How Airlines Can Control Agent Accounts with Custom Access Levels in GroupRM

The Problem: Why Airlines Are Struggling

Many airlines struggle with managing travel agents due to the lack of structured access control. When agent activities are not properly monitored and regulated, several challenges arise:

Lack of Oversight Leading to Revenue Leakage

• Without defined access levels, travel agents may manipulate fares, apply unauthorized discounts, or override pricing policies.
• Airlines may lose revenue due to agents providing lower-than-allowed fares or failing to apply required fees, impacting the effectiveness of their airline revenue management software.

Operational Inefficiencies Due to Manual Processes

• Agents often make post-booking modifications such as name changes, itinerary adjustments, and group size alterations.
• Without proper controls, unauthorized modifications lead to administrative burdens and potential financial losses.
• Airline sales teams spend valuable time rectifying errors and ensuring compliance with fare rules, which could be automated with a robust airline group booking software.

Compliance Risks and Policy Violations

• Airlines have specific fare and commission structures that agents must adhere to.
• A lack of access control makes it difficult to enforce policies related to discounts, payment timelines, and refund conditions.
• Regulatory compliance issues may arise when agents fail to follow standard operating procedures.

Inconsistent Customer Experience

• Without standardized policies, different agents may provide inconsistent information to customers.
• Discrepancies in fare pricing and service fees create confusion and dissatisfaction among travelers.
• A lack of streamlined agent management results in delays in processing group booking requests and ticket issuance.

Who Is Affected?

Several airline departments are directly impacted by the lack of access control in agent account management:

• Sales Teams: Struggle with unauthorized fare changes and inconsistent discounting practices, which could be managed through an airline group sales optimizer.
• Revenue Management: Face challenges in enforcing pricing strategies and preventing revenue leakage. 
• Operations & Customer Service: Deal with booking errors, policy violations, and service inconsistencies.
• Finance & Compliance Teams: Face difficulties in reconciling payments, ensuring compliance, and preventing fraud.

To address these challenges, airlines need a structured approach that enables better control, transparency, and efficiency in managing agent accounts.

The Shift to a Better Solution: Why Airlines Need to Change Their Approach

Airlines must implement a centralized access control system to ensure that agent activities align with corporate policies. The need for improved oversight is evident, and airlines must take proactive steps to:

• Establish role-based permissions to regulate access based on the agent’s responsibilities.
• Implement approval workflows for fare adjustments, discounting, and post-booking modifications.
• Enhance security measures to prevent unauthorized actions and ensure policy compliance.
• Automate transaction monitoring to identify potential revenue leakage and policy breaches.

A technology-driven solution such as GroupRM’s Custom Access Levels provides airlines with the tools they need to regain control and streamline agent account management effectively while acting as a flight group booking software that simplifies group travel coordination.

The Impact: Why Airlines Need This Now

Implementing Custom Access Levels in GroupRM delivers significant benefits for airlines:

1. Increased Revenue Protection

• Eliminates unauthorized fare changes and discount abuse.
• Ensures pricing integrity and prevents fare leakage, making GroupRM a powerful airline group sales software.

2. Enhanced Operational Efficiency

• Reduces manual interventions with automated access control.
• Minimizes booking errors and policy violations, reducing administrative overhead.

3. Improved Security and Compliance

• Prevents fraud and unauthorized transactions.
• Ensures compliance with airline policies and regulatory guidelines.

4. Better Customer Experience

• Faster turnaround times for booking approvals and modifications.
• Transparent pricing and policy application create consistent customer interactions.

How GroupRM Fixes These Issues

GroupRM’s Custom Access Levels offer airlines a structured, role-based system that ensures authorized access to booking, pricing, and payment functions. By defining specific permissions for different users, airlines can optimize revenue management, improve operational efficiency, and enhance compliance.

Key Features of GroupRM’s Custom Access Levels

1. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

Role-based access control ensures that each user has access only to the functions necessary for their job. Airlines can assign predefined roles such as:

• Travel Agent: Can raise booking requests, view existing bookings, and process payments within predefined limits.
• Travel Manager: Can manage agent accounts, generate reports, and oversee booking requests.
• Administrator: Has full control over agent activities, including modifying bookings, enforcing policies, and approving fare adjustments.

2. Controlled Fare Quoting and Discounting

• Airlines can set up fare policies that restrict discounting to authorized users.
• Discount approvals can be automated or routed through multi-level approval workflows.
• Airlines can limit fare overrides, ensuring that pricing remains within corporate guidelines, enhancing the efficiency of airline group revenue management software.

3. Approval-Based Booking Modifications

• Post-booking changes such as name modifications, date changes, and itinerary adjustments require authorization.
• Airlines can implement multi-tier approval processes to ensure compliance with fare rules.
• This prevents unnecessary revenue loss due to incorrect booking modifications, which is a key feature of a comprehensive airline group sales tool.

4. Audit Trails and Transaction Monitoring

• Every agent action is logged, allowing airlines to track transactions and booking changes.
• Airlines can generate detailed reports to monitor agent performance and identify anomalies.
• Real-time alerts notify revenue management teams of suspicious activities, supporting the broader capabilities of airline revenue management software.

5. Granular Payment Controls

• Airlines can define payment processing permissions based on user roles.
• Travel agents can be restricted from processing refunds, adjusting deposits, or handling multi-currency transactions.
• This prevents revenue leakage and ensures secure financial transactions.

6. Seamless Integration with Airline PSS and GDS

• GroupRM integrates with Passenger Service Systems (PSS) and Global Distribution Systems (GDS).
• Ensures real-time synchronization of agent permissions, fare rules, and booking policies.
• Reduces manual interventions and ensures a consistent agent experience across platforms.

Regaining Control: The Path Forward for Airlines

In today’s highly competitive airline industry, regaining control over agent accounts is essential to protect revenue, improve efficiency, and ensure policy compliance. GroupRM’s Custom Access Levels provide airlines with the tools needed to enforce structured access control, automate approval workflows, and enhance agent accountability.

By implementing these measures, airlines can prevent revenue leakage, streamline operations, and provide a better customer experience.

To learn more about how GroupRM can help your airline regain control over agent accounts, contact us today for a demo or consultation.