Virtuoso.com Hotel Booking Program Overview For Agency Owners, Managers and Advisors The virtuoso.com Hotel Booking Program provides a secure way for advisors to book participating Virtuoso Hotels & Resorts online through virtuoso.com. Consumers can also make online bookings, while still maintaining the level of service to which they are accustomed and working with their Virtuoso advisor. The booking process requires that consumers be connected with a Virtuoso advisor before they can make a hotel booking. Consumers who do not yet have an advisor will be able to shop hotels and view amenities, but they will not be able to see Virtuoso rates until they have logged into virtuoso.com and connect with an advisor. PLEASE NOTE: Any advisor with an active profile in Virtuoso.com may receive consumer booking inquiries even if they are not participating in the Hotel Booking program and/or their profile is not visible. Please read the section at the top of page 15 so you are familiar with the process before an email arrives in your inbox. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS FOR ADVISORS TO BOOK OR FOR THEIR CLIENTS TO BOOK Agency signs the Hotel Booking Program Member Agreement (and Data Privacy Agreement if applicable) and submits it to their Regional Director/Manager or Virtuoso representative Agency must be on Sabre and have a 1) Pseudo City Code (PCC) belonging to the agency and 2) an ARC, CLIA, IATAN, TIDS or TRUE number belonging to the agency, both entered in their virtuoso.com agency profile The agency must grant Virtuoso s PCC branch access to the agency s PCC in Sabre. Bookings cannot be released to the agency s PCC without this branch access. All bookings will be made using the agency-owned ARC, CLIA, IATAN, TIDS or TRUE number entered in the agency s virtuoso.com profile Member agency and advisors must all adhere to full compliance with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards Participating advisors must have a visible profile on virtuoso.com (all required fields must be complete and profile set to visible on virtuoso.com) Advisors must complete the Virtuoso.com Hotel Booking Tool training in the Virtuoso Travel Academy Advisors should process any booking (made by existing clients, new clients or referrals from virtuoso.com) in the agency s Sabre queue within 24 hours of booking Agency takes full responsibility for bookings - including changes, updates, cancellations, invoicing, tracking and collecting agency commissions Advisors may not charge any client consultation or processing fee for any initial booking by a new client referral from virtuoso.com or their Agency/Advisor Private Label Virtuoso.com Website, unless they have communicated the fee explicitly and the new client agrees to the fee There is no charge for participating agencies to make hotel bookings using the Hotel Booking program. HOW THE BOOKING PROGRAM WORKS Agency signs the Hotel Booking Program Member Agreement (and Data Privacy Agreement if applicable) and submits it to their Regional Director/Manager or Virtuoso representative Agencies provide the required information for virtuoso.com and opens branch access in Sabre, then Virtuoso opts the agency into the program Advisors are opted in by their Agency Lead to have rights to book hotels on virtuoso.com Bookings with the API (Virtuoso) rate include Virtuoso amenities. Bookings with the BAR rate are not guaranteed to include Virtuoso amenities. Once the PNR is created on virtuoso.com (in Virtuoso s PCC), the record will be released to the agency s PCC and queue in the agency s virtuoso.com profile 1
Agencies will receive the hotel segment credit, whether they are on their own Sabre agreement or on the Virtuoso Sabre contract. If the booking is cancelled at any time prior to the stay, the credit will not be applied. Advisor processes the PNR in Sabre as they would any other client for invoicing/servicing Changes and cancellations are not made on virtuoso.com, but by the agency/advisor in Sabre or by calling the hotel directly (cancellation penalties may apply) Hotel bookings can happen in three ways: 1) Any participating advisor may make a hotel booking on virtuoso.com 2) Consumers who have an existing relationship with a Virtuoso advisor may book a hotel on virtuoso.com. The booking is released to their existing advisor s agency PCC for processing. 3) Consumers who do NOT have an existing relationship with a Virtuoso advisor may book a hotel on virtuoso.com after they are connected with a Virtuoso advisor in the Hotel Booking Specialists program. The booking is released to the Hotel Booking Specialist s agency PCC for processing. HOW TO SET UP YOUR AGENCY 1) The first step is to gather the following information for Virtuoso to add to your agency profile in Virtuoso.com (to be used for the Hotel Booking program): Booking Pseudo City Code Agency Identifier (ARC, CLIA, IATAN, TIDS or TRUE number) Queue Number PIC Number (if you have one) Administrator Email Address (this person will be copied on all Hotel Booking notifications that go to your agency) 2) Next, you will need to grant Virtuoso s PCC branch access to your agency PCC. To do so, please run the following script in Sabre: SI9 and W/TAAXXXX BB7ZB (XXXX should be replaced with your Agency or Agency branch s PCC). 3) Once that is complete in Sabre, the Agency Lead sends the information from step 1 above, to Nicole Taylor (ntaylor@virtuoso.com) with the Virtuoso member number(s) for the Agency or branch(es) to be turned on for Hotel Booking. 4) Once Virtuoso completes the agency setup in Virtuoso.com, Agency Leads can see the Hotel Booking information by logging into virtuoso.com 5) Go to your Agency page (an easy click from the hyperlink in your profile) 2
