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Booking package holidays
Bookingpackageholidays Videotexis beingusedsuccessfully bya major travelcompany forfinding, pricingandbookingholidays by COLIN PALMER he package holiday business was a phenomenon of the 1960s and 197Os, a business that developed from nowhere to become a El billion industry by 1981. In that year, industry figures show 3.5 million holiday passengers carried from the UK. Thomson Holidays’ share of this traffic was over 1 million passengers. The sheer volume of holidays and the exceptional peaking of the business at certain times of the year - Sepand January - make it tember inevitable that some form of computer reservations and administration system is employed. For the most part the
T
Abstract: Having carried out a pilot study using a front-end mini to link local travel agents’ videotex terminals into the central computer, Thomson Holidays decided to design their own videotex system. The system, which required, among other changes, the installation of a larger mainframe, remote network controllers and the rewriting of various software packages, is in use throughout the UK, providing instantaneous booking facilities. The videotex system has been widely accepted by both customers and booking agents. Keywords: videotex, viewdata, information systems. Cohn Palmer is director of Thomson Holidays.
24
0011-684W82/10002~03$03.00
package holiday trade has grown up to maturity alongside the computer and, to a greater or lesser degree is now dependent on computerized systems.
Computerization the 1960s
began in
Thomson Holidays started using computers for administrative purposes in the late 1960s and introduced a realtime reservations system in 1976. This system, TRACS (Thomson’s Reservations and Administrative Control System), allowed agents to book any holiday through their local of&e and brought with it a level of administrative reliability not previously experienced with large tour operators. It also brought significant savings in communication costs to agents and definite marketing benefits to Thomson. The major drawback was that the agent had to rely on a person-teperson phone link to the local Thomson office and at times, such as the launch of the major summer or winter programmes, the local phone exchanges were unable to cope with the volume of traffic. The obvious next step then was to put the agent directly online to Thomson’s computer system and a technology working party was established in 1979 with the brief to investigate ways of doing this.
0 1982 Butterworth & Co (Publishers) Ltd
Online system
examined
The package
tour business is highly competitive and where margins are tight, the success of the business is built on cutting out waste and it was very clear that money could be saved by going directly into agent offices. However, the decision to put terminals into agent offices was easier to take than it was to put into effect. The problem was that the technology was not there to enable Thomson to establish a terminal network that would be cost-acceptable to the agents. Conventional visual display terminals online to TRACS were ruled out on other grounds as well as cost. It was clear that the travel agent would want a single terminal in the office which would be capable of accessing more than one operator’s booking system. One possible solution that was considered was a link with the British Airways Travicom system, which gave agents access to 24 airlines for booking purposes. Yet this system was quite expensive and, more important, it was mostly in business travel outlets and, therefore, not in the right places for Thomson. It was also a British Airways system so there was a conflict of commercial interest and a natural resistance to going with a competitor.
data processing
Travel Agent Videotex Terminals PSTN \
1
Waster Systems
i
Videotex c3
Micro Scope Reglonal Network Concentrator
Thomson Holidays Regional A Centre
---*
Data Logic PTS 100 q1
Racal9629 Multipon Modem
Schedule D 87 leased Line
4800 / bps 9
j
1 4800 ;i bps
/ Thomson Holidays Computer Centre
’
I
/
’
Amdahl4705 Con~rnunications Controller i
front end to link videotex terminals into TRACS running on an IBM 370058 system. 10 towns were chosen to operate the pilot alongside a similar number of control towns. All the agents in the were offered the chosen towns opportunity to participate in the pilot and, notably only seven out of 73 turned down the chance. The only cost to the agents was, the hire of a Prestel TV and an alphanumeric keyboard a total of around L375 - and many agents already had these. The effect of CARS was monitored closely and it soon became evident that between a third and a half of all Thomson business from agents cooperating in the pilot was coming through the videotex system. We also saw our business grow more in the agencies operating CARS, than in those in the control towns. In some instances, particular agents more than doubled their volume of Thomson business.
Videotex accepted customers
by
The pilot ran for over a year and con-
Thomsov’s
vidcotex
booking network.
A more attractive and a more adventurous solution then began to dawn. The Post Office had launched its public Prestel viewdata service and, though generally slow to take off, it did manage to penetrate the travel industry quite successfully. A deal with Sealink put 2 000 viewdata terminals into agent offices giving a readymade network into which Thomson could tap. \‘iewdata, or as it is now known internationally?, videotex, was really one of those decisions that emerge rather than being consciously made. It was recognized, however, that we were going into virgin territory and that we had better proceed with due caution.
vol 24 no 10
&c,mber
1982
Hence, the technology working party and the decision to start with a pilot scheme.
