Sabre to Merge Jurni and Trams
Recently at The Tradeshow in Las Vegas, Scott Koepf, general manager of Jurni, and Lee Rosen, president of Trams Marketing Advantage, announced that Sabre Holdings will consolidate the two companies to form Trams Marketing Alliance (www.trams.com). The merger gives agents a new company that combines targeted marketing with customer data management. The joint company will employ high-level database segmentation processes and narrowly target an agent's customers with the products they're most likely to buy. Each agency that becomes part of TMA has access to its own marketing manager. The Jurni brand name will no longer be used. 
Nexion to Pay Twice Monthly
As part of recent automation and reporting enhancements, Nexion recently announced the launch of twice monthly commission payments for its independent travel agent members, replacing the standard practice of a single monthly payment. Visit www.sabre-holdings.com.
Agent Education Opportunities
Sabre also recently announced that its Technology and Marketing University (TMU) will offer continuing education for all of their agent customers. Planned for April 22-24, 2008, at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas, TMU will provide agents with hands-on and classroom training in a variety of technology, marketing and business topics. TMU is a joint effort between Sabre's leisure brands, including Sabre Travel Network, Nexion and Trams.
"We'll now be able to offer the most extensive learning options available to travel agents, and we'll offer it all at one time in one place," said Greg Webb, chief marketing officer for Sabre.
The Travel Institute (www.thetravelinstitute.com) has launched a new online training program on St. Barth in its E-learning Center. The free two-module course was sponsored by, and developed in conjunction with, St. Barth Properties. The "St. Barth Overview" provides comprehensive information on St. Barth, including sightseeing, beaches and selling tips. The second module, "Selling St. Barth Properties," provides information about the villas and hotels of St. Barth.
After successfully completing the modules, agents will receive a course completion certificate and a $50 bonus commission coupon from St. Barth Properties, redeemable with their first booking. CTAs, CTCs and CTIEs will also earn Continuing Education Units from The Travel Institute.
Partners In Travel (www.partnersintravel.com) has introduced a new fall line-up of interactive training sessions for agents covering travel technology, computer skills and marketing strategies and techniques. The online training courses held four times a week are designed to help new agents learn more about the travel industry and the Partners In Travel program, while continuing to help experienced agents increase their sales.
ARC Proposes Fee Hike for 2008
The Airlines Reporting Corp. (www.arccorp.com) has proposed a fee increase of $395, up from $145 per independent or home-office location. Agencies also would incur a fee of $150 per branch and STP location (currently $145) and a quarterly transaction fee of 2 cents per transaction (currently 1.7 cents). Such an increase would help ARC with recent and future system investments such as moving to a platform with new settlement services and quicker responses to enhancement requests, as well as ticketless transactions and the processing of alternative forms of payment.
For its part, ARC also is proposing to allow agents to take training classes for free and to eliminate all charges associated with the accreditation processes. These fees range from $525 for classroom training to $25 to voluntarily close a location.
A decision on the proposal is expected in December, after ARC's board of directors reviews the plan.