Industry Insights
Loop+ Launches High-end Network and Booking Engine
We all know where the pressure points are in travel sales – long waiting times for feedback from hotels, late commission payments, ever-changing points of contact in the sales department...the list goes on, and sometimes it all makes the dream job a little less amazing. But now there's something that takes the sting out of it, as the online platform Loop+ aims to make life easier for both travel advisors and suppliers alike. The name probably gives it away: behind it all is Astrid Oberhummer's Loop team. Following the success of their trade shows they now want to introduce the next game changer to the market. LuxuryWise has the first exclusive insights.
by Iris M. Köpke
Just as luxury clients don't like to wait for their booking confirmations, travel agents like to wait for their commissions even less so. The new Loop+ online platform intends to remedy both problems. On one hand it's an information platform – think of it as an online extension of the Loop trade show, providing buyers and suppliers with sales-relevant information about each other year round. In the case of hotels, for example, each accommodation listed on Loop+ includes useful information, such as the year of construction, date of last renovation, distances to the nearest airport (including transfer costs), tour operators through which the property can be booked, and details on special features such as interconnecting rooms.
Helpful documents can also be downloaded such as floor plans, spa menus, and wine lists. The whole thing is kept current because hotels have to provide a validity date when they upload their materials. Access to content such as photos, texts, and videos from suppliers will be another great value-add for travel agencies who can use it for their marketing. One other smart feature is the "consumer mode", which agents can use when they turn the screen around during a consultation and wow the client with fancy pictures and videos.
Asking the age-old "Does anyone have a sales contact from... ?" question will be a thing of the past with Loop+. In each hotel profile, all important contacts are stored with names, positions, and other details. Sayonara business card chaos! Listed on the supplier side is just about everything the luxury traveler's heart desires: accommodations, destinations, DMCs, cruises...it runs the gamut.
You might be saying, "Yeah yeah, that all sounds nice, but don't we secretly know that suppliers often don't have the manpower to keep their info complete and up-to-date?" Not with Astrid Oberhummer and her team. "We have created a real treasure chest with Loop+," says the Loop Founder. Loop+ is indeed chock-full of current data, as it lists suppliers from all over Europe and luxury accommodations around the globe. If a supplier is still missing details, they soon feel the heat from Offenbach – Loop's headquarters.
Master of Matchmaking: with the new Loop+ platform, Loop CEO Astrid Oberhummer now wants to connect her luxury network online and across trade shows.
Seems pretty straightforward. So you can just click on "Register" and join, right? Nope, that's not how this works – anyone who wants to join has to go through a manual qualification process. Why? Because the caliber of the high-quality B2B Loop community must be reflected by its online presence. "That's important," says Oberhummer, "Otherwise we couldn't foster this special culture, this togetherness, this dialogue." To take it a step further, "There will be a 'netiquette' so that everyone minds their manners on Loop+," says Oberhummer. Loop is also developing its own artificial intelligence (AI) to bolster its initiatives. For example, AI will track and evaluate the response times of both buyers and suppliers, among other things.
Registration for Loop+ is open now, so luxury travel professionals can set up their profile. And the network is there – 120 buyers and 120 suppliers have already been approved and are accessible through the platform, and there are 460+ "sleeping" profiles that the Loop+ team is doing quality checks on before they bring them online.
The Booking Engine comes in January 2024
The second main function of Loop+ is a booking engine for hotels. This makes it easier for travel advisors, for example, to book properties that are otherwise difficult to access. The way Loop+ helps with commissions is also appealing – after the client checks out, most accommodations automatically generate an invoice in the travel agent's name. Therefore, long waits for payment and expensive system fees are a thing of the past (theoretically, at least). One other really important feature that perhaps goes overlooked is that the hotel can see through the booking engine what agency made the booking.
Test runs are explicitly encouraged – both travel advisors and suppliers can use the networking platform free of charge until the end of 2024. "We're opening it up because we know full well that it takes critical mass to get the whole thing rolling," explains Oberhummer. "We knew it was going to be a lot of work, and we're excited about the high level of interest, but we didn’t expect that we'd have to talk to every single person who signs up and explain all the details. That’s why we continue to offer webinars for selected buyers and suppliers. It's challenging since there's a lot of work to do and we need to be quick – we need to produce bookings!"
Starting in 2025, travel advisors will be charged 19 euros per month, and the fee for hotels will be calculated individually. At the same time, the booking engine charges hotels a monthly fee and a handling charge per booking right from the start, as Loop+ acts as a service provider.
"We suggest the hotels include amenities, like the consortia do, but that’s up to them – it's not mandatory, and we will not reject them if they do not include any added value. Our suggestion is to give the agents 12% commission, but that again is only our recommendation", says Oberhummer. Hotels have to commit to a two-year contract.
So far, this does not seem to be a deterrent. Large international luxury brands already have a presence, such as the Oetker Collection and Shangri-La, as well as local jewels like the Château Royal in Berlin and many other exciting hotels. "Everyone who's involved right now are real pioneers," says the Loop CEO happily. "It's great to see that we can get so many partners on board with this initiative." She admits: "I have a passion for bringing people together. This is only a beginning but it’s a good beginning. We're looking forward to the booking engine coming out in January 2024."
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