A BIT ABOUT CTI
CTI is an agency devoted to their customers, so much so their brand motto is “Service a step above”. Now in business for 35 years, and with an annual customer base of 20,000, that’s a lot of service indeed. With a small but mighty team of ten agents run by President Kyle Dickerson, and Chief Operating Officer Heather Smith, CTI is a family-run business that takes serious pride in what they do.
But when so many travelers rely on you for that unforgettable service on every trip, the responsibility to keep the quality of your service consistent is huge. CTI’s team needed the right tools to grow bigger and better, and their technology wasn’t up to par — so Kyle and Heather took some time to take us through their journey of switching to Travelport.
THE SWITCH FOR SUCCESS
It was in 2020 that CTI found themselves not getting what they needed from Amadeus, their GDS provider. Their booking platform just wasn’t cutting it, and their agents felt unsupported and misunderstood. After all, they’re a high-functioning small team enabling travel for millions, and they needed a powerful, modern retailing partner to keep up.
Kyle says that their service was slowed down when their previous provider didn’t recognize their needs as a business. “We had to change platform as we weren’t getting the attention or customer service we needed. When we reached out for help, it was usually for complicated issues. We were just being pushed to different help pages instead of getting what we asked for.”
Given CTI’s reputation for offering 24/7 support and their agents’ knowledge and trust of their previous GDS, they needed one platform to provide it all. So they decided to switch their provider to grow their business and enable even better servicing of their beloved customers.
A SMOOTH, EASY UPGRADE
After using their previous booking system for 20 years, there was a sizeable challenge ahead. CTI needed reassurance ahead of their upgrade to encourage their agents to face the new change head-on.
They bravely buckled in for the task in 2022, and backed with Travelport’s support, Heather recalls feeling surprised at how quick and seamless the process was. In fact, agents were up and running within just two weeks of training, ensuring business could continue as usual. This was all thanks to easy classes online, and instructor-led training sessions on MyTravelport, she tells us.
“We had new agents issuing tickets after just two weeks of training. They were working in the GDS quicker than any other agents I’ve had before.”
Heather Smith, COO, CTI Travel
As for the technology that made the most difference for CTI, Heather says it was the modern tools that streamlined processes and ensured consistency for their staff. “Our agents love the hotel retail tool”, says Heather. “They use it all the time and it’s great that it’s integrated into the system. The smart buttons are also really nice.”
Now equipped with Travelport+, agents could better service their customers with time-saving automation. One part of Smartpoint CTI’s agents particularly enjoy is having all content sources on one screen. Simplifying search has given them back time in their day, says Heather. “Travelport has done a great job at connecting, providing options, and enhancing the way our agents look at NDC. Seeing EDIFACT and NDC all in one place has really changed things up.”
SERVICE A STEP ABOVE: SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED
Since the upgrade to Travelport+, CTI is more confident in their position as a modern retailer. They’re keeping up with their traveler’s needs, and partnered with Travelport, CTI is excited for the future with NDC capabilities enabled.
The upgrade wouldn’t have been possible without Travelport’s simple training courses and round-the-clock support. Their booking platform now offers them what they need, and that is priceless, says Kyle. “We’re now able to get everything we need. That’s super helpful on our end because that provides trust and value when we’re servicing our customers.”
Heather and Kyle say their agents now have absolutely no hesitation using Travelport+, and it was Travelport’s flexibility in understanding their business needs that guaranteed their goals. Their brand ethos of ‘service a step above’ has been cemented for years to come, now empowered with a modern retailing partner that has their back. To top it all off, CTI were so impressed with the service they got; that they even gave a satisfaction rating of 9/10.
