Reservation agents work for travel companies, taking calls and responding to enquiries from customers who want to make travel bookings. The role of a reservation agent involves discussing travel options with customers and making reservations for them at various destinations and for various forms of transport. Agents may work for tour operators, travel agents or for a specific travel company or venues, such as a hotel group or an airline. The role requires good customer service skills, an excellent telephone manner, knowledge of sales techniques and preferably some understanding and experience of the travel industry.

The reservation agent is usually the first point of contact for customers when they contact a company to make travel arrangements. This means it's necessary to answer questions, provide a range of travel options and use sales techniques to encourage customers to make a booking. Reservation agents often work primarily on the telephone, receiving calls on sales and customer service phone lines. They can also work in travel offices and meet customers in-person or they might communicate with customers via online chats.

Reservation agent responsibilities

Here are some key reservation agent responsibilities:

Taking enquiries from customers

While many consumers now make travel bookings online directly with a provider, reservation agents are still the first point of contact for anyone wishing to discuss their travel plans with someone before booking. Customers may want to ask a question about a particular hotel, flight or destination, or they may want some help finalising their itinerary and booking several elements of their trip. A reservation agent is typically the person a customer calls to discuss their options and proceed with a booking. As such, it's necessary for agents to have excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

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Searching for hotel availability

One of the key duties of a reservation agent is usually to make hotel bookings on behalf of clients. This means searching for hotel availability and presenting customers with a range of options for their desired destination and dates of travel. The role requires agents to ask questions of customers to determine their demands and requirements and search for hotels that fulfil their criteria, including budget, facilities, accessibility and location.

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Searching for flights or other travel arrangements

Alongside booking accommodation, reservation agents often make bookings and reservations for flights and other modes of transport. This can include searching for flights from various airlines on the customer's desired dates of travel, finding the best available prices and taking customer details to make reservations. Agents may also take reservations and bookings for car hires or other modes of transport, such as bikes, mobile homes or yachts.

Skills

Related: How to become an independent travel agent (with duties)

Creating travel itineraries

Depending on the nature of the travel company, reservation agents might take responsibility for booking each element of a customer's trip, including flights, transfers, accommodation and extras such as insurance. If a reservation agent takes multiple bookings for a single customer, it may be necessary to produce a complete travel itinerary for customers, which outlines each step of the trip and provides all the necessary details for each booking. After booking a complete travel package, reservation agents send the itinerary to the customer, typically via email.

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Using computer systems to make reservations

Working as a reservation agent frequently requires the use of computer systems to search for availability, compare prices and make bookings. Systems differ depending on the company and the types of travel packages it sells, but it's necessary for agents to become familiar with whatever system the company uses. Reservation systems usually search for availability, connect with vendors to make reservations and process payments from customers.