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IN THIS ISSUE

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE     Back to top

Recently, I've been reviewing current, economic trends to attempt to discover how the changes in the U.S. economy will impact the way in which we do business. After reading quotes in various economic publications, I decided to contact some of those published to see if their opinions still held. The general feeling is that the economy is rebounding more rapidly than expected, and should return to a non-recessionary trend by the third quarter of this year, fully rebounding in 2003.

One of the professors asked what we as IARE executives have reservations about. This elicited a laugh, but also caused me to reflect upon the factors that are driving change in the travel industry:

• We have reservations about the effects of the many mergers and acquisitions, currently occurring, on our core business; making reservations.
• We have reservations about consolidating our global offices, as when we lose a physical presence in a country or area, the travel agent community could perceive alienation. This has the potential for diminishing demand.
• We have reservations about reducing prices for our reservations, while the cost of processing reservations increases.
• We have reservations about implementing telephone technology, as those who contact us by phone wish to talk to a person instead of pressing buttons to listen to recordings.
• We have reservations about the managing the cost of meeting the demands of those who wish to call us, as our margins shrink when we supply service for diminishing revenue at ever increasing cost.

We have many reservations about reservations, and that is why we send out newsletters quarterly and meet annually. It allows us to reserve the right to comment, executively speaking.

I look forward to seeing all of you, again, in Charleston, where we can discuss and address these timely trends.

Warm regards,

Kate Wolfe
President IARE

"Economic growth in this year's second half should be strong, with solid growth expected in 2003."
Jeff Thredgold, Economic Futurist
http://www.thredgold.com/Weekly_Update/weekly_update.html

"Employment continued to decline in January, and the unemployment rate decreased to 5.6 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today." January 2002

"Hotels lost 7,000 jobs in January; since peaking in March 2001, employment in this industry has declined by 124,000. In January, employment in air transportation rose after seasonal adjustment because extremely light holiday-season hiring by air courier services resulted in fewer layoffs than usual."
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

"We're forecasting that real GDP will register an annualized growth of 1.4 percent in the 1st quarter of this year, and that economic growth will accelerate to a 2.7 percent pace in the 2nd quarter, 2002q2. Thus, our forecast identifies the first half of this year as the period when economic expansion really gets going again."
Saul H. Hymans, Director, The Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics, Department of Economics, University of Michigan http://rsqe.econ.lsa.umich.edu

"CBO's forecast of the U.S. economy's most likely path, which is described in this chapter, anticipates that the recession will be over by the end of the first quarter of 2002 (unless otherwise specified, all years in this chapter are calendar years).(1) CBO estimates that the annual rate of growth of real (inflation-adjusted) gross domestic product will accelerate from -0.2 percent over the four quarters of 2001 to 2.5 percent in 2002 and then quicken further, to 4.3 percent, in 2003."
The Budget and Economic Outlook: fiscal Years 2003 – 2012
http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=3277&sequence=0&from=7

"Applicants for reservation and transportation ticket agent jobs are likely to encounter considerable competition, because the supply of qualified applicants exceeds the expected number of job openings."
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos135.htm

"Transportation and tourism activity was reported to be rebounding in December, but demand remains well below year-ago levels according to the Atlanta, Dallas, Minneapolis, New York, St. Louis and San Francisco Districts. Hotel occupancy rates picked up but are still below a year ago. Business travel remains down, according to the Dallas and San Francisco Districts. But, price cuts stimulated a pickup in leisure travel over the holidays and flights were fuller, according to the Chicago District."
http://www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/BeigeBook/2002/20020116/default.htm

The IARE Annual Conference is fast approaching and with it comes the Annual Business Meeting and elections to the IARE Board of Directors.

Have you ever thought about becoming a leader in your industry?

Do you want to shape the future of your Association?

If you answered YES to either of these questions, please click on the link below. Please complete and return the Board Nomination Form no later than Friday, April 12, 2002.

Membership Reminder     Back to top

If you haven't renewed your investment in IARE for 2002, please consider what you'll be missing...

Founded in 1985 by a group of hotel reservation center managers for the exchange of ideas and opportunities that were relevant to their profession, IARE has grown to include more than 100 companies whose reservation activities span across the entire spectrum of the travel industry. Our members fuel a global economy by allowing persons from all over the globe to share their interests and economic well-being with others no matter where they may be.

The success of this organization depends on your involvement.

Your 2001 IARE membership will lapse after March 31, 2002. We need your support and hope that you will continue to support the Travel and Hospitality Call Center industry through your investment in this association.

You can renew your membership on the IARE web site through our On-Line Membership Application: http://www.iare.com/MemAppl.htm

Please take a moment now to ensure you stay updated and involved.