6) Go to the Admin tab for your Agency: 7) In the Virtuoso Booking Program section at the bottom left, you will see the following: Your agency s Sabre Booking Pseudo City Code Your Agency Identifier Your agency s Queue Number Your Agency s PIC (if you have one). Please note that the identifier type (i.e. IATAN) in this area of the page will pull the number for the corresponding identifier under Agency Identifiers on the right side of the page. 8) At the bottom of this section, you will also see the Administrator Email Address entered for your agency: REMINDER: You are responsible for providing the correct information for your agency, and also for authorization and granting branch access in Sabre. Once you have been turned on for Hotel Booking by Virtuoso, you will be ready to set up your advisors! HOW TO SET UP ADVISORS IN VIRTUOSO.COM There are two types of advisor participants for the Hotel Booking Program: 1) Hotel Booking Advisor - Opted in by Agency Lead after agency is approved for virtuoso.com Hotel Booking program by Virtuoso and advisor requirements are met. To set up an advisor as a Hotel Booking Advisor, please see instructions immediately below. 2) Hotel Booking Specialist Advisors who wish to participate as a Hotel Booking Specialist must be a current Lead Generation program participant. As the volume of consumer bookings increases, Virtuoso will recruit advisors to participate as Hotel Booking Specialists. 3
To set up Hotel Booking Advisors, once you receive the email that says that your agency has been turned on for Hotel Booking by Virtuoso, please complete the following steps: 1) Click on the Settings tab on your agency page 2) Click on Edit next to the Settings header You will see under the Virtuoso Booking Program setting, that the setting has been updated to Approved. 3) Now you will need to click the Opt-In checkbox 4
4) Scroll down to get to the advisor controls then check the Booking Opt-In box for any advisor who will participate to book hotels on virtuoso.com. 5) Click the Save button to save the information. This will allow the advisor (and the advisor s assigned clients) to make hotel bookings on virtuoso.com! PLEASE NOTE: Participating advisors MUST have a visible profile on virtuoso.com (all required fields completed and profile made visible on virtuoso.com) By default, advisors will inherit their agency s Sabre settings. If an advisor wants the PNR sent to an alternate agency-owned PCC or queue, their agency Owner/Manager should email ntaylor@virtuoso.com and request a change to the Sabre settings in their virtuoso.com advisor profile. If an advisor is logged in to virtuoso.com when they are opted into the program by their Owner/Manager, the advisor will need to log out and then log back in, in order to be able to see the Book button 5
HOW TO MAKE A HOTEL BOOKING Advisors who are logged-in to virtuoso.com will see the following in the Hotel Catalog: A search bar where you can enter hotel names/location, check-in/out dates, number of adults (defaulted to 2 people), number of children (defaulted to 0 children) Airport code search Sorting by price (high to low and low to high) If no dates are entered, a Select Dates button appears so you can enter dates to see pricing You can filter to see only hotels bookable through virtuoso.com The results will show hotels with availability on the selected dates: Room rates Starting At (a lowest rate estimate based on cached data) The first five room types with API (Virtuoso) rates (if available) and a Book button If a room is not available to be booked for the nights you have selected, the room/rate will not show 6
From the Hotel Detail page, the check-in/check-out criteria may be changed as well as the number of people in the booking. This view shows all API (Virtuoso) and BAR rates Use the filter to view BAR or API (Virtuoso) rates Only the API (Virtuoso) rate includes the Virtuoso amenities While the BAR is displayed, the booking does not qualify for Virtuoso amenities 7
Once the room is selected, click the Book button. Now, you will see the first page of the hotel booking form. This form will create the PNR that is released to the designated PCC and queue in Sabre. The advisor version of the hotel booking form includes two additional fields: Client Interface ID If known, enter the number into the field. This is also known as the DK number Booking Remarks Add any booking remarks relevant to the customer/booking. These remarks will show on the PNR. 8
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And here is the second page of the hotel booking form: 10
