Senior Travel Consultant (Owned I Trade)

SUMMARY:
Collection of owner-operated safari camps and safaris operations in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa based in Westlake, CT is looking for a Senior Travel Consultant to service VIP travel, familiarization trips, Marketing & PR bookings.
 
Responsible for reservations and sales for trade educationals, shareholders, shareholder associates, media and marketing bookings for group-owned properties and 3rd party properties in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.

POSITION INFO:
Duties:

Executing bookings by providing a detailed level of service, high level of detail and communication and able to manage short lead time requirement and changes
After hour support and assistance once guests are travelling.
Responding to all enquiries timeously.
Providing availability and costs / quotes for bookings.
Obtain authorisation for rates quoted from Sales and Marketing.
Check that that the itinerary booked is appropriate and manage any out of the norm requests.
Making reservations using TourPlan or any other system adopted by the company.
Managing booking status throughout the reservation process.
Make any special arrangements with Product Management such as arranging stop offs and site visits whilst on trip.
Working closely with Associated Product to negotiate special rates and for input to building itinerary.
Work closely with Marketing Manager and escalate any issues which arise before, on or after trip which may impact agent relationship or agent experience of the product.
Offering personalised service to ensure that the guest is kept informed in detail of itinerary and all the relevant product detail and information.
Providing lodge information and relating documentation to clients where appropriate – WETU itineraries / pre-tour & departure information.
Respond to any questions raised by the guest in detail – obtain accurate information and communicate thoroughly back to the guest.
Provide guest information and ensure correctly and precisely recorded in TourPlan. The guest information is critical and full notes must be provided in Tourplan so the camps are fully prepared to host these guests.
Initiate special or unusual requirements to Product Manager so these can be discussed directly with Camp Management.
Payment needs to be made for all agent familiarization / direct trips prior to the trip taking place. This needs to be managed in conjunction with Accounts Receivable team.
Providing feedback to all parties, Product, associated Product and Marketing as any feedback is vital to our improvement process.

Requirements:

Minimum of a Matric Certificate.
Tertiary certificate in travel related field desirable.
3-5 years relevant experience in a similar environment.
Fluent in speaking and writing in the English language.
Ability to deal directly with agents and guests on various platforms – email, phone, teams etc.
Ability to adapt to a dynamic work environment.
Ability to work fast and accurately and ability to respond quickly and efficiently.
Service and detail orientated.
Shows empathy, care and understanding when dealing with clients.
Good interpersonal skills.
Willingness/ability to share information and collaborate with various departments.
Ability to multitask and work under pressure.
IT savvy.
Be driven by self-motivation and the company values.
Self-starter with a natural curiosity about travel, strong desire to learn.
Local and international travel industry (inbound market) – essential.
Product knowledge – Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.