About the position
The Air Booking Coordinator is a pivotal role within the Travel Services team, responsible for coordinating air travel arrangements for both domestic and international participants traveling to various program destinations. This position requires a strong focus on customer service, as the coordinator will engage with participants to understand their travel needs, resolve any issues, and finalize air travel arrangements. The role demands expertise in travel policies and procedures, enabling the coordinator to make informed decisions that align with both participant needs and organizational goals. In this remote-first work environment, the Air Booking Coordinator will handle a variety of tasks, including selling diverse travel options such as domestic and international flights, managing inbound and outbound calls, and creating preliminary itineraries for participants. The coordinator will also be responsible for handling airline schedule changes, resolving flight issues during unforeseen events like weather disruptions or airline strikes, and assisting participants through an emergency line when necessary. A key aspect of the role is to promote additional services, educate participants on the benefits of competitive upgrades, and ensure a high level of customer satisfaction, fostering a positive relationship with Road Scholar participants. The ideal candidate will possess strong communication skills, decision-making abilities, and a knack for persuasion and closing sales. They will be results-driven, enthusiastic, and motivated, with a proven track record in customer service and sales within the air travel industry. The ability to navigate various computer applications and learn new systems quickly is essential, as is the capacity to thrive in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment. The Air Booking Coordinator will play a crucial role in enhancing the overall customer experience and contributing to the success of the Travel Services team.
Responsibilities
- Sell a variety of travel options including domestic air, international, negotiated and block space air.
- Qualify calls and provide the best schedules and pricing for customers to enable first call resolution.
- Manage inbound and outbound participant calls.
- Create preliminary itineraries for all TCA enrollments.
- Handle airline schedule changes following each airline's guidelines.
- Resolve flight changes during world events, weather, or airline strikes.
- Assist participants on our Emergency Line as needed to resolve situations.
- Promote additional services for custom air participants, hotel, and upgrades.
- Educate the participant on the benefits of our competitive upgrade offers.
- Match and fulfill customer needs; effective closing skills, solid judgment, and understanding of company/airline policy.
- Make sound business decisions based on situational events with a strong focus on customer satisfaction.
- Foster relationships with Road Scholar participants through active listening and engagement.
- Navigate various computer applications, use search engine skills, and toggle between applications while on the phone.
- Satisfy or exceed Travel Services performance standards in accordance with goals, objectives, and metrics.
- Educate customers with sound solutions to increase air enrollments and enhance customer experience.
- Take ownership of customer interaction and experience.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree preferred and/or comparable experience preferred.
- Excellent communication, decision making, persuasion, and closing skills are a must.
- 1-2 years' experience with Air Travel preferred.
- Demonstrated sales and customer service skills, including negotiation and closing capabilities.
- Solid knowledge of airline negotiated fares.
- Strong team contributor with the ability and willingness to work hard to achieve team objectives.
- Results driven; enthusiastic, motivated, self-starter.
- Strong CRM and computer skills, with a capacity to learn new systems; Amadeus or airline GDS experience is a plus.
- Ability to thrive in change while maintaining consistency in a fast-paced environment.
- Solid written and oral communication skills.
Nice-to-haves
- Experience with Amadeus or other airline GDS systems.
- Previous experience in a remote work environment.
Benefits
- Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
- 20 days PTO annually
- Paid shutdown between Christmas and New Years
- Ability to work remote
- Paid Holidays (14)
- Retirement Plan with a company match up to 5%
- Identity Protection
- Unlimited Online Training
