Business Overview:

US Tour Operator (USTO - https://www.travelopia.com/our-brands/tailormade-usto/) is a division of Travelopia (https://www.travelopia.com/), the world's leading experiential travel company with over 2,000 employees in 30 countries around the world. We are a collection of diverse and exciting businesses, owned by KKR, one of the world’s largest private equity firms. Some of our businesses are iconic market leading brands such as TCS, the world’s leading private jet company based in Seattle and Quark, the world’s leading polar expedition company based in Toronto.

USTO comprises two sister brands Europe Express and YMT Vacations, each providing decades of experience in custom independent and group travel for North American travelers throughout Europe and other popular destinations around the world. Together they are a $100 million+ revenue business, a significant and strategically important part of the $1billion+ Travelopia portfolio. Established in 1990, Europe Express provides high-quality, custom travel to Europe for their North American clients. The company serves both private group and FIT leisure markets, working exclusively with travel advisors to book everything from air and rail to hotels and sightseeing tours. YMT is an industry-leading guided tour specialist for North American travelers. Since 1967, the company has offered affordable land, cruise, and river cruise tours to the most popular destinations around the world.

Location:

This position is eligible for fully remote working within the United States. Hybrid working from our office in Bothell, WA is also available.

Scheduling:

This is a full-time, 40 hours a week position.

Position summary:

The role of the Groups Operations Agent is to be the single point of contact for the Travel agents / clients as well as the vendors during the tour planning stage, while managing all logistical and administrative aspects of a group.

What You Will Be Doing:

• Identify and recommend appropriate air and ground transportation, accommodations, tours, services and activities
• Handle group and FIT air for the department (quoting, booking, deadline management, etc.)
• Coordinate European travel arrangements/ non European travel arrangements with our local European office, Travel Services Europe (TSE) and local tour operators
• Oversee and carefully document all administrative aspects of group bookings: group correspondence, itinerary preparation and revision/changes, special requests, deposit and final payment arrangements, visa requirements (if needed), etc.
• Manage multiple deadlines involved with the operation of a group (air deadlines, updating the booking in the internal reservation system, invoicing clients, authorizing payments, etc.)
• Ensure groups are operated effectively by paying special attention to detailed time schedules, special requirements etc.
• Make independent decisions on service issues while maintaining high quality standards and profitability
• Work with staff and TSE/external vendors to solve customer relation issues while maintaining the happiness of the customer and profitability of the booking.
• Built strong rapport with the Travel agent and clients during all stages
• Work with our internal departments to ensure the highest quality services are provided to each group
• Prepare, assemble and send final travel documents to Travel agent or clients

What We Are Looking For:

• 1+ years experience in similar role in the travel industry is a plus
• Friendly, sales-oriented person with a client-first attitude
• European destination or European travel knowledge required
• Strong verbal and written communication skills – comfortable handling a high volume of client-related phone calls and emails
• Passion and dedication for outstanding customer service and quality expectations
• Flexibility, team spirit and able to handle pressure
• Able to effectively and professionally connect with management, staff, clients and suppliers
• Proven IT skills (MS Office) and experience in reservation systems designed for Tour Operators is an advantage

Our values:

• Care
• Collaboration
• Courage
• Passion

We believe people are happier and perform best when they are able to be their true self, and that diverse teams deliver better results.

Together we will cultivate a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment, where everyone can flourish. We are committed to driving change through increasing awareness of, and counteracting, unconscious bias; building an inclusive culture, and embracing diversity in all its dimensions

We look forward to getting to know you!