Pilot scheme
setup
The purpose of the pilot was really to learn about the impact of videotex links in the agent offices and on Thomson’s business, rather than to establish technically how to do it. Nevertheless, in the process some technical lessons were learned. CARS (Computerized Agent Reservation Service), as the pilot was called, went live with 66 travel agents in the London area on March 2, 1981. It was the world’s first videotex ‘Gateway’ system and employed a minicomputer
firmed conclusively that videotex was the answer. The agents were using the system and customer acceptance had been positive. People liked seeing information come up on the screen and liked being addressed personally by name. They were involved in the ‘booking conversation’, rather than being bystanders as the agent talked to Thomson over the phone, and they believed that the information on the screen was correct.. As a selling tool for the agent and as a means of tying the agent into Thomson the ca:se for videotex was overwhelming and it was decided to go all the way with .a national videotex network. The decision was taken to move away from a front-end approach and to build the videotex system into the mainframe along with TRACS. This would give a performance and improvement overcome an immediate problem with response
25
videotex times, as well as allow for expansion. We considered Prestel Gateway, but having reviewed the specifications we were not happy at how fast it would perform. On top of that there were advantages in having our own network - advantages of control in that if we wanted to upgrade the network we could do it and not have to rely on British Telecom as a third party.
Designing
a videotex
The development
system
of our own videotex network was not a project that we entered into lightly. The technical challenge was considerable and the manufacturers we consulted were openly sceptical about our ability to meet our timescales. Work included the replacement of two IBM 370/158s with two Amdahl V7Bs, a move that increased computing power at the centre by a factor of four or five; the installation of two Amdahl4705 TP controllers; and the installation of various IBM software packages - VTAM (Virtual Terminal Access Method) to communicate between the 4705 and TRACS; MSNF (Multi Systems Network Facility) to allow any terminal to communicate with any System; NCCF (Network Control and Communication Facility) which allows operators to enter simple commands to control opening, closing and routeing of lines; and PCNE (Protocol Converter to nonSNA equipment) which converts input’output on the X.25 lines to a form compatible with VTAM. The TP Monitor on TRACS also had to be rewritten for V’TAM and X.25, as did applications for videotex formats. Finally, we needed to install new modems and remote network controllers (RNCs). The RNCs, installed in each of the 10 regional Thomson centres, act as the lynchpin in the network. They were designed to Thomson requirements by Microscope Ltd and built by Newbury Labs. The basic unit comprises five 64K
26
Z80A microprocessors - one master and four slaves. Each slave board supports four videotex ports, so 16 parallel videotex conversations can be carried out simultaneously (24 and 32port versions are also envisaged). The RNC fulfil a number of functions. They control a Prestel Gateway look-alike interface between TRACS and videotex terminals; store up to 10 frequently used frames (‘welcome’, ‘goodbye’, ‘hours of service’, etc.); perform character echo, cursor control, refresh and other Prestel Gateway-type functions; and act as an intelligent PAD (Packet Assembler and Disassembler), communicating in X.25 (the protocol used on British Telecom’s Packet Switched Service) down Thomson datalines to the computer centre. Thomson will have at least 17 RNCs on its live network, offering a total of 272 videotex access ports to TRACS. This is in addition to the 200plus conventional VDU iinks spread across the regional centres.
TOP - a national
system
The new system, called TOP for Thomson Open-line Programme, was introduced in stages. The 66 agents that had cooperated in the CARS videotex pilot were the first to be brought onto the system in July 1982. The system went tuitional on October 5, 1982, and by the end of-the month over 3 000 agents were connected. The effect has been to transform the relationship that Thomson has with its agents. Thomson has 4 665 agency outlets in total and TOP required that all existing agency agreements had to be renewed. All but 45 of the agents signed new agreements. Training
considerations
The training load to cover the 3 027 offices that asked to come onto TOP from October 5 was also considerable. It involved a half day training for each travel agent manager on Thomson
premises, and the production of a selfteach manual which the managers were asked to take back to their offices to train two of their staff. The Prestel network has also been used as an integral part of this training allowing Thomson to programme, monitor the performance of travel agents on a test system and ‘pass’ each operator before they are allowed to use TOP in a live environment.
Benefits Now when the agent makes a booking through TOP the transaction is binding as soon as it is confirmed on the videotex TV screen. The response from the system is virtually instantaneous and the facilities that it offers to display and search for alternative holidays, to cost each holiday package and to involve the client totally in the booking process, is enabling the agent to give a new level of service. Experience to date shows clearly that, while the use made ofTOP varies from agency to agency, even those agents who are at the bottom of the TOP usage scale are booking over half their business with Thomson through the videotex screens. The system will contribute to business volumes and it will also bring significant operational savings. The Thomson reservations staff will be reduced over a period from just under 200 to a figure nearer to half that number. In short, TOP has transformed the way Thomson Holidays handles its business. The point of sale is now remote from Thomson, but at the same time the agent is more intimately linked to Thomson than ever before and the potential for the eventual development of the system into on-thespot ticketing, when printer technology allows, and the integration of video to improve the presentation to clients, is, 0 to say the least, exciting. Thomson Holidays, <;reater I.ondon House, Hampstead Road, London NW1 7SD, LrK. X‘el: 01-387 9321.