Navigating CHANGE
IARE's 17th Annual Conference and Exhibition
May 4-8, 2002
Charleston Riverview Hotel (formerly Radisson Hotel Charleston)
Charleston, South Carolina U.S.A.

http://www.iare.com/Conference/02annual.html

The IARE Annual Conference is the greatest benefit of your membership in IARE and you definitely won’t want to miss this one! The IARE’s Conference Planning Committee has put together what promises to be one of our best offerings to date!

Within our membership lies a vast knowledge and experience with the travel and hospitality reservations industry. The ability to tap and share that knowledge and experience accounts for a large measure of its value to YOU, our members. With representatives from hotels, airlines, car rentals, rail and cruise lines, and city convention and visitor bureaus, you’ll get to meet and mingle with more than 100 call center executives and managers at the IARE Annual Conference.

We’ve added some new features and FUN activities to our already outstanding program, making the IARE Conference experience one you can’t afford to miss!

In fact, we encourage you to bring your call center teams* to experience the unequaled benefits of networking and idea-sharing, expert-led education workshops, tailored product demonstrations, facilitated call center forums and terrific teambuilding activities – all in ONE place!

*Discounts are available for organizations who register 5 or more persons.

Register On-Line NOW!
http://www.iare.com/Conference/02annual.html

Charleston Riverview Hotel
Located along the Ashley River, the Charleston Riverview Hotel (formerly the Radisson Hotel Charleston) is 20 minutes from Charleston Airport (CHS) and less than 10 minutes from the historic downtown area. A DASH trolley stop is located in front of the hotel, providing you easy and inexpensive access to many fine restaurants and shops, as well as historic areas such as the Old Exchange, the Battery and Waterfront Park.

$100 Room Rate includes complimentary breakfast buffet!
A GREAT VALUE!

The Charleston Riverview Hotel has reserved a limited block of rooms for IARE Conference participants at the discounted group rate of $100 U.S. single or double occupancy, which includes complimentary breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant.

Reservations should be made directly with hotel at (843) 723-3000. Callers must mention "International Association of Reservation Executives" to receive group rates.

The specially discounted IARE group rate is available only until April 4, 2002. After that date, the rooms will be released for general sale and vacancy and rates cannot be guaranteed. Please make your reservations early!

The IARE Excellence Awards are presented each year to those who have exceeded expectations in the areas of job performance, team development, customer service, and even community service. Past award winners have often been represented by the individual who always rises to the occasion when needed, placing their personal time second to the needs of the call center. However, they have also been the ones who work quietly behind the scenes to ensure a successful operation and without whom the enterprise would suffer. Past winners have been long-term industry veterans, as well as fresh-out-of-school "rookies." If a member of your team can be defined using terms like outstanding, extraordinary, selfless, dedicated and excellent example for others then they fit the mold for the 2002 IARE Excellence Awards.

As a special incentive to reward and recognize these outstanding individuals, this year IARE will notify Award Winners in advance and invite them to attend the Conference to accept their award in person. IARE will waive the Conference registration fee for these individuals; we ask that you plan accordingly to cover expenses for their travel and accommodations.

There is no time like the present to recognize those exceptional employees within your organization! Details and nomination forms are available at: http://www.iare.com/awards.html

Please Don't Delay… Award Nominations must be received no later than March 29, 2002.

If you missed the last request, it's not too late to contribute your data for the Spring/Summer 2002 version of the IARE Technical Survey. 

This survey provides electronic access to technology information from IARE Call Center members, and results will be available only to members who contribute information.

Responses will be collected on-line until Friday, May 31, 2002. 
Results will be compiled and respondents will be notified by email when results are available.

Click here to respond to this survey.

Check-out IARE’s Membership Directory in the Members Only section of the IARE web site.

Please remember, the Members Only section of the IARE web site is designed as a valuable member benefit and is limited to only current IARE Members through a User Name and Password.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
Watch your email for ongoing conference updates and 
the next issue of IAR E-News in April 2002.

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IARE Members Only Section…

Forgot your user name and password?
Please email us at  iare@assnoffice.com

Archives:

E-News: December, 2001

E-News: September, 2001

E-News: June, 2001

E-News: April, 2001

E-News: February, 2001

E-News, December 2000

A Day in the Life of a Reservation Executive.

Telcom Bill Auditing Procedures.

Setting Superior Standards for Your Monitoring Program

Resources and Links:

~ Search engines you should use.

In our business, there is so much to know
and so little time to learn it. 
Change is our constant and relentless companion. 
The distance between us has vanished thanks 
to technology. IARE provides us with the 
network for sharing ideas, learning and 
staying ahead of the curve.

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