Top corporate travel agent skills needed to get the job.

What are the top 3 traits or skills every corporate travel agent must have to excel?

Can you suggest any tips or insights to develop your corporate travel agent expertise?

Investigating

Attention to detail.
Business travelers will belong to airline frequent flyer programs, Hotel and care rental frequent guest programs. And they count on the benefits and want to squeeze every benefit out of these programs. If you miss a number they will know. You also have to be able to question them if dates seem odd.

Speed.
These guys will not and often times can not wait for responses. So speed is important. 2 hour response time max.

Accuracy
Got to get it right.

Host said: What are the top 3 traits or skills every corporate travel agent must have to excel?

Can you suggest any tips or insights to develop your corporate travel agent expertise?

Be able to communicate (verbally and in writing).
Make sure you can SPELL ! In this day of email, that is very important.

Also, be a good listener, and make sure titles are correct..especially those
who are addressed as "Dr." whether they're MD, Dentist,PhD etc.

Actually, you have to know more than the clients do about themselves (frequent
flyer numbers, seat preference, kids middle names, wife's shoe size..) You get the idea !!

John in Lombard, Illinois said: Attention to detail.
Business travelers will belong to airline frequent flyer programs, Hotel and care rental frequent guest programs. And they count on the benefits and want to squeeze every benefit out of these programs. If you miss a number they will know. You also have to be able to question them if dates seem odd.

Speed.
These guys will not and often times can not wait for responses. So speed is important. 2 hour response time max.

Accuracy
Got to get it right.

Know geography.
Realize that there are same name cities in different states and or countries.
Examples :

London England and London Ontario (Canada)
Ontario California and Ontario Canada (Make sure you know that CA is the standard abbreviation for California. One of my clients swore I had him booked to Canada, but he was booked to California, where he wanted to go)

San Jose California and San Jose Costa Rica
Portland Oregon and Portland Maine
Springfield Missouri and Springfield illinois
Moscow Russia and Moscow Idaho