data processing
T
Abstract: Having carried out a pilot study using a front-end mini to link local travel agents’ videotex terminals into the central computer, Thomson Holidays decided to design their own videotex system. The system, which required, among other changes, the installation of a larger mainframe, remote network controllers and the rewriting of various software packages, is in use throughout the UK, providing instantaneous booking facilities. The videotex system has been widely accepted by both customers and booking agents. Keywords: videotex, viewdata, information systems. Cohn Palmer is director of Thomson Holidays.
24
0011-684W82/10002~03$03.00
package holiday trade has grown up to maturity alongside the computer and, to a greater or lesser degree is now dependent on computerized systems.
Computerization the 1960s
began in
Thomson Holidays started using computers for administrative purposes in the late 1960s and introduced a realtime reservations system in 1976. This system, TRACS (Thomson’s Reservations and Administrative Control System), allowed agents to book any holiday through their local of&e and brought with it a level of administrative reliability not previously experienced with large tour operators. It also brought significant savings in communication costs to agents and definite marketing benefits to Thomson. The major drawback was that the agent had to rely on a person-teperson phone link to the local Thomson office and at times, such as the launch of the major summer or winter programmes, the local phone exchanges were unable to cope with the volume of traffic. The obvious next step then was to put the agent directly online to Thomson’s computer system and a technology working party was established in 1979 with the brief to investigate ways of doing this.
0 1982 Butterworth & Co (Publishers) Ltd
Online system
examined
The package
tour business is highly competitive and where margins are tight, the success of the business is built on cutting out waste and it was very clear that money could be saved by going directly into agent offices. However, the decision to put terminals into agent offices was easier to take than it was to put into effect. The problem was that the technology was not there to enable Thomson to establish a terminal network that would be cost-acceptable to the agents. Conventional visual display terminals online to TRACS were ruled out on other grounds as well as cost. It was clear that the travel agent would want a single terminal in the office which would be capable of accessing more than one operator’s booking system. One possible solution that was considered was a link with the British Airways Travicom system, which gave agents access to 24 airlines for booking purposes. Yet this system was quite expensive and, more important, it was mostly in business travel outlets and, therefore, not in the right places for Thomson. It was also a British Airways system so there was a conflict of commercial interest and a natural resistance to going with a competitor.
data processing
Travel Agent Videotex Terminals PSTN \
1
Waster Systems
i
Videotex c3
Micro Scope Reglonal Network Concentrator
Thomson Holidays Regional A Centre
---*
Data Logic PTS 100 q1
Racal9629 Multipon Modem
Schedule D 87 leased Line
4800 / bps 9
j
1 4800 ;i bps
/ Thomson Holidays Computer Centre
’
I
/
’
Amdahl4705 Con~rnunications Controller i
front end to link videotex terminals into TRACS running on an IBM 370058 system. 10 towns were chosen to operate the pilot alongside a similar number of control towns. All the agents in the were offered the chosen towns opportunity to participate in the pilot and, notably only seven out of 73 turned down the chance. The only cost to the agents was, the hire of a Prestel TV and an alphanumeric keyboard a total of around L375 - and many agents already had these. The effect of CARS was monitored closely and it soon became evident that between a third and a half of all Thomson business from agents cooperating in the pilot was coming through the videotex system. We also saw our business grow more in the agencies operating CARS, than in those in the control towns. In some instances, particular agents more than doubled their volume of Thomson business.
Videotex accepted customers
by
The pilot ran for over a year and con-
Thomsov’s
vidcotex
booking network.
A more attractive and a more adventurous solution then began to dawn. The Post Office had launched its public Prestel viewdata service and, though generally slow to take off, it did manage to penetrate the travel industry quite successfully. A deal with Sealink put 2 000 viewdata terminals into agent offices giving a readymade network into which Thomson could tap. \‘iewdata, or as it is now known internationally?, videotex, was really one of those decisions that emerge rather than being consciously made. It was recognized, however, that we were going into virgin territory and that we had better proceed with due caution.
vol 24 no 10
&c,mber
1982
Hence, the technology working party and the decision to start with a pilot scheme.
