Contents Booking online Booking offline Air Fares Explained Hotels Explained UK Rail Explained Amendments and Cancellations Creating Traveller Profiles Visa applications Booking European/International Rail, Eurotunnel and Ferries Groups and conferences Feedback and Escalation Procedure 24 hour emergency support For more information, visit the Key Travel intranet page providing information on our services and online tools http://www.keytravel.com/ruby_team 1
Your guide to making a booking Booking Online All authorised and registered bookers have instant access to our two online booking tools. KT Online is our online booking tool for flights, Eurostar and hotels and KT Rail Booker is our tool for UK Rail. Traveller profiles can also be created online. We recommend air travel is booked online for simple point to point journeys. To gain access to the tools, simply follow the instructions below: 1. Login to www.keytravel.com 2. Click on client login (top right hand side) 3. Request a new password (sent within a few moments) 4. Login 5. Click on Book Online and select the applicable product or Manage traveller profiles for Profile Manager under the 'My Key Travel' banner. Useful information for KT Online Flights can be held for a maximum of 24 hours (fare permitting/not including lowcost airlines) Hotels online are instant purchase, pre-paid and in the form of vouchers Click on previous search to see the last 10 flight searches. Selecting one will re-check availability without having to start from the beginning Amendments and cancellations can be requested through the tool For a summary overview of Key Travel s online booking tool KT Online please click here User guides and helpdesk numbers are located on the landing pages. If you need assistance whilst booking online, please contact our online helpdesk on 0844 335 0260 or email online@keytravel.com Booking Offline Your dedicated team is the Ruby team. Our consultants will provide you with the best travel options. Please email or telephone the team with the itinerary requirements with normal office hours: Monday Friday: Saturdays: 0845 1730 (except bank holidays when we are closed) 0900 1300 (except bank holidays when we are closed) 2
Ruby team contact details: ruby@keytravel.com 0845 122 0102 What to include when requesting a flight option Passenger names as per their passport Provide the route, nationalities, preferred dates and times a. If your traveller has a meeting to attend, tell us the latest arrival time b. The more specific you are, the more we will provide you with the right options and save time c. Alternative options will be provided if savings can be achieved Let us know if you need extra baggage. Academic fares often allow pre-arranged excess baggage to be taken free of charge. What is the likelihood of arrangements being changed or cancelled? Academic fares can be held without penalties for cancelling/changing dates prior to ticket issue. If you re ready to issue your ticket immediately, we ll offer a full range of fares including instant purchase options which may be restrictive. What to include when requesting a hotel Provide the destination, date of travel, room type and number of nights Specify location of the hotel e.g city centre, airport etc Advise of any special requirements Air Fares Explained Academic Fares explained Academic fares (also called charity fares) are offered specifically to charitable and educational institutions in the UK to help reduce the cost of travel. Academic fares are flexible airline tickets offered at greatly reduced prices, currently academic fares are available with over 18 airlines including Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, Qatar, Jet Airways, Kenya Airways and a host of other airlines. The main features and benefits include: 3
Longer Fares Hold Option This means most airline fares can be booked and held for longer than their published equivalent. Some fares can be held up-till 6 months before travel commences without the need to commit to buying the ticket, therefore allowing for changes and cancellations. No Minimum Stay Most academic fare contracts do not require a minimum stay (usually a Saturday night or 3 days away), which reduces the need to incur additional hotel expense and the duration of time travellers need to stay away. Often published fare tickets have booking conditions for short or long stays (i.e.: Saturday night stay is often required to secure a cheap long-haul fare). Changes and Cancellations Changes and cancellations are permitted on academic fares even after tickets are issued. In some instances tickets can be changed part way through a trip for significantly less in cost penalties compared to published non-refundable tickets. Key Travel charges a small administration fee to changes and cancellations. Free Excess Baggage Allowances Many airlines offering academic airline contracts allow for pre-arranged excess free baggage allowances on many of their routes. This feature is a cumulative cost saver for regular travellers with large pieces of equipment or who need extra luggage to stay away for longer periods. Global coverage Academic fares are available on many of the major airlines global route network or routes originating from the UK. For example, if a traveller is flying inbound to the UK from another country, we may be able to offer an academic fare with all the aforementioned flexibility. Academic fares may not always be your best option for all airline travel however they will always offer extra value with flexible booking conditions when compared with other types of fares. Negotiated airline fares explained Negotiated fares are special airline contracts available to all customers. Negotiated fares are suitable if the traveller requires less flexibility and willing to pay bit more if travel plans change. Available with over 60 airlines, negotiated fares have comparatively less flexible booking conditions than academic fares. Below are the main booking conditions of negotiated fares: Airlines will charge a fee for any changes before and after departure Airlines charge a cancellation fees and no refunds after departure For most long-haul travel and some medium haul trips, a Saturday night stay or 3 days away is usually required 4
