Q. How can our hotel limit or control the access the Travel Outlook's agents have within our hotel’s property management system?

A. Because of Travel Outlook’s seamless and unique connection directly into your hotel’s property management system, you have the ultimate control over what we can and cannot access. All Travel Outlook agents have their own unique login credentials in accordance with PCI-compliance standards, and this allows you to set the appropriate fence levels for the Travel Outlook agents the same way you would for your in-house reservation staff. The only exception to this would be for select members of the Travel Outlook management team, who would have specific report level access to be able to access data necessary to produce monthly reports and billing. If the hotel prefers to not grant access to our management, the hotel also has the option to produce the reports and provide them to Travel Outlook within three calendar days of the end of the period.

Q. What security provisions have been taken to ensure that the Travel Outlook connection to our PMS meets PCI compliance and maintains integrity for our guest information?

A. All connections from the Travel Outlook agents to your PMS are through a state-of-the-art proprietary VPN on its own dedicated Microsoft Windows 2008 Server. Travel Outlook agents connect though a 128-bit encrypted Cisco VPN, and each user and each remote connection is independently controlled by the Travel Outlook Systems Administrator. Additionally, all logins and logouts are recorded and available on a per server level, and additional logging is also available through the built-in event log on the server. Both the hardware and software has been certified by an accredited PCI-compliance Qualified Security Advisor (QSA).

Q. What steps are involved in a typical remote access installation?

A. Travel Outlook provides a secure VPN connection to a dedicated server that will connect into a remote workstation, or bridge computer, at the hotel’s location. Assuming a typical installation scenario for the hotel, the full cost of the installation would be covered by Travel Outlook’s installation reimbursement guarantee, Although the final design may vary according to the hotel’s technical environment, a typical installation for remote access would include the following steps:

• The purchase or re-tasking of a Windows OS desktop as a dedicated bridge computer for access to the hotel’s property management system network.
• Assignment of a single public IP address that is forwarded to the private IP address for the bridge computer.
• The purchase of a terminal service emulation software application, such as Elusiva Terminal Service Pro^TM, to provide multiple concurrent seats on the bridge computer.

Q. What additional Best Practices are in place to ensure the safety and security of our guest information?

A. All Travel Outlook agents undergo a rigorous screening process prior to joining the Travel Outlook team of reservation specialists. This screening includes both criminal and financial background checks, and all our staff members sign a 51- point security policy agreement that spells out in detail the company's as well as their individual responsibilities regarding your client information.

Q. How do I know that my internal marketing information and performance data is private and secure from my competitors?

A. As with we do with all of our clients, Travel Outlook will sign a Nondisclosure Agreement (NDA) regarding all sensitive information regarding your hotel, which guarantees that any information Travel Outlook learns, either through its property management system connection or through verbal or written communication with your staff, will be held in the absolute strictest of confidence. The NDA makes it clear that purposeful release of your proprietary information can have significant financial repercussions, and that Travel Outlook is responsible economically for its actions. Travel Outlook has a long successful history of working with multiple properties that operate in the same marketplace, and as an integral part of your business, we take this responsibility very seriously. Any data provided to prospective Travel Outlook clients is done in aggregate form and will not reflect any specific information about your hotel. In addition, Travel Outlook holds business liability insurance in the amount of $2,000,000 per occurrence.

Q. Is the Travel Outlook solution 100% private label for our guests?

A. Absolutely. Your hotel will approve its own custom commercial-on-hold recording and voicemail greeting for all of your calls. All of our agents will use your approved, branded greeting when they answer your calls. The transfer process for the phone is direct into our top-of-the-line call management system with no tell-tale beeps or transfer noises. If you have your own ACD, you can often direct your callers directly to our Travel Outlook staff with the same number of phone keystrokes as you would for your own internal staff.

Q. As a client of Travel Outlook, how do I know that my calls are being answered efficiently without long delays?

A. Travel Outlook delivers a month Call Efficiency report that provides a day-by-day breakdown of how your incoming calls are handled. Each report will demonstrate how many calls were sent to us, how long each call was in the queue before being picked up, and how long the client was on the phone with the agent. On average, our standard hold times rank among the best in the industry, with an average hold time of less than 30 seconds per call on average 80% of calls being answered without any hold time at all.

Q. What training does the Travel Outlook agents receive to learn about my hotel?

A. One of the unique qualities of the Travel Outlook solution is that our reservation agents are located nearby to your hotel. As such each agent completes a full training on your property as well as onsite visits to your location. Each local agent undergoes an initial onsite tour of your hotel along with quarterly onsite reviews of your property. Agents also receive eight hours of Signature Sales® training each month as well as initial and ongoing training on your particular hotel’s property management system.

Q. How does Travel Outlook keep up to date with changes to your hotel’s rates, policies, etc.?

A. Because of Travel Outlook’s unique direct connection into your property management system or online booking engine, our team is always up-to-date on your hotel’s rates and availability in real-time. As soon as you load new rates in your own system, the Travel Outlook team will have access to those rates. There is no other system that you need to manage, so it is just business as usual for the hotel. Additionally, Travel Outlook has developed its own virtual dashboard for each of our hotels that contain all of your hotel’s most current information regarding policies and procedures, incoming group information, VIP lists, etc.

Q. How does Travel Outlook manage our repeat guests and VIP clientele?

A. Travel Outlook is a 100% seamless, private label reservations service for your hotel. We customize our services for your hotel to take care of your repeat guests and VIPs in exactly the same way you would do at the hotel.

Q. What if we have an issue or concern that we need addressed immediately?

A. Travel Outlook is a 24/7/365 reservation service. We have a Manager on Duty available at all times to assist with your concerns. Your hotel will also have a direct number and email to our regional and corporate management staff.