Pilot scheme
setup
The purpose of the pilot was really to learn about the impact of videotex links in the agent offices and on Thomson’s business, rather than to establish technically how to do it. Nevertheless, in the process some technical lessons were learned. CARS (Computerized Agent Reservation Service), as the pilot was called, went live with 66 travel agents in the London area on March 2, 1981. It was the world’s first videotex ‘Gateway’ system and employed a minicomputer
firmed conclusively that videotex was the answer. The agents were using the system and customer acceptance had been positive. People liked seeing information come up on the screen and liked being addressed personally by name. They were involved in the ‘booking conversation’, rather than being bystanders as the agent talked to Thomson over the phone, and they believed that the information on the screen was correct.. As a selling tool for the agent and as a means of tying the agent into Thomson the ca:se for videotex was overwhelming and it was decided to go all the way with .a national videotex network. The decision was taken to move away from a front-end approach and to build the videotex system into the mainframe along with TRACS. This would give a performance and improvement overcome an immediate problem with response
25
videotex times, as well as allow for expansion. We considered Prestel Gateway, but having reviewed the specifications we were not happy at how fast it would perform. On top of that there were advantages in having our own network - advantages of control in that if we wanted to upgrade the network we could do it and not have to rely on British Telecom as a third party.
Designing
a videotex
The development
system
of our own videotex network was not a project that we entered into lightly. The technical challenge was considerable and the manufacturers we consulted were openly sceptical about our ability to meet our timescales. Work included the replacement of two IBM 370/158s with two Amdahl V7Bs, a move that increased computing power at the centre by a factor of four or five; the installation of two Amdahl4705 TP controllers; and the installation of various IBM software packages - VTAM (Virtual Terminal Access Method) to communicate between the 4705 and TRACS; MSNF (Multi Systems Network Facility) to allow any terminal to communicate with any System; NCCF (Network Control and Communication Facility) which allows operators to enter simple commands to control opening, closing and routeing of lines; and PCNE (Protocol Converter to nonSNA equipment) which converts input’output on the X.25 lines to a form compatible with VTAM. The TP Monitor on TRACS also had to be rewritten for V’TAM and X.25, as did applications for videotex formats. Finally, we needed to install new modems and remote network controllers (RNCs). The RNCs, installed in each of the 10 regional Thomson centres, act as the lynchpin in the network. They were designed to Thomson requirements by Microscope Ltd and built by Newbury Labs. The basic unit comprises five 64K
26
Z80A microprocessors - one master and four slaves. Each slave board supports four videotex ports, so 16 parallel videotex conversations can be carried out simultaneously (24 and 32port versions are also envisaged). The RNC fulfil a number of functions. They control a Prestel Gateway look-alike interface between TRACS and videotex terminals; store up to 10 frequently used frames (‘welcome’, ‘goodbye’, ‘hours of service’, etc.); perform character echo, cursor control, refresh and other Prestel Gateway-type functions; and act as an intelligent PAD (Packet Assembler and Disassembler), communicating in X.25 (the protocol used on British Telecom’s Packet Switched Service) down Thomson datalines to the computer centre. Thomson will have at least 17 RNCs on its live network, offering a total of 272 videotex access ports to TRACS. This is in addition to the 200plus conventional VDU iinks spread across the regional centres.
TOP - a national
system
The new system, called TOP for Thomson Open-line Programme, was introduced in stages. The 66 agents that had cooperated in the CARS videotex pilot were the first to be brought onto the system in July 1982. The system went tuitional on October 5, 1982, and by the end of-the month over 3 000 agents were connected. The effect has been to transform the relationship that Thomson has with its agents. Thomson has 4 665 agency outlets in total and TOP required that all existing agency agreements had to be renewed. All but 45 of the agents signed new agreements. Training
considerations
The training load to cover the 3 027 offices that asked to come onto TOP from October 5 was also considerable. It involved a half day training for each travel agent manager on Thomson
premises, and the production of a selfteach manual which the managers were asked to take back to their offices to train two of their staff. The Prestel network has also been used as an integral part of this training allowing Thomson to programme, monitor the performance of travel agents on a test system and ‘pass’ each operator before they are allowed to use TOP in a live environment.
Benefits Now when the agent makes a booking through TOP the transaction is binding as soon as it is confirmed on the videotex TV screen. The response from the system is virtually instantaneous and the facilities that it offers to display and search for alternative holidays, to cost each holiday package and to involve the client totally in the booking process, is enabling the agent to give a new level of service. Experience to date shows clearly that, while the use made ofTOP varies from agency to agency, even those agents who are at the bottom of the TOP usage scale are booking over half their business with Thomson through the videotex screens. The system will contribute to business volumes and it will also bring significant operational savings. The Thomson reservations staff will be reduced over a period from just under 200 to a figure nearer to half that number. In short, TOP has transformed the way Thomson Holidays handles its business. The point of sale is now remote from Thomson, but at the same time the agent is more intimately linked to Thomson than ever before and the potential for the eventual development of the system into on-thespot ticketing, when printer technology allows, and the integration of video to improve the presentation to clients, is, 0 to say the least, exciting. Thomson Holidays, <;reater I.ondon House, Hampstead Road, London NW1 7SD, LrK. X‘el: 01-387 9321.
data processing