Please note that: All fields are required unless otherwise noted Please do not use any spaces when you are entering a credit card number on the form A summary of the hotel details and itinerary information will show at the lower right (on both pages) for your review, prior to completing the booking There is also an option to email a copy of the booking confirmation to the client After you receive the booking in your PCC, you may choose to also send a TripCase email to the client 11
When finished, click the Complete Booking button at the bottom. Once the booking is successfully completed, you will see a confirmation message that contains the Hotel Confirmation Cumber and the Sabre Record Locator: You can also easily print this page. Next steps: 12
A confirmation email that includes the Hotel Confirmation Number and the Record Locator will be sent to the advisor (to the email indicated in in their virtuoso.com advisor profile). The email will come from DoNotReply@virtuoso.com, if you do not see it in your email inbox, please check your junk mailbox. The email address in the Administrator Email Address field (or the Agency Primary Contact, whichever is applicable), will be copied on the confirmation email. The PNR will be released to the applicable Sabre PCC and queue It is recommended that all agency s standard procedures for processing a Sabre PNR be completed. Please consult with your agency Owner/Manager. PNR DETAILS 1) The TOTAL NUMBER of guests is transferred to the hotel (i.e. if the booking on virtuoso.com is for two adults and two children, the booking that goes to the hotel will show four guests). If the reservation is for more than two people and the hotel will need to make accommodations for children or similar (i.e. if the hotel can accommodate children in a two-guest room, a lower room rate may be possible), the advisor will need to work directly with the hotel AFTER the booking has been completed in virtuoso.com. 2) Virtuoso VIP will be automatically added to the SI field on the PNR for every booking made through virtuoso.com. Any additional comments added by the advisor will display IN ADDITION to Virtuoso VIP. 3) The PNR remark labeled LOYALTYID is the consumer s hotel loyalty program number, but as of now, Virtuoso does NOT check for any repricing based on the number. The advisor will need to check to see if the consumer can get a lower rate based on the loyalty program AFTER the booking is complete. In the future, this repricing will happen automatically, but for now we are simply passing the number through and the advisor will need to follow up. 4) The PNR remark labeled AGENT [first name] [last name] is the name of the advisor who made the booking on virtuoso.com. 5) The PNR remark labeled Entry DK########## is the Client Interface ID number from the booking form. This number can be 6, 7 or 10 digits and is used to identify the consumer in the Agency s back office system for invoicing. CONSUMER HOTEL BOOKINGS ON VIRTUOSO.COM Consumers can also make hotel bookings on virtuoso.com. Consumers who are not logged in will be able to see all available BAR rates (which do not include Virtuoso amenities) for the hotel. To make a booking, the consumer will click on the orange Book button then be directed to log-in or create an account to connect with an advisor before they can book on virtuoso.com: 13
Once they click the orange button, the consumer will be directed to a sign-in process designed for hotel booking: An email address will be required at sign-in and if the consumer s email matches up with a Virtuoso advisor in the system, the consumer will see this screen, showing their Virtuoso advisor: There is also a lookup link on this screen. 14
If the consumer has a virtuoso.com account but is not associated with an advisor, they will be directed down a sign-in path that will cross-check for an existing Virtuoso relationship. If an existing relationship is not found, a Hotel Booking Specialist will be assigned to them so that they can book online. Once a consumer logs in and/or connects with an advisor, the pricing will update to display the API (Virtuoso) rates (consumers can only book API rates). The consumer will now able to book online if their associated advisor is participating in the program. The booking screen looks like this (including an advisor lookup link): Once the consumer completes the booking, their Virtuoso advisor will receive the following email to alert them that a booking has been made. 15
Next steps: A confirmation email will be sent to the advisor that includes the Hotel Confirmation Number and the Record Locator The client s name will be in the Booked By field The email address in the Administrator Email Address field, (or the Agency Primary Contact, whichever is applicable) will be copied on the confirmation email The PNR with complete details should be in the applicable Sabre PCC and queue Follow your agency's standard procedure for processing a Sabre PNR Follow up with the consumer within 24 hours 16