Published airline fares explained Published fares are available to any Travel company and the fares do not differ from any other agency provider including internet websites. The cheapest published fares come with very restricted booking conditions and require the traveller to confirm the booking instantly. On face value, the lowest published fares can offer high value provided the travel plans do not change; when plans do change these fares will not permit any changes or refund. The main features of lower published fares are as follows: Bookings cannot be held and must be issued instantly They cannot be amended or refundable once issued Where amendments are permitted costs can be high Cheap published fares to long-haul destinations will require a minimum Saturday night or 3-4 days away. For detailed information on Academic, Negotiated and Published fares please click here. Hotels Explained Key Travel provides a varied and wide range of hotel booking services. Hotel content is powered by blended service providers including Expedia hotel; Hotel bed-bank providers and direct with hotel providers through specially negotiated academic rates. Booking Hotels Online Most hotel booking requirements are simple and easily booked online. We recommend that airline bookings booked online that require hotel services are also booked online. Hotels booked online do not attract a booking fee. To book online hotels via KT Online use your login details to login to the Key Travel website www.keytravel.com Booking Hotels Offline There may be instances where the hotel you require is not available online, in such circumstances please contact the reservations team and request that the hotel in question is added to the online booking tool database for you. You will be advised once this is completed. We recommend that complicated hotel requirements are booked using the reservations team. 5
Amendments and Cancellations For amendments to all our products except online bookings, please follow the procedure below: Refunds Email or call the reservation team as normal (press option 2 if calling us) Provide your reference number or the surname of the lead passenger Advise us what you d like to amend of cancel and we ll confirm the details verbally and via email The time taken to obtain a refund from a supplier will vary. On average, we are able to refund within 8-10 weeks of the claim. It s important we have all the information as soon as possible when refunding e.g reference number, receipts etc. We will inform you once the refund has been received. UK Rail Explained UK Rail content can be accessed through KT Rail Booker. We recommend that the majority of rail bookings are booked through KT Rail Booker. The Rail Desk will be available for large group travel requirements. Booking Tips: Using KT Rail Booker will deliver the following benefits to travel bookers and travellers as a whole: Cheaper ticket options. The site will prompt users to check the cost of two one way tickets instead of buying a return, as this will often make a saving on the overall ticket price. Easy ticket collection. Users can make the reservation, send the confirmation by email to the traveller to enable them collect the ticket at the station ticket machine without the need to use a credit card to collect tickets. This feature will eliminate the need to post tickets with the risk of postal loss, or travellers to be physically present to collect tickets from the travel booker. Online refunds. If a ticket is not used, the tool will enable you to request the refund online and simply post the tickets to facilitate the refund process. Improved visibility and analysis of spend. The organisation will have a clear visibility of total spend and put in place appropriate measure to reduce costs. 6
Creating Traveller Profiles Profiles are encouraged for regular travellers who travel by air. Creating traveller profiles is a useful, one-off task as it ensures a traveller's personal travel requirements and preferences are populated in each booking, and saves bookers from repeating this information for each itinerary. Traveller profiles are managed by Key Travel's online traveller profile management tool Profile Manager which integrates with KT Online. This means that any profiles created are available to select when booking flights and hotels online. Once created, traveller profiles are available to view or edit without the need to call or email a reservations agent. The data is secure and password protected. To create a traveller profile, login online, click on Profile Manager and select the applicable grey bar to create a profile for yourself or someone else. Please note all registered bookers who travel must complete their own profile. For instructions on how to create a profile, please click here If you have any questions whilst creating traveller profiles, please contact our online helpdesk on 0844 355 0260. Visa Applications Visa requirement information is provided by our reservations teams when booking offline. Visa information can also be found on our website at www.keytravel.com. Our specialist visa team will manage applications. The visa team can provide more detailed information for complicated visa applications. Visa team contact details: visa@keytravel.com 020 7843 9678 We recommend that bookers refer to our online visa database for all online bookings. Our visa database (www.keytravel.com) holds important and up-to-date information on embassy requirements. Visa application forms are downloadable from this database and information on what is required as part of the application can also be found online e.g. photos, additional documents etc. Non-EU passport requirements are detailed online. The visa database is located towards the bottom right hand side of our website home page: 7
