Job Description

Travel Operations Specialist

The role:

The lynchpin between our Travel Consultants and our suppliers; this varied role will primarily see you managing a mix of booking queues, reservations and requests, balancing availability and logistics with client needs and preferences, to ensure the smooth delivery of high-quality group tours and tailor-made trips.
You will also be responsible for the generation of our client and tour leader travel documents, and will play an integral role in keeping stored client and product details up to date to ensure these automated documents are flawless.
From time to time, you may also be assisting with administrative sales-related tasks such as sending brochures, preparing transport tickets, handling deliveries, or perhaps printing, compiling and sending travel documents to our clients.

Main Tasks and Responsibilities

• Confirm travel arrangements (e.g., accommodation, restaurants, activities, excursions, guides, transportation, etc) using phone, e-mail, e-Fax, and online reservation systems
• Utilise our ‘Master Planner’ to monitor, book, and schedule our Insiders and freelance tour leaders as required for tailor made trips
• Make sound judgements regarding suitable alternatives when first-choice options are not available and execute accordingly, escalating to a Quality Control Specialist where necessary
• Maintain strong, mutually beneficial relationships with our suppliers and external partners to secure the delivery of our trips
• Input relevant and accurate reservation details into Axum to ensure smooth generation of Info Packs for clients and reliable information for TCs
• Accurately record costs of services in Axum, liaising with the Finance Team so supplier invoice payments and refund transactions can proceed smoothly
• Assist with the ticketing of international flights, checking all details match what has been entered into Axum to prevent errors
• Generate Info-Packs on Axum, manually updating fields where required e.g. train time, meeting points, customized service descriptions, etc.
• Check final travel documents (Info-Pack) with the tickets and package the deliverables with the accompanying welcome letter for our clients prior to their arrival
• Monitor shared inboxes to assist our Sales teams with queries, issues and requests
• Contribute to the annual Group Tour allocation and re-pricing project (overseen by the Product function) to ensure successful operational delivery of our Group Tour program
• Conduct quality control of Group Tour bookings in Axum, planning tasks, sending reminders, checking client arrangements and altering client documents to ensure all information held is correct and complete
• Liaise with Insiders to ensure they have everything needed to run Group Tours, e.g. itinerary info, cash sheets and passenger manifests generated from our internal Booking System (Axum), and information specific to our various itineraries
• Organize final rooming arrangements for Group Tours, ensuring we are holding the correct number/configuration of rooms and releasing any that aren’t required.

What we are looking for from you:

• Passion for Japan/Asia as a travel destination – With a desire to help others discover the country
• Strong geographical and logistical understanding of Japan and our core destinations
• Familiarity with the processes involved in confirming a wide range of travel arrangements
• Well-developed problem-solving skills – With the ability to use own initiative with confidence
• Independence and organisation – Ability to able to handle a volume of complex tasks simultaneously
• A high level of productivity and accuracy – You’ll need to get a lot done at a high quality, sometimes under tight time pressures
• High quality communication/interpersonal skills in emails, in-person and on the phone
• Proficiency in MS Office (Excel, Word, Power Point, Outlook, Teams and SharePoint)
• Advanced level of English, both written and spoken

What you get in return:

• Japanese Health Insurance, Employee’ Pension Scheme, Employment Insurance, and Labour Accident Compensation.
• 23 days annual leave
• Day off on your birthday
• Volunteering leave
• Hybrid working
• Designated learning and development time
• Annual discretionary performance bonus
• Annual Health Check

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