ARC has invited agency consortia to brief agencies impacted by ARC's recent decision to close down its Helix program, according to Edyta Satchell, ARC's director of product management.
RELATED: ARC Helix to Shut Down
Satchell said about 260 agencies and 500 agents were affected by ARC's decision. She described ARC's Helix members as "loyal, productive and dedicated" and said the consortia briefings facilitated by ARC in a Town Hall setting would ease any transitions.
"Helix agents are excellent and have many options to re-affiliate," Satchell said.
Seven ARC Town Hall events are planned between now and December 31, when the Helix program ends. The relationship with the 40 ARC Helix program suppliers will by shifted to other ARC programs supporting agents.
ARC launched Helix in 2011 but said that a changing competitive landscape had changed ARC's calculations for the growth of Helix.
RELATED: ARC Launches Travel Agent Communications Center
Education and training programs for agents will continue at various ARC events.
ARCMarketPlace.com offers over 10,000 commissionable products, including destination activities, sightseeing tours, airport transfers, car rentals, passport and visa expediting and business services.
Other ARC programs include Agent's Choice for processing credit card transactions through ARC and the Verified Travel Consultant (VTC) program. In September ARC reported more than 1,600 VTC locations.
Earlier this month ARC announced a new online communications center for agents.
Visit www.arc-corp.com