To ensure your visa application is managed in an efficient manner, we ask all customers to complete the Key Travel application form which is located on the website. This guarantees we have the bookers contact details and send the visa application back to the correct address. Key Travel Address for visa applications: Visa Team, Key Travel, 1 st Floor, 28-32 Britannia Street, London, WC1X 9JA We recommend all visa applications are sent via recorded delivery. Booking European/International Rail, Eurotunnel and Ferries Bookings for these products are managed by our Rail team. Please send your requests to the contact details below. Please note Eurostar reservations are managed through the Gold team or available to book through KT Online. Rail contact details: rail@keytravel.com 0161 819 8940 European/International Rail Bookings must be processed at least 7 days before travel to allow tickets to be delivered. The only exceptions to this are: Domestic travel within France: Tickets are available to collect at the station Domestic travel within Belgium: Tickets can be printed at home Domestic travel within Netherlands: Tickets can be printed at home Travel from Belgium to Netherlands (and vice versa): Tickets can be printed at home Requesting a Rail booking: Provide the route (origin/destination), class of service (coach, first etc), dates and times: a. Let us know if your traveller needs to arrive or depart at a certain time b. The more specific you are, the more we will provide you with the right options and save time c. Alternative options will be provided if savings can be achieved 8
Ferries Number of passengers a. Advise us if any passengers are under 26 or over 59 years old to achieve additional discounts If you re ready to issue your ticket immediately, we ll offer a full range of fares including instant purchase options which may be restrictive. If the journey is overnight, is a sleeper required? Advise if you re looking for the cheapest option or require a cabin. a. Cabins include: 6 berth couchette, 4 berth sleeper/couchette, three berth sleeper, two berth sleeper, solo sleeper or cheapest available. (Couchette = mixed sex cabin / Sleeper = single sex cabin) Requesting a Ferry booking: 1. Provide the route (origin/destination), number of passengers, dates and times a. Let us know if your traveller needs to arrive or depart at a certain time 2. Specify if the quote is for foot passengers or travelling by car a. If a car is required, please provide details e.g. car make, model, colour, registration number Eurotunnel Requesting a Eurotunnel booking: 1. Provide the route (origin/destination), number of passengers, dates and times a. Let us know if your traveller needs to arrive or depart at a certain time 2. Specify if the quote is for a car or caravan a. Provide the car/caravan details e,g make, model, colour, registration number b. Advise the height of the vehicle. There are two choices: 1. Up to 1.85m 2. More than 1.85m 3. Specify if the vehicle has a trailer or a LPG (liquid petroleum gas) tank Groups Our specialist groups department will manage all flight only groups for 10 or more passengers, and conference bookings. Please note groups procedures will vary from airline to airline. The information below is a guide only. 9
Groups contact details: groups@keytravel.com 0161 819 8935 How to book a group Itinerary details: Please include the following in the itinerary: o Route/Dates/Times preferences o Number of passengers o Special requirements e.g excess baggage o Flexibility specifications e.g is a changeable ticket required o Visa requirements. Do we need to avoid certain countries? Select the required itinerary: Once selected, our groups department liaise with the airline directly o Airlines can take a few days to respond with confirmation o Fares are not guaranteed until the airline confirm (taxes are not guaranteed until tickets are issued) o Easyjet groups can be booked for a minimum of 41 passengers (Easyjet policy) Providing passenger names: Names as per the passenger s passport is required 8 weeks prior to departure. Deposits: A deposit is required upon confirmation of the seats to secure the booking. o The amount due and how long we can hold seats prior to the deposit being paid is determined by the airline. However as a guide the average deposit is 125 on a long haul flight, 75 on a short haul and the deposits are due within 7 14 days of seats being held. Confirmation stage: The final balance is due 8 weeks before departure. o Extensions may be requested, this is determined by the airline. If we request a deadline extension, airlines are reluctant to extend it further and some will typically not extend deadlines. o A reminder is sent to the booker 12 weeks prior to the deadline. o A final invoice is sent. Stricter conditions may apply during peak periods or if there is a major event. Details will be provided at the quote stage. Please discuss the requirements with our group s consultants to gain a better insight into the available options. 10
Feedback and Escalation Procedure We believe effective management of complaints is a key part of treating customers fairly. All complaints should not be viewed negatively, but as a source of rich customer feedback and an opportunity for our senior management team to identify how to improve performance. Customer Relations Department Our customer relations team is tasked with effective and prompt analysis of the root causes of complaints, and a commitment to remedying such causes, ensuring fair treatment of our customers. Customer Relations also work closely with our operational teams to evaluate common issues and agree well documented procedures for continuous improvement. We recognise there may be occasions when the agreed standard has not been met and a complaint is lodged. In these circumstances, please follow the procedure below: Travel Escalation Process 1. Please email customerrelations@keytravel.com in the first instance detailing your issue/concern and quoting your option or confirmation reference number. A case number will be communicated via email. 2. All complaints will be acknowledged and timescales agreed for resolution within 24 hours. 3. Where a logged complaint is not resolved satisfactorily or within the agreed timescales it should be escalated to the Key Travel Account Manager pwalton@keytravel.com. 4. The escalated complaint will be acknowledged and timescales agreed for resolution within 48 hours. This will be confirmed via email. 24 Hour Emergency Assistance Key Travel s out of hour s team is available to support travellers in an emergency. Requests which can be managed within normal office hours will be directed as applicable. Our free 24 hour emergency support line is managed inhouse by a friendly team. This gives you added peace of mind that you always have a point of contact when travelling. All you have to do is quote your reference number and your name. Please contact: 020 7843 9602 11