Here is what is displayed to the consumer once they have completed the booking: Included is the hotel booking information, as well as the contact information for the associated advisor. The consumer will also receive a confirmation email, that includes all of the booking information, as well as: Instructions on how to change or cancel their reservation Contact information for their advisor Cancellation policy for the hotel Deposit information, if required 17
If their advisor is not participating in the Hotel Booking program, but the consumer locates a room they are interested in, they can click the Send to my Advisor button. This will open an email pop-up window where they can enter their message. The system will automatically populate the details of the room, dates, number of persons and rate - and append to the email that is sent to the advisor: The advisor will need to follow up with the consumer within 24 hours. HOTEL BOOKINGS FROM PRIVATE LABEL VIRTUOSO.COM WEBSITES The Hotel Booking Tool will function basically the same on Agency/Advisor Private Label Virtuoso.com Websites. The differences are as follows: Any links to the advisor catalog will only show advisors from that agency If the agency is not participating in the Hotel Booking program, an anonymous consumer logging in from the Private Label Website will be required to connect with an advisor the same as if they were trying to contact an advisor from the catalog on the Private Label Website. 18
If the agency is participating in the Hotel Booking Program, an anonymous user logging in from a Private Label Website who does not have a pre-existing relationship with a Virtuoso Advisor, will be assigned to a participating advisor at that agency. After the PNR for a new booking is released to the agency s Sabre PCC and queue, the agency can assign it to another advisor if they wish. Please note however, that if the consumer logs back into the website at a later date, they will still be associated with the original advisor in Virtuoso s system. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS QUESTION: What if an advisor doesn t know how to use Sabre, can they still make hotel bookings on virtuoso.com? ANSWER: Yes, they can. But the booking is not complete until the PNR is processed in Sabre. We recommend that the agency designate staff who are knowledgeable in Sabre, to manage the booking that Virtuoso will pass to your Sabre PCC and queue. You can find a Sabre reference guide for this program here. QUESTION: What do I need to do once the PNR is released to the Sabre PCC and queue? ANSWER: What happens next depends on your agency s business workflow. Virtuoso is only delivering a very basic hotel reservation. Please follow your agency's standard procedure for processing a Sabre PNR. QUESTION: Why can t we make same day bookings? ANSWER: Same day bookings would not allow time for advisors to process and service consumer bookings once Virtuoso sends the PNR to the Sabre queue. QUESTION: Which hotels are available to book using the booking tool? ANSWER: Most hotels with rates loaded in Sabre will be available to book online. If a hotel is not participating in the program, advisors will see the following verbiage under Rates : Pricing not available, please contact hotel. QUESTION: Do participating advisors need to sign an agreement? ANSWER: No. But advisors will need to agree to program participation requirements during the Hotel Booking training in the Virtuoso Travel Academy. QUESTION: Can advisors who are not participating in the program see hotel rates on virtuoso.com? ANSWER: Any advisor who is logged in can see hotel rates on the Hotel Detail page or Room Type tab. To book, however, non-participating advisors will need to contact the hotel directly or book in their GDS system. QUESTION: Once I am an approved advisor will my clients be able to make their own hotel bookings on virtuoso.com? ANSWER: Your existing clients (with a virtuoso.com account that is linked to you as their advisor) can make hotel bookings on virtuoso.com. We recommend you reach out to clients to encourage them to create an account on virtuoso.com and select you as their advisor. QUESTION: How does an advisor sign up to participate in the virtuoso.com Hotel Booking program? ANSWER: The advisor should connect with their Owner/Manager about program requirements and training. QUESTION: What initial search filters are available when searching for hotel rates? ANSWER: In addition to the existing filters on virtuoso.com (Airport Code, Country, City, Experiences, Vibe, Room Style, Destination, Hotel Features and Hotel Type), the hotel booking tool allows advisors to also search by Location/Name of Hotel, Check-In/Check-Out Dates, Number of Adults and Number of Children. 19
