Preferred partner relationship brings live sales messaging platform to travel advisors.
SEATTLE, WA – Virtuoso has accepted Engage into its Preferred Partner program. The two companies have been working cooperatively on a live travel sales messaging application called Live Agent for Virtuoso travel advisors to better serve travelers visiting Virtuoso.com since March.
Engage is a travel sales communication platform and live chat tool that empowers consumers with the ability to self-select and self-initiate instant communications with the travel advisor of their choosing. On the Virtuoso.com site, visitors can find a menu of immediately available travel advisors who can help walk them through questions and the booking process.
There’s a growing consumer demand towards augmenting travel information with real, live travel advisors. “Consumers who have been conditioned to book their travel online are now seeking out a better way, and that means working with a travel advisor,” said Director of Virtuoso.com Matt Elliott. “Travelers want to ensure a positive outcome when investing precious resources – their free time and money – so they are seeking out professional travel experts who can provide guidance and connections. Through Live Chat, we can give those who are new to our network the immediacy of connecting online and couple it with the confidence that comes with knowing there’s a true travel professional on the other end.”
During a several-month-long pilot test, as well as participation in the Virtuoso Incubator program for technology start-ups, Engage showed web-based engagement-to-booking ratios as high as 60%. The Live Agent program proved wildly popular with customers because they could instantly find a qualified advisor to help them. Virtuoso travel advisors were also enthusiastic because the program yielded tangible business. Travel bookings ranged from $1,500 to $80,000.
There is substantial zeal for the future of the Live Agent program and the partnership. “We’re so excited to be working with Virtuoso as a preferred partner,” said Engage CEO Lief Larson. “Virtuoso not only shares our vision to empower consumers and travel advisors with real-time communication capabilities, but has also been willing to put in the time and work necessary to validate and expand this program. I can’t fully articulate how valuable this partnership is to us and how highly we think of everyone in the Virtuoso organization.”
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