Hotel Codes and Property preferences are present, properties are displayed first. In Viewpoint the first availability display screen will only reflect the property preference. The ‘More’ button is active and the chains can be displayed by selecting the More button. Example of a Viewpoint Availability Display:



Viewpoint Example of display after selecting the ‘More’ button: Viewpoint Display Example using the ‘Show Pref’ button:



Viewpoint Display Example using the pull-down menu for selected qualifiers. The Multi-level rates are listed here at the top of the list:

There are no edits in

TravelScreen for the Rate Access Code with All Brands Hotel Codes. If an invalid Rate Access Code is entered in TravelScreen it will not be validated. Apollo Example: >SP:HB BUSINESS HOTEL PREF SMITH VENDOR RM TYPE NEG RATE CD NBR GUAR ·HH ·... ·AAA... ·............... ·.. SPCL INFO·............................... ·EW ·... ·AAB... ·............... ·.. SPCL INFO·............................... ·.. ·... ·...... ·............... ·.. SPCL INFO·............................... ·.. ·... ·...... ·............... ·.. SPCL INFO·............................... BUS HTL PREF UPDATED



When an All Brands Hotel Code and a Rate Access Code are present in TravelScreen, the information is appended to the availability request. In Apollo, if a Rate Access Code is incorrect, the user will see a neutral display with Business Preferences Not Matched notation. Apollo Example: >HOA2MAY-4MAYORD/D-30M BUS PREF NO MATCH OHARE INTL ARPT IL 2MAY-4MAY 2NT 1ADULT MI 1 A +HI HOLIDAY INN O HARE 5440 N RIVER ROAD 2E 143.10-209.00 USD 2 +SI SHERATON GATEWAY SU 6501 N MANNHEIM RD 2NE REQUEST HOC FOR RATES 3 +RT SOFITEL OHARE 5550 N RIVER ROAD 2E 229.00-259.00 USD >HOA*PD· >HOC·... >HOD·... >HOU/PREF-OFF·


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