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Travel Research Online is a platform that allows travel agents to receive assistance in building their travel planning practice. TRO also acts as a forum for tour operators and travel agents to collaborate on bookings.
TRO provides travel professionals assistance with researching client itineraries. Our services are free.
Travel Agents book as they always do. TRO is not a booking engine, it is an informational resource. TRO does not get involved in the booking process.
The TRO Marketing & Research Center consists of a number
of reference materials that Travel Agents can use to familiarize themselves with
a destination, an activity, or a tour operator. In addition, hundreds
of current travel specials are stored in a searchable database for easy access.
A Travel Agent can use the TRO Research Request
to send multiple tour operators a request for information and pricing on any itinerary.
By filling out a simple form, Travel Agents can ask for assistance from specialists
in more than 60 different types of travel and hundreds of destinations. An
agency's research efforts are more efficient: no more telephone hold times,
and multiple Travel Suppliers are queried instead of only one or two. Travel professionals
can be sure they find the best possible value for their client. All information
is confidential: names and contact information for clients are never revealed.
TRO Administrators monitor each Research Request to make sure Agents
receive timely responses.
The Community section of the TRO system
permits travel professionals and TRO Administrators to discuss
topics not be easily answered elsewhere. Unlike other travel agency forums,
the TRO system guarantees assistance for the Travel Agent as the
Administrators will "go to work" on behalf of the agent.
If you don’t find the answer to your question below, or if you want to report a bug or make a suggestion, email support@travelresearchonline.com.
FAQs
Q. If Travel Suppliers don't pay for participation, and Travel
Agents don't pay for participation, how does TRO make money?
Q. How does TRO decide which Travel Suppliers to send a Research
Request?
Q. How does TRO choose Travel Suppliers to participate?
Q. My Consortia has Preferred Suppliers. Why should I
use TRO?
Q. How do I know that a Travel Supplier has responded to a Research
Request?
Q. How do I know that my TRO will keep my client information
confidential?
Q. How is TRO's Community different from other travel agency
forums?
Q. Who wrote the TRO Destination Information?
Q. Once I have trip quotes back from a Research Request, how do I book the travel?
Q. If vendors don't pay for participation, and travel agents
don't pay for participation, how does TRO make money?
A. We have many opportunities for Travel Suppliers to build
their brand and to better expose themselves to the travel agency community including
electronic brochures and sponsorships. This advertising pays for the free tools we provide to agents.
Q. How does TRO decide which Travel Suppliers to send a Research
Request?
A. Travel Suppliers fill out a profile listing the types of
travel in which they specialize. When our systems find a match between what
a Supplier offers and what a Travel Agent needs, a Research Request is sent out
to the Travel Supplier.
Q. How does TRO choose Travel Suppliers to participate?
A. To be eligible to receive Research Requests, Travel Suppliers
must have a demonstrable history of working with the travel agency community and
paying commissions. TRO also monitors Research Requests to make sure that
suppliers are responding as expected.
Q. My Consortia has Preferred Suppliers. Why should I
use TRO?
A. TRO loves consortia, franchises and all of
your other affiliations. Chances are, your Preferred Suppliers participate
with TRO. We are all about choice. Because we present Travel Suppliers
with immediate, point of sale opportunities, they can be as competitive as they
wish at any given moment. Give it a try, you might be very pleasantly surprised.
This is all about value for your clients.
Q. How do I know that a Travel Supplier has responded to a Research
Request?
A. You have your own TRO "Inbox" in the system that will organize your Research Requests and an email is sent to your main address as well.
Q. How do I know that TRO will keep my client information
confidential?
A. Easy. TRO retains no information on your clients. That is why our email functions do not store client names and email addresses from one use to the next. In addition, we do not provide suppliers with your information for purposes of marketing. The only time a vendor has your personal information is when you give it to them yourself.
Q. How is TRO's Community different from other travel agency
forums?
A. TRO is built on the concept of professionalism. All comments and reviews must be done under the User's real name. Our Community is strictly for professional use, and it is not visible to the public. Further, if a Travel Agent has a question, our Administrators make sure that someone answers the question. Unlike other Travel Agent forums, TRO's maintains a strict "business only" policy.
Q. Who wrote the TRO Destination Information?
A. Former publishers and writers for other destination guides used in the travel industry have undertaken the task. Already, over 400 destinations are in the destination section with additional destinations added each month. Our Activity Guides will number nearly 100 by the end of 2006, and more than a dozen stories are added to the Voyager Guides each month. Best of all, Travel Agents can use the system for free education and research, and much of it is available for Travel Agents to private label and use as professional marketing material.
Q. Once I have trip quotes back from a Research Request, how do I book the travel?
A. You book as you always do. The TRO Research Request submits a centralized request for quotes from Suppliers. You then pick from among the quotes you get back and book the one that best suits your needs via your preferred booking method.
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