Benefits of the TSA Hotel Program
Hello TRAVELSAVERS and NEST Members!
The summer travel booking season is fast approaching and corporate travel is also heating up, so I wanted to once again offer my advice to book hotels using our TSA rates vs. Best Available Rates.
As many of you know, best available rate (BAR) pricing first came about as an attempt to help reduce confusion for consumers, and by extension, travel advisors, caused by complex rate strategies offered by hotels with many different prices.
Simply put, the best available rates are (were) typically the lowest rate of the day available to book. The rates are available to travel agencies, TMCs, and the public, and come with relatively straightforward terms and no change penalties and/or fees, other than those specified in their cancellation policy.
For those of us in the travel industry, finding the best available rate at a property is quite easy – whether you book through GDS or not. They are often labelled as just that, or some variation, such as Standard Rate, Flexible Rate or Best Flexible Rate – which brings me to my advice to you –
Book the TSA Rates!
I know you have many rate options at your disposal when it comes to booking hotels, but you may still end up having to do a little research to be sure you are finding not only the lowest rate possible for your client, but also the best all-around rate. Keep in mind, the cheapest rate isn’t always the best one.
Fortunately, your agency belongs to one of the leading industry organizations dedicated to growing all aspects of your business. The TRAVELSAVERS Hotel Division has built long-standing relationships with hotel suppliers to bring you the best all-around rates – also known as the TSA rates. Here are the top reasons to book TSA and not BAR:
- TSA rates are most often better than BAR. Many of our hotel partners offer 5%, 10% and even up to 25% off the best available rate, giving you the edge on the best pricing available
- Last room availability
- 50% of properties in our program include complimentary breakfast in our rates
- 80% include Wi-Fi in our rates
- Commissions of up to 15%
- Complimentary upgrades at participating hotels
- Late check-in/check-out at participating hotels
- …And finally, you have the support of the TRAVELSAVERS Hotel Division behind you, particularly when an issue arises. We advocate on your behalf and our effectiveness is further reinforced when the booking(s) in question are made on the TSA rate code.
If you don’t see the TSA rates in your GDS for hotel participating in our program, please email me at wbennett@travelsavers.com, or reach out to your dedicated TRAVELSAVERS Business Analyst. Often, it may just be a technical matter of enabling your agency’s PCC or OID to view and book our rates.
For more information about the TSA Hotel Program, please go to our dedicated section on the TRAVELSAVERS Agent Extranet (US, Canada, NEST), which includes GDS booking formats under “How to Book in the GDS.” You can also download and print a copy of the GDS reservation booklet from this site as well. For our many non-GDS advisors, you can also book the TSA rates (Preferred Hotel Rates) using our proprietary online booking tool, tripXpress.
Thank you for your continued support, and please remember – book TSA not BAR!
Sincerely,
William “Bill” Bennett
William "Bill" Bennett, Director – Agency Network
Telephone: +1 516-624-0500 x2341
Email: wbennett@travelsavers.com