QUESTION: Are there any additional filters once the initial filters are selected? ANSWER: After the initial search has been returned, advisor will then see two additional filters on the left side of the page. These are 1) a filter to show only those hotels participating in the booking program and 2) a Prices Starting At filter. Prices are shown as a per night average in date ranges. Advisors can also use the Sort By filter at the top right to change sort view. Please remember that only participating advisors will be able to book online. Non-participating advisors may contact the hotel or book directly in their own GDS system. The pricing page on virtuoso.com will show the hotel s direct phone number and email address. QUESTION: What method do you use to get the Prices Starting At rate? ANSWER: Virtuoso has a rate crawler that searches Sabre every night and shows the lowest available rate that we ve stored for the chosen check-in/check-out period. QUESTION: Is real time hotel pricing shown on virtuoso.com? ANSWER: The pricing displayed while shopping for a hotel and not logged in is saved from the previous day. Once an advisor logs in and selects the Room Types tab, real time pricing will be shown. The pricing is based on a per night average. 20
QUESTION: What currency is used to display the rates? ANSWER: The currency for logged-in users will match the flag displayed in the upper right corner next to the user s name. For logged-out users, the currency will match the IP address. If the user s location cannot be detected, the currency default will be US dollars. Advisors can change the default currency if they wish and this currency will remain the default until it is changed again by the advisor. Please use the filter on the left side of the screen to change the default currency as needed. Rate comparison is for convenience while shopping only, client will pay in the hotel s chosen currency. QUESTION: Will room rates by room type be displayed? ANSWER: Once the initial search is returned, an additional tab will appear labeled Room Type to display the available room types along with the average price per night, as shown below. Logged-in advisors will see the first five Virtuoso rates on this page, however all available pricing including BAR rates, are displayed on the Hotel Detail page. QUESTION: What rate types will be displayed to advisors? ANSWER: The rate types displayed are based on the advisor s login status, see below: Advisor Status Best Available Rate (BAR) Virtuoso (API) Not Logged In Yes No Logged In Yes Yes 21
QUESTION: Where can participating advisors see both the BAR and API (Virtuoso) rates? ANSWER: If an advisor is logged in, only the API (Virtuoso) rate will appear on the catalog page. To see both BAR and API (Virtuoso) rates (if the hotel has both rates in Sabre), click on the name of the hotel, or the View All Room Types link at the bottom of the catalog tab to go to the Hotel Detail page. Once there you can filter by rate type. Shown below is the Hotel Detail page with the API (Virtuoso) rate. The Rate Type filter at the bottom right will allow you to sort by BAR or API (Virtuoso) rates. QUESTION: Will non-participating advisors see the hotel rates or contact information? ANSWER: Non-participating advisors will see Virtuoso rates on the Hotel Detail page or Room Type tab. Because these advisors cannot book on virtuoso.com, they can contact the hotel or book directly in their own GDS system. The pricing page on virtuoso.com will show the hotel s direct phone number and email address when they are logged in. QUESTION: If advisors book a BAR rate with a hotel, will the Virtuoso amenities be included? ANSWER: Hotels will not honor Virtuoso amenities booked with a BAR rate and Virtuoso amenities will not appear on the confirmation during booking checkout on virtuoso.com. A hotel s API (Virtuoso) rate will always include the Virtuoso amenities when booked through virtuoso.com. QUESTION: How do I handle a Virtuoso amenity room upgrade? ANSWER: Upgrades based on Virtuoso amenities will not be handled by Sabre during online booking on virtuoso.com and should be part of the follow-up processing an advisor manages after booking. QUESTION: I understand some Virtuoso hotels offer upgrades at time of booking? Where can I find a list of these hotels? ANSWER: On virtuoso.com, enter upgrade at time of booking 2016 in the search bar in the top right corner to search for the news article. Once the news article appears, click to view the list of participating hotels. Please note that all upgrades are subject to availability, may apply to specific room types and we recommend that you contact the hotel to confirm the upgrade. QUESTION: What if the hotel has additional rates that are neither BAR or API (Virtuoso)? ANSWER: virtuoso.com is currently only showing a subset of all the rates available for any given hotel. The advisor can look in their GDS for additional rates and promotions. Any restricted rate type is not showing on virtuoso.com at this time. 22
