In the rapidly evolving landscape of airline technology, the true potential of automating critical business processes can sometimes be overshadowed by the buzz surrounding AI. Group sales, in particular, represent an area where automation can deliver substantial benefits to airlines, maximizing revenue potential from this crucial market segment.
Our analysis at INIFINITI Software Solutions reveals that despite significant investments in technology across various airline operations, group sales departments often lag, still relying heavily on manual processes. This oversight is particularly striking given that group customers frequently include high-profile clients such as national sports teams attending prestigious events like the Olympics or World Cup.
The key to success lies in ensuring that automated group booking systems like GroupRM bring tangible value to airlines and generate increased revenue from group bookings. A system that can deliver both a premium service to travel agents and end customers while contributing to measurable revenue growth is undoubtedly invaluable.
Let’s explore some of the revenue opportunities that GroupRM unlocks:
- Increased booking levels
- Optimized fare offerings
- Upsell opportunities
- Compliance revenue
Increased Booking Levels
One of the complexities often encountered with group bookings is accommodating large groups across available flights between two locations. Without automation, splitting groups across multiple flights can be a time-consuming process.
GroupRM provides airline customers with the tools they need to access various scenarios online in real-time, ensuring they can always find the ideal flight solution for their clients’ needs at a competitive price. This self-service capability for travel agents eliminates lengthy research and response times, leading to increased satisfaction and directly correlating to higher group booking levels for the airline.
Moreover, GroupRM’s automation of core flight booking flows and integration with other airline systems enables airlines to protect their seat inventory, ensuring group bookings don’t impact premium revenue opportunities across different customer segments.
Optimized Fare Offerings
While airlines may already offer optimized fares to other customer types, extending this capability to group bookings has traditionally been challenging due to the limitations of standard revenue management systems. GroupRM bridges this gap by seamlessly linking with inventory control and revenue management systems.
The advanced intelligence of GroupRM allows airlines to optimize fare offerings for group customers, ensuring the right fare is offered to the right customer. This protects core revenue by preventing underselling of seats and maximizes revenue from individual bookings.
GroupRM’s specialized algorithms use customer and passenger data to apply expert knowledge in deriving optimal fare offerings for group bookings.
Upsell Opportunities
Many airlines have sophisticated channel offerings and marketing campaigns to maximize upsell opportunities in other segments. However, group sales are often the last channel to be considered for these key opportunities.
GroupRM changes this paradigm by providing easy ways to offer cabin upgrades and ancillary services to group travelers. The platform’s automation ensures these options can be managed and controlled effectively, allowing airlines to confidently offer these revenue-enhancing features.
With GroupRM, travel agents can target cabin upgrades to key passengers on a booking, mixing and matching passengers across available cabins. This flexibility meets customer expectations while driving increased airline revenue.
As highlighted in industry research, ancillary revenue is becoming increasingly important for airlines, with estimates reaching nearly US $118B in 2023. GroupRM ensures group bookings aren’t left out of this key revenue stream by seamlessly integrating ancillary offerings into the standard booking flow.
Compliance Revenue
Group bookings often undergo numerous changes between booking and travel, including flight changes, connecting flights, name changes, and passenger count adjustments. Manual handling of these changes makes it difficult to consistently apply additional fees, restrictions, or rules in line with policies and terms and conditions.
GroupRM’s automation is essential in tracking and managing these changes, keeping customers informed and ensuring correct funds are received throughout the booking lifecycle. The system automatically applies all relevant policies to group bookings, protecting the airline’s key commodity and ensuring revenue from tickets and compliance rules is received as per policy, without the need for manual review of each booking.
Conclusion
At INFINITI we’ve developed GroupRM with a deep understanding of these airline challenges. Our platform offers automated solutions to all the above challenges and more, helping airlines maximize their group sales revenue potential.
Want to find out how GroupRM can transform your airline’s group sales process? Get in touch – we’d love to discuss how we can help you unlock new revenue opportunities and streamline your operations.
