Suppliers you should know about

Prepare yourself for the big summer upsell with our round up of 10 ancillary suppliers offering some of the best products and incentives

Les Clefs Royales

Sales pitch: Les Clefs Royales (LCR) opened in March to cater to luxury-seeking travellers in the Gulf region, offering a high-end limousine and chauffeur service.

LCR is the first UAE-based company to partner with International Les Clefs d’Or Society to affiliate itself with concierges in more than 35 countries, servicing around 450 five-star hotels.

The company has an extensive fleet, which includes the latest models of Rolls Royce, Bentley, Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, BMW and Escalade.

Agent incentives: Travel agents receive a lower corporate rate on cars based on sales made.

Contact: Les Clefs Royales general manager Kamisah Abdul Rahim
Tel: +971 (0)50 600 3248
Web: www.lcroyales.com

Europcar International

Sales pitch: Europcar has been operating since 1949 and in 2007 celebrated its 30th year of operation in the UAE and its 40th year of presence in Lebanon.

The company also operates in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Syria, Yemen, Egypt, Qatar, Sudan and Saudi Arabia.

Agent incentives: Europcar’s sales team visit agencies to offer training sessions on techniques for selling and marketing the product. The aim is to create a partnership that will allow agents to make maximum profit with ease. Agents receive 10% commission.

Contact:
Tel: 800-EUROPCAR (UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia)
Web: www.europcar-middleeast.com

Sales pitch: Insurance is a good earner for travel agents and one that isn’t exploited enough in the Middle East.

Quality products, like AXA Travel Insurance — which offers customised policies for single trips, annual travel and levels of cover to suit every customer — make it easy for insurance to be added onto clients’ package deals for a profitable upsell.

As part of its product innovation this year, AXA GULF introduced new travel insurance inbound products, specially designed for visitors coming to the GCC for business or leisure purposes. All the products are available online on the website tailored for the travel industry for easy, fast and efficient issuing process. 

Agent incentives: AXA contributes to agency marketing budgets, with the sponsorship of brochures for example.

The company also offers various incentives for agents throughout the year, including insurance vouchers and deals. 
 
Contact: Regional manager — travel insurance Hemant Gupta
Tel: +971 (0)50 640 8133
Email: hemant.gupta@axa-gulf.com
Web: www.axa-gulf.com

AVIS Rent-a-car UAE

Sales pitch: Avis UAE has a network of 40 branches, a fleet of more than 7500 vehicles and a team of around 2200 staff.

Furthermore, to make bookings easier for agents, the company is launching a new call centre on July 1.

Agent incentives: Avis Rent-a-Car pay 10% commission to agents and general manager Bev Mileham says “our unique selling point is our people and the relationship we build with agents.

“The quality and personal service you receive makes it easy and quick to change or cancel bookings,” adds Mileham.

Contact: Call centre manager Avanté Rao
Tel: 800-AVIS (2847)
Email: callcentre@avisuae.ae
Web: www.avisuae.ae

Sales pitch: Holiday Autos has been operating in the MIddle East for more than six years and focuses on providing outbound leisure car hire.

The company is one of the region’s largest providers, with more than 4000 locations worldwide and a good selection of vehicles.

Agent incentives: Travel and tour agencies receive up to15% commission and the agent selling the product receives around AED 5 (US) $1.4 for each day booked, so an agent can receive as much as AED 150 ($41) for a 150-day booking. 

Contact: Sales manager Asoka Ponnuswamy
Tel: +971 (0)4 341 5730
Email: asoka@holidayautos.ae
Web: www.holidayautos.ae

Seawings seaplane

Sales pitch: Dubai was made to be seen from the sky. Look down on The Palm, Jumeirah, the World Islands, the Burj Al Arab and fly level with the top of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Dubai, from a seaplane.

Seawings is the official seaplane experience provider in the Middle East and offers a range of packages that include flights in a Cessna 208 Caravan amphibian aircraft.

Account manager Sharan Khanna says “this is a luxury product which can be sold for leisure or as a corporate incentive.

Guests check in at the company’s office located within the Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa.

Agent Incentives: Rate of commission is proportionate to sales. There are also opportunities for travel agents to experience the seaplane and Seawings says it is proactive in helping agents selling the product.

Contact:  Account manager Sharan Khanna
Tel: +971 (0)4 881 4558
Email: sharan@seawings.ae
Web: www.seawings.ae

Sales pitch: Servicing more than 73 countries worldwide, Alamo provides a wide selection of vehicles for leisure and business to suit every budget.

With new monthly deals each month and last-minute car rental specials; you’ll have that up-sale in no time.

Agent incentives: Rate of commission is proportionate to sales. The company has launched a new B2B website (www.myalamo-me.com) to help agents sell the product.  Some of the key selling points are outlined as: a pre-payment facility or pay on arrival, accounting management facility, agents back office facility to monitor reservations made and commissions earned, 100% E-voucher, ability to send e-voucher to customer in hard or soft copy by email or SMS and instant online quotations. “I’ve been a travel agent  and it can be very stressful, therefore we want to support the trade,” says Alamo general manager Bibbs D’Souza.

Contact: General manager Bibbs D’Souza
Tel: +971 (0)4 335 5447
Email: reservations@alamo-me.com
Web: www.myalamo-me.com

Lifecare International (ihi bupa Travel Insurance)

Sales pitch: Lifecare International has been well established for more than 10 years in the Middle East and East Africa, and is a provider of world-class  travel and medical health insurance products from ihi Bupa. ihi Bupa is a subsidiary  of the world-renowned Bupa group. The ihi Bupa travel cover provides premium benefits at an affordable price and is designed for business, leisure and student travel.

Agent incentives: Lifecare International allows travel agents, tour operators and other resellers to earn very high commissions; up to 50% . This provides excellent additional revenue streams to allow for staff incentives.

Contact: Director — travel services Ameet Devani
Tel: +971 (0)4 331 8688 ext. 302
Email: ameet@lifecareinternational.com
Web: www.lifecareinternational.com

Sales pitch: If properly utilised, travel insurance can provide healthy returns for travel agents, according to AIG.

The US-based insurance and financial group offers a range of products tailored to suit clients’ needs.

Agent incentives: For agents, AIG offers on-demand training, as well as user-friendly documentation, support visits and speedy claim processing.  And not forgetting the 15-20% commission offered to travel agencies.

Contact: Travel manager — UAE Krishnan Venkataraman
Tel: +971 (0)4 214 3302
Email: krishnan.venkataraman@aig.com
Web: www.aiguae.com

Marhaba services

Sales pitch: Operated by Dnata, Marhaba (meaning ‘welcome’ in Arabic) is a meet-and-greet service offering a range of products, from standard meet-and-greet- to diamond- and family services.

Open around the clock, the Maharba lounges at Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 in Dubai International Airport provide a comfortable resting place between flights.

Agent incentive: Rate of commission is proportionate to sales . Marhaba senior sales executive Angela Mecwan says there is the potential for good returns.

Contact:
Tel: +971 (0)4  216 1627 / (0)4 216 1626
Email: marhabasales@emirates.com
Web: www.marhabaservices.com