25th May 2006
Virgin Holidays today announced the launch of its new Self-Service tool to make holiday bookings more convenient for customers and giving them greater control of their reservations.
This travel industry first means Virgin Holidays� customers can now not only make their holiday booking on-line but also access that booking after it has been made offering them the flexibility to make amendments and further transactions, including;
- Upgrading their flights
- Adding or upgrading a hire car
- Upgrading their hotel rooms
- Changing their hotel completely or just changing the board basis
- Adding or changing excursions
- Requesting information on their tickets or itineraries
- Requesting or printing invoices
No other main stream tour operator or on-line travel agent allows customers to not only access their holiday arrangements post-booking but also to make significant changes to personalise and enhance their holiday.
Stewart Baird, Sales & Operations Director for Virgin Holidays commented "This is a huge step forward for the travel industry and shows that yet again tour operators can out perform so called �on-line specialists�. Today�s customers don�t see booking a holiday as a single event - they book a year in advance and the build up to actually going on holiday can be as stimulating as choosing the holiday in the first place. As one of the most important purchases of the year it is vital our customers can personalise their holiday to make the most of their time and money. Our technology lets them do just that in a simple and user friendly way."
Virgin Holidays has integrated this technology with its customer relationship management platform, e-piphany, to create a powerful tool not only for its business but also to enhance its customers� holiday experience. It now allows Virgin Holidays to run a report on all customer bookings to identify where there are up-sell opportunities, such as flight upgrades, a convertible hire car or upgrading a hotel room to an ocean view. Personalised emails are then sent to these customers with special offers to encourage the sale of extras and upgrades.
Virgin Holidays� Self Service tool can be found at www.virginholidays.com/selfservice
-ENDS-
Press Enquiries: Virgin Holidays Press Office
Tel: 01293 744228/744616
Editors Notes: Virgin Holidays� Self Service tool can be found at www.virginholidays.com/selfservice
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