QUESTION: What room types will show? ANSWER: Only the available room types for the selected dates will appear. If there is no availability at the hotel for the dates requested, the hotel will show No rooms available for the dates selected. QUESTION: What is the default number of adults and children when searching for rates? ANSWER: Virtuoso.com will show two adults and zero children per room by default. QUESTION: What is the age range for children? ANSWER: The age range may vary by hotel but you can confirm in the hotel description. The standard default for children is defined as 0 17 years of age. QUESTION: My booking has more than two people, will the appropriate room type/rate be displayed? ANSWER: If an advisor changes the default number, then only rooms that can accommodate that number of people will show. Please note that any children added will count as occupants and will be added to the adult count when searching. It is best to confirm with the client to determine if they have children included as part of their booking and then follow up with the hotel directly to ensure that the room type chosen can accommodate the group. QUESTION: How many rooms will I be able to book in one reservation? ANSWER: Advisors will only be able to book one room at a time. Multiple reservations will be required for more than one room. We will add the capability to book multiple rooms in the future. QUESTION: What client information is needed to complete the booking? ANSWER: Virtuoso will require the following client information to complete the booking: Information Traveler Information First Name, Last Name, Email Address, Phone Number Payment Information Cardholder Name, Debit/Credit Card Number, Expiration Date, Security Code Billing Address Street Address, Country Additional Information* Special Requests, Booking Remarks, Hotel Loyalty Program Number *The Additional Information section is optional and is not required to complete the booking. Advisors may also enter the Client Interface ID in the Traveler Information section. The Client Interface ID (DK Number) is an optional field and is not required to complete the booking. QUESTION: Where is the cancellation policy displayed for the rate I selected? ANSWER: The cancellation policy will provide a timeframe of how long before fees may apply to a booking and can be found: In the Reservation Summary section at the bottom right of the hotel booking form prior to completing your booking (there is also a Cancellation Policy link there) Under Facts and Policies on the Advisor Information tab on the Hotel Detail page 23
QUESTION: What credit cards/debit cards may be used for the bookings? ANSWER: At this time, American Express, MasterCard and Visa credit cards. Debit cards may also be used for the reservation. Each hotel publishes a list of accepted forms of payment and if you try to use one that they don t accept, the booking will fail. QUESTION: Can the client s hotel loyalty number be added to the booking? ANSWER: Yes, the client s hotel loyalty number can be entered in the Additional Information section on checkout. Please note that Virtuoso will not provide any repricing based on the loyalty number. The advisor will need to check for a possible lower rate after the booking is complete. QUESTION: Can I add any special remarks or booking remarks for the Sabre record? ANSWER: Yes, special remarks can be entered in the Additional Information section on checkout (there are three lines available to enter information, limited to 26 characters per line). The special remarks will appear in the 5 field. Please note that anything entered in this area will be visible to clients on the itinerary, invoice, TripCase, etc. QUESTION: Will I be able to review what I have selected before completing the booking? ANSWER: Yes, a Reservation Summary will appear after selecting the room rate/type, but before entering the client information. The summary will provide hotel information, Virtuoso amenities (if applicable), number of rooms, check-in/check-out dates, number of nights, room type, and a room breakdown. The room breakdown will display the currency the advisor selected to display along with the hotel s own currency. The client will pay the local currency rate to the hotel. QUESTION: When will the hotel confirmation number be returned? ANSWER: After reviewing the Reservation Summary page and completing the booking, a Hotel Confirmation page will appear on virtuoso.com for the advisor. This will include the Hotel Confirmation Number and Sabre Record Locator. QUESTION: How will the advisor receive an email confirmation of the booking? ANSWER: The advisor will receive a confirmation email sent to their virtuoso.com login email address. QUESTION: I made a hotel booking for my client. Will my client receive an email confirmation of the booking? ANSWER: Advisors have the option to send a copy of the booking to the client. There is a checkbox located at the bottom of the booking page, prior to check out. If this box is not selected the traveler will not receive any type of communication from virtuoso.com. QUESTION: Where does the Sabre PNR get queued after completion? ANSWER: It is the agency s responsibility to ensure that the PCC and queue information are correct in virtuoso.com and notify Virtuoso if a change is required. The agency must also ensure that they have given Virtuoso branch access in Sabre for each PCC that they use. QUESTION: How do I find the record in my Sabre PCC? ANSWER: You can find it by the PNR Record Locator, searching for the traveler s name, or access by entering your assigned queue Q/XXX (XXX should be replaced with the Agency or Agency branch s PCC listed in your virtuoso.com profile). QUESTION: What if my agency has one queue for PNR s, must the original booking advisor complete the record? ANSWER: This will vary by agency. Please follow your agency's standard procedure for processing a Sabre PNR. QUESTION: Why must agencies use a Sabre queue when they are participating in this program? ANSWER: Designating a queue allows Virtuoso to place the PNR in that queue in your Sabre PCC. That way, you will be able to see, access and invoice from the records in the queue. Additionally, you will always have a back-up in case the email notification is accidentally delivered to your junk email folder. QUESTION: What if my agency currently does not use Sabre queues? ANSWER: You can find training about how to use Sabre queues in the Sabre reference guide for this program here. 24
