How to use the Online Booking Engine for Agent Sales

Overview

This article describes the ways you can set up your Zaui booking engine for agent sales.

If you have not previously configured rate codes, companies and agents, or are looking for a referesher, first review the following articles:

• Setting up Commission and Wholesale Rate Codes
• Creating Commissionable Companies & Agents in Zaui
• Creating Wholesale Companies & Agents in Zaui

Or, for a visual guide to setting up commissionable and wholesale companies and agents, view our video guide.

Three ways to use the online booking engine for agent sales:

1. Commission Agents booking on behalf of a customer
2. Wholesale Agents booking on behalf of a customer
3. Customers booking via an affiliate link hosted on a Reseller's Website 

In the case of the first two scenarios, the agent is in contact with the customer, either in person or over the phone and making the booking on their behalf; while in the third scenario, the customer makes their own booking.

The choice of which option to use will depend on the relationship you have with your resellers as well as how and where the booking will be made.

1. Commission Agents booking on behalf of a customer

In this scenario, the customer is typically in-destination and looking for something to do. They may not be aware of all their options and have a limited amount of time. The role of the agent is to book the option that has availability and fits the guest's interests and schedule. For this scenario it is recommended that agents use the All Category Calendar so they can quickly see the available options at a glance.

Examples include concierge or front desk agents, street sales teams and tour & activity booking centres. 

How to set up in Zaui:

Follow the steps to set up a Commission Code, Company and Agent detailed in this article.

Option 1: Provide a link to your agent login page along with the user name and password. Example: https://demolabs.zaui.net/booking/web/#/default/agent/login

Option 2: Generate a unique auto-login link so the agent does not need to enter their password every time they make a booking. To do this navigate to Settings>Online Bookings> Embeds and Widgets. Select the correct portal, for example if you have a portal exclusively for agents, and the user experience. The All Category Calendar is recommened. As we are generating a link to share with a particular agent, the embedding method should be 'Direct Link'.

Next click to expand into Advanced Options:

In the Affiliate Link section select the company name if the company in question wants bookings to be commissioned to the company and leave the agent blank. If the company wants bookings to be commissioned to individual agents, select the agent name. Note the URL will change accordingly.  

Once the link has been created, copy it and send it to the agent, along with their username and password. They can save this link in their bookmarks so they do not have to enter their password every time they make a booking, they can simply click and start making bookings. 

Notes:

• Double check the link you have created before sending it to each company/agent!
• We recommend creating a quick cheat sheet for agents to refer to if they have questions about the booking process.
• The company or agent ID will remain active for 60 minutes. It is best to reload the page if it has been open for a while to ensure any booking is correctly attributed to the agent/company.
• Agents will need to login to see their booking history. 
• Payment for the booking will be required in full and is typically charged to the customer's card. Use Zaui's Commission reports to tally the total commission owing per company and issue payment in the agreed-upon timeframe (usually weekly or monthly).

2. Wholesale Agents booking on behalf of a customer

In this scenario, the timeframe for travel may be wider, with bookings made many months in advance of travel when the supplier still has plenty of inventory. When agents log in, they are presented with the activity category view and navigate from there to make bookings. Wholesale agreements require a greater level of trust as the wholesale agent retains the funds until after the guest has travelled. 

Examples include tour operators making group travel arrangements and travel agents. 

How to set up in Zaui:

Wholesale agents booking on the Zaui booking engine will see voucher details on the checkout screen rather than credit card details. They will take payment directly from the customer via their own payment system. This form of payment can only be made by trusted partners therefore the wholesale agent cannot use an auto login link, they must login every time before making bookings. Find the link to share with them along with their user name and password (Refer to this article on how to set up wholesale companies) by going to your online booking engine and finding the agent login or copy the below link and update it with your Zaui system name. 

https://YOURCOMPANYNAME.zaui.net/booking/web/#/default/agent/login 

Notes:

• The wholesale company takes payment from the customer via their own payment system and the booking is created in Zaui with voucher as payment.
• Zaui's Invoice reports total the amount to invoice the wholesale company for, on the agreed-upon timeframe.

Deposit Only as commission

This is a hybrid between Commission and Wholesale. In this scenario, commission-based companies have their commissions paid at the time of booking rather than after the guest travels. In this case, full payment will be charged at the time of booking, minus the commission and the agent will charge the full amount to the customer via their payment system. The agent or company keeps the commission amount with the rest being paid via the Zaui booking engine on the resellers card. For more information on this type of arrangement, view this article.

3. Customers booking via affiliate links hosted on a reseller's website 

In this scenario the customer makes their own booking. The booking experience is exactly the same as any other customer making a booking, only the link they are booking from contains the Reseller ID which attributes the booking to that reseller, thus earning them a commission for the sale.  

How to set up in Zaui:

Navigate to Settings>Online Bookings> Embeds and Widgets.  Select the Portal and User Experience. In deciding the user experience, think about where the link will be located on the reseller website and whether they will be selling one specific product, product category or everything you have to offer. For Tour & Activity companies the default is All Categories, while transportation operators should use the Transportation view. 

Use the Preview button to view the various user experience options

We recommend using the Embedded Overlay Button method as this link will be hosted on the resellers website and accessed via the 'Book Now' button.  

Under advanced options, select the reseller company. The agent is not required in this scenario. 

Finally, follow the instructions in the Implement and Embed selection below - copying the code in steps 1 and 2 and providing this to your reseller to add to their website.

Notes:

• For more information on how to link the Zaui booking engine to a website, check out this article.
• Companies wanting to host affiliate links must be set up in Zaui as Commissionable.
• Use Zaui's Commission reports to tally the total commission owing per company and issue payment in the agreed-upon timeframe.