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Tips for Travel Agents to Handle Conflicting Tasks
Remember how things used to be in the travel industry – before there were mobile devices, high-speed Internet, the Cloud, and apps for nearly everything?
If you’re new to the industry, you’ve probably heard travel agents’ stories about how work was rarely, if ever, done from anywhere other than the office. Agents spent a considerable amount of telephone time on hold, ticketing involved hyper-sensitive printing equipment and getting out of the office on time almost never happened.
Is this your reality?
Somewhere along the line, multitasking became the norm of nearly every adult’s life. Perhaps this is similar to your multitasking or time conflict reality:
- A bunch of tickets has to be issued before you leave for the day
- The kids need to be picked up at 5 PM
- There’s a massive traffic tie-up
- You have a dental appointment tomorrow
- A staff meeting has been scheduled at the same time you need to finalize a client’s travel arrangements
Start with some basics
If you have a haphazard approach to time management and prioritization, you are setting yourself up for major stress and time conflicts. Observe and learn from the masters (colleagues, friends) of prioritization and time management and practice what you learn!
Technology steps in to help
The travel industry has excellent technologies that can help agents more effectively manage their tasks and time. Technology like TTS’s Travelport Mobile Agent app may be one of your great allies in handling multiple travel arrangements.
Modern technology enables travel agents to work from the office, while traveling, or at home. Travelpot Mobile Agent keeps your access to the GDS at just an app tap away. With this mobile app, consider what can be accomplished while you’re waiting at the dentist’s office or riding in your carpool: complete bookings, issue tickets, and refunds change itineraries, review industry news, etc. Ticketing management on the go can definitely be easier through mobility technology utilization.
Know your technology and change your mindset
Technology has reduced many travel-related tasks to nanoseconds. Research, ticketing, reservations, and conflict resolution take place in minutes instead of hours or days. But to capitalize on that power, you must know how to use your technology devices and industry software.
Today’s travel agents use technology skillfully and learn to apportion tasks according to where and when they best fit into the day. Mobile travel agents aren’t necessarily working more or harder, they are just shifting projects and priorities to more manageable portions and time slots (they work smarter).
Successfully managing time conflicts may come down to these three basics:
- Know and use your industry technology.
- Be willing, in the midst of time conflict “overwhelm” to stop for a few minutes to assess the situation(s) and reprioritize.
- When possible, have a backup plan for handling personal responsibilities.
Above all else, remember to breathe – being still and breathing deeply for a few minutes can do wonders for reducing your overwhelm and opening your thoughts to constructive resolutions.