QUESTION: Will Virtuoso send a reminder to the advisor/agency if a booking is not completed on the Agency side? ANSWER: No, it is the responsibility of the advisor/agency to make sure the booking is completed in Sabre. QUESTION: What fields will be populated in the Sabre PNR? ANSWER: We are populating all the fields for which the advisor provided information on the booking form. Many of these may appear as remarks. QUESTION: What if I need to add other items to the PNR, will I be able to add segments to the original record? ANSWER: You will have to do that through Sabre. Virtuoso is creating the PNR and releasing it to the designated PCC and is unable to service the PNR once it has been created. QUESTION: Can a hotel booking be changed or cancelled on virtuoso.com? ANSWER: No. Bookings must be changed or cancelled in Sabre or by calling the hotel directly. QUESTION: If my client contacts the hotel and cancels the booking, will I be notified by the hotel? ANSWER: The client can cancel the booking with the hotel directly. However, notifications are not sent from the hotel to the PNR, record, listed or booking advisor. QUESTION: Will I be able to view a list of all bookings I make on virtuoso.com, similar to Virtuoso Voyages? ANSWER: We will be working on reporting in the coming months. After the PNR has been invoiced, using Enhanced Sales Report by date, selecting by booked PCC will list bookings. QUESTION: Is it possible for an advisor to be opted in to only see the hotel rates, but not be able to book? ANSWER: No. But any advisor who is logged in can see hotel rates on the Hotel Detail page or Room Type tab. QUESTION: What happens if my client makes a hotel booking using the tool and I am not participating in the Hotel Booking program? Will my client s booking be sent to a Hotel Booking Specialist at another agency? ANSWER: If your client is using Virtuoso.com, and is connected with you in our system, then your client will have the option to email you directly to inquire regarding a specific hotel. This email will include the dates in which they are interested, hotel name, room type and room price. If the client is not connected with you in our system and/or our system does not recognize their email address, then the client will be assigned to a Hotel Booking Specialist. If your client is using a Private Label Virtuoso.com Website, and is connected with you in our system, your client will have the option to email you directly to inquire regarding a specific hotel. This email will include the dates in which they are interested, hotel name, room type and room price. If the client is not connected with you in our system and/or our system does not recognize their email address, and your agency has a Hotel Booking Specialist, the lead will go to them. If there is no Hotel Booking Specialist, then the lead will be randomly assigned to a participating Hotel Booking advisor at the agency. If there is no Hotel Booking advisor, then an email with the lead s booking information will go to the person at the agency who is either the Hotel Booking Administrator, or the Primary Contact if no Hotel Booking Administrator is specified. QUESTION: When can agencies on other GDS systems or who use non-gds programs participate? ANSWER: Each GDS is unique and rollout for agencies using other systems will be considered in the future. QUESTION: My agency does not use Sabre, but I have advisors or independent contractors who use Sabre. Will they be able to participate? ANSWER: No. The Virtuoso member agency must have the contract with Sabre. If your agency does not have a contract with Sabre, you can get a Sabre Contract through Virtuoso Sabre and the cost is very minimal. Please contact help@virtuoso.com if you are interested. QUESTION: My agency is on the Virtuoso Sabre contract. Will the hotel booking process be the same as it would for an agency that has their own Sabre agreement? ANSWER: Yes. 25
QUESTION: If my Agency were to participate in the Virtuoso Sabre contract, would we be able to participate in the virtuoso.com Hotel Booking program? What is the cost to participate in the Virtuoso Sabre contract? ANSWER: Agencies who are on the Virtuoso Sabre contract may participate in the program. The cost to participate in the Virtuoso Sabre contract varies, please email help@virtuoso.com to get details for your specific agency proposal. 26