Travel

Start with who needs trip planning, booking and travel support and why. Around families, companies and groups drive demand in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the other emirates.

• List 10 offers or suppliers in the UAE with price per trip in AED and who buys.
• Interview 5 people from families, companies and groups: what do they buy now, how often, what do they pay, what annoys them?
• Learn three terms: Itinerary (the dated plan of a trip); Supplier voucher (proof of a paid booking); Visa check (confirming entry rules before travel).
• Write a one-page brief: user, need, hoped-for price, and the rule that matters most.

Activity. Complete the market table, five interview notes and the brief.

Standard to meet. Price ten offers, interview five users, and state one need in one sentence.

Know the rule before the work. Main hazards here: wrong documents and missed connections. Hazard thinking means list each step, ask what could go wrong, and decide the control.

• Ask your local authority or free zone which licence, permit or inspection applies. Write the answer and the date you asked.
• For each step (listen and plan; quote; book and confirm; support during travel) write the hazard and the control.
• Use a hierarchy: remove the hazard, replace it, separate people from it, change the way of work, then protective equipment last.
• Keep a one-page incident rule: who you call, what you stop, what you record.

Activity. Draw the flow and mark hazard and control at each step.

Standard to meet. Name a hazard and a control for every step, and answer the licence question in writing.

The work is a short chain: listen and plan, quote, book and confirm, support during travel. Learn each link, then link them with records.

• Write a checklist for each of the 4 steps: input, action, check, output.
• Time each step three times and note the slowest.
• Record a defect or delay each time it happens: what, where, cause, fix.
• Measure trips completed without a complaint; this is your main number.

Activity. Run the chain three times (simulated or real) and fill the log.

Standard to meet. Complete three logs, and give the slowest step a cause and a fix.

What you do not measure you cannot improve. Your main measure is trips completed without a complaint.

• Define trips completed without a complaint: what counts, what does not, and over what period.
• Draw a simple chart of the last 10 results and mark the average.
• Find the top two causes of loss with a tally sheet, then fix the biggest one first.
• Check measuring tools: are they accurate, clean and in date?

Activity. Collect a tally for one week and make a Pareto chart.

Standard to meet. Complete the tally, name the biggest cause, and plan one fix with a date.

Know the cost of one trip before you set the price. Include materials, labour, energy, transport, licence share, waste and a safety margin.

• Cost per trip = total cost divided by trips sold (not made).
• Margin = (price minus cost) divided by price.
• Break-even units = fixed costs divided by gain per unit.
• Test the price with two users and write down the answer.

Activity. Build the cost sheet with AED on every line and have your mentor check it.

Standard to meet. Check that no cost is missing, and calculate the margin twice by different routes.

Customers return when you keep promises. Promise only what your workflow can deliver.

• Write a one-page offer: what is included, what is not, price, time, how you fix mistakes.
• Write a short script for the first call or visit.
• Agree dates in writing; confirm each change.
• Handle a complaint in four steps: listen, apologise for the impact, fix, record what changed.

Activity. Present the offer to two users and note changes.

Standard to meet. Write an offer with scope, price, time and a fix rule, and collect comments from two users.

Small, real and recorded. Change one thing at a time and learn quickly.

• Keep a daily log: date, units, cost, delays, defects, safety notes.
• Hold a 15-minute review each week with your mentor.
• Write down every complaint and what you changed.
• Take photos only where allowed and never of people without consent.

Activity. Complete 30 days of the log and four weekly reviews.

Standard to meet. Log 30 days, give each defect a cause, and keep weekly notes.

A decision beats a feeling. Compare plan with result and choose to scale, change or stop.

• Make a before and after table: cost per unit, defects, delays, repeat users.
• Write three lessons.
• Decide scale, change or stop, with the numbers behind it.
• Give two peers one strength and one fix each.

Activity. Present to a review room and collect one written comment from a user.

Standard to meet. Justify the decision with numbers, and give two peer reviews.

Connections and documents are where trips fail.

• Allow safe connection times.
• Check passport validity and visa rules.
• Give each traveller a clear itinerary.
• Keep a 24-hour support contact.

Activity. Plan a 5-day trip for a family.

Standard to meet. Check the documents and timings.

Costs hide in details.

• Add all supplier costs.
• Add your fee and tax.
• Send vouchers and confirmations.
• Track changes in writing.

Activity. Quote two trips.

Standard to meet. Compute the margins.

Flights are cancelled, visas are refused and hotels overbook. A good agent keeps the traveller informed, knows the refund rules and acts fast.

• Check visa and passport validity (often 6 months) before you confirm any booking.
• Read the fare rules: refundable, changeable or neither, and tell the client in writing.
• When a disruption happens, contact the traveller first, then the supplier, then offer options.
• Keep an emergency contact list and record every change made.

Activity. Prepare a disruption plan for a group of 10 with three alternative options and a message to the group.

Standard to meet. Plan lists contacts, deadlines in hours, costs in AED and what the traveller is told first.

On the slide: L1 Basic · What a travel plan has

Notes: Name an itinerary, a supplier voucher and a visa check. Notes: use a family weekend trip as the example; the main risks are wrong documents and missed connections.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Documents and connection times

Notes: Know that passports and visas must be checked before booking and that connections need safe time. Notes: passports often need 6 months validity; show a 55-minute connection and ask whether it is safe.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Plan a five-day family trip

Notes: Plan a five-day trip for a family with checked documents and safe timings. Notes: extend a 55-minute connection to 2 hours; give each traveller a clear itinerary and a 24-hour contact.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Quote two trips with margin

Notes: Quote two trips with all supplier costs, fee, vouchers and a written change log. Notes: supplier costs AED 3,000 plus fee AED 300 give price AED 3,300, and the fee is 9.1 per cent of the price.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Compare options and decide on a disruption

Notes: Analyse a cancelled flight for a family of 4 and decide the best rebooking, transfer and hotel changes. Notes: a flight 6 hours later at no extra fare, with the hotel told to hold the room, avoids an AED 900 first-night charge; contact the traveller first.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Coach a team on disruption handling

Notes: Lead a small team to write a disruption plan for a group of 10 with three options and a message. Notes: sample five files a week for fare rules told in writing; target trips completed without a complaint.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Design the trip support system

Notes: Design a quoting, document check, supplier and disruption system with an audit and a 12-month plan. Notes: at AED 1,200 price and AED 820 cost the gain is AED 380 a trip, or 31.7 per cent; present one risk, one saving and an emergency contact list.