Please note:  These updates do not impact the consumer shopping and booking features, but will greatly enhance the agent’s experience and efficiency.

What is Fast Sell?

The Fast Sell feature is a way for agents to find and book a product when they already know specific details about that product.  You must know sailing date, number of nights, cruise line, ship, departure airport, and number of passengers to be able to start a Fast Sell.

There is some flexibility if you get the number of nights incorrect, or don’t get the departure date quite right. 

The Fast Sell Process

1.  Start by clicking the Tandem Fast Sell option in the left hand menu.

2.   The Fast Sell screen will appear

3.   Begin to enter the cruise details in order.  Note that you cannot select Ship and City at this point, because those depend on the cruise line you choose:

4.  Once you select a cruise line, the list of ships will be populated.

5.  Continue selecting the ship, departing airport, mode of transport (cruise only or cruise+air), and specify the number of passengers.  All fields in the Cruise Info box are mandatory.  You must select at least one passenger from the three different passenger type drop downs to continue:

6.  Once you have entered values, the system will search for matching sailings.

7.  Matching and similar sailings will be shown in a list:

8.  Click the sailing you want to book to continue to the next step.

9.  Once you have selected the desired sailing, additional options will appear.  Everything from this point on is optional.  If desired, you can select a fare code, category, and a cabin at this point.   You can also pre-fill in all of the passenger information.  The more information you enter, the fewer screens you will have to see during the booking process.

10.  At this point, you will continue working through the Tandem booking flow. 

11.  Fill out payment information as normal, then confirm the booking, and you’re done.

These enhancements are now live and can be seen in the Tandem agent portal. Training documents are being updated and will be available in AgentPort for review this week. Please let us know if you have any questions or need additional training at tandem@passportonlineinc.com, or call the Tandem Help Desk at 503-270-5859.

It isn’t just a good way of doing business. It’s the only way to deliver the products that continue to help travel professionals succeed at every turn.

You ask. We listen. Then, we work hard to create products that you ask for. The fruits of these labors are exciting because we know that, in the end, you are doing exactly what you need for your customers. You can give them all of the options they want and need to create unique travel experiences.

This is how Tandem came to be.

In development for over a year, Tandem is a new cruise booking engine. But, it’s more than just a booking engine. It’s the first travel agency-centric product to focus on the consumer shopping environment and bookings. It is designed with one thing in mind: maximizing the opportunity for travel agents to close the sale whether it’s done by the agent or the customer. It allows the agent to work in “tandem” with their customers.

The main force behind Tandem was you, the travel professional. The feedback we received during development was vital in its creation. Agents wanted a complete, integrated marketing and booking environment where real agent consulting and expertise could be included in the process.

Agents wanted it to be simple and also tie in to marketing — where an email offer could be mailed out and the customer could have the option of booking on their own in an agent’s site or done by the agent. Both ways allow for high levels of touch and gives the customer whatever option they want.

Agents placed a premium on the visual aspect of booking travel. That’s why Tandem is visually powerful with the right focus placed on giving the customer the opportunity to envision what their cruise experience will be. Text is kept to a minimum but clearly articulates the important details so that the customer can make an informed decision about their travel plans.

Agents also wanted to ensure that tracking the sale, at any point in the process, was seamless. Tandem allows the consumer and the agent to save a booking in progress and come back to it. It also allows the agent to better track activity and sales patterns so that they can better serve their customers.

We will continue to add enhancements of Tandem over time. But, we’re very proud of what we have created and believe that it will revolutionize the agent/client experience in booking cruises.

Most importantly, though, we are very proud that we worked so closely with travel professionals like you to make it a reality. We listened to your feedback. We listened to what you wanted and needed.

And we’re excited to deliver yet another powerful product to you and your agency.