Summary Report for:
43-4181.00 - Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks
Make and confirm reservations and sell tickets to passengers and for large hotel or motel chains. May check baggage and direct passengers to designated concourse, pier, or track; make reservations, deliver tickets, arrange for visas, contact individuals and groups to inform them of package tours, or provide tourists with travel information, such as points of interest, restaurants, rates, and emergency service.
Sample of reported job titles:
Reservations Agent, Customer Service Agent, Customer Service Representative (CSR), Reservationist, Station Agent, Tour Sales Representative, Airline Ticket Agent
Tasks | Tools & Technology | Knowledge | Skills | Abilities | Work Activities | Work Context | Job Zone | Interests | Work Styles | Work Values | Related Occupations | Wages & Employment
Tasks
- Plan routes, itineraries, and accommodation details, and compute fares and fees, using schedules, rate books, and computers.
- Make and confirm reservations for transportation and accommodations, using telephones, faxes, mail, and computers.
- Prepare customer invoices, and accept payment.
- Answer inquiries regarding such information as schedules, accommodations, procedures, and policies.
- Assemble and issue required documentation such as tickets, travel insurance policies, and itineraries.
- Determine whether space is available on travel dates requested by customers, and assign requested spaces when available.
- Inform clients of essential travel information such as travel times, transportation connections, and medical and visa requirements.
- Maintain computerized inventories of available passenger space, and provide information on space reserved or available.
- Confer with customers to determine their service requirements and travel preferences.
- Examine passenger documentation to determine destinations and to assign boarding passes.
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Tools & Technology
Tools used in this occupation:
| Airline ticket or boarding pass ATB printers — Airline ticket printers |
| Desktop computers |
| Notebook computers — Laptop computers |
| Personal computers |
| Special purpose telephones — Multi-line telephones |
Technology used in this occupation:
| Calendar and scheduling software — Property scheduling software |
| Data base user interface and query software — Amadeus Altea Reservation; Microsoft Access; Sabre Airline Solutions SabreSonic Ticket; Worldspan Go! Reservation System software |
| Office suite software — Microsoft Office |
| Spreadsheet software — Microsoft Excel |
| Word processing software — Corel WordPerfect; Microsoft Word |
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Knowledge
| Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. |
| English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. |
| Public Safety and Security — Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions. |
| Transportation — Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits. |
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Skills
| Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
| Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
| Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people. |
| Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
| Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
| Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. |
| Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. |
| Learning Strategies — Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things. |
| Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. |
| Instructing — Teaching others how to do something. |
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Abilities
| Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
| Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. |
| Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. |
| Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. |
| Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations). |
| Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. |
| Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). |
| Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. |
| Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem. |
| Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand. |
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Work Activities
| Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information. |
| Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests. |
| Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others. |
| Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form. |
| Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. |
| Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail. |
| Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. |
| Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data. |
| Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. |
| Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. |
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Work Context
| Telephone — How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? |
| Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it? |
| Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions? |
| Deal With External Customers — How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job? |
| Importance of Repeating Same Tasks — How important is repeating the same physical activities (e.g., key entry) or mental activities (e.g., checking entries in a ledger) over and over, without stopping, to performing this job? |
| Deal With Unpleasant or Angry People — How frequently does the worker have to deal with unpleasant, angry, or discourteous individuals as part of the job requirements? |
| Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job? |
| Spend Time Sitting — How much does this job require sitting? |
| Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions — How much does this job require making repetitive motions? |
| Physical Proximity — To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks in close physical proximity to other people? |
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Job Zone
| Title |
Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed |
| Overall Experience |
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience may be helpful in these occupations, but usually is not needed. For example, a teller might benefit from experience working directly with the public, but an inexperienced person could still learn to be a teller with little difficulty. |
| Job Training |
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. |
| Job Zone Examples |
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include sheet metal workers, forest fire fighters, customer service representatives, pharmacy technicians, salespersons (retail), and tellers. |
| SVP Range |
(4.0 to < 6.0) |
| Education |
These occupations usually require a high school diploma and may require some vocational training or job-related course work. In some cases, an associate's or bachelor's degree could be needed. |
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Interests
Interest code: CES
| Conventional — Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow. |
| Enterprising — Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business. |
| Social — Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others. |
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Work Styles
| Self Control — Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. |
| Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. |
| Stress Tolerance — Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations. |
| Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. |
| Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. |
| Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical. |
| Concern for Others — Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job. |
| Independence — Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done. |
| Adaptability/Flexibility — Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace. |
| Persistence — Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles. |
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Work Values
| Support — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical. |
| Relationships — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service. |
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Related Occupations
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Wages & Employment Trends
National
| Median wages (2006) |
$13.72 hourly, $28,540 annual |
| Employment (2006) |
165,000 employees |
| Projected growth (2006-2016) |
Little or no change (-2% to 2%)
|
| Projected need (2006-2016) |
38,000 additional employees |
State & National
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2006 wage data
and 2006-2016 employment projections
.
"Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2006-2016). "Projected need" represents job openings due to growth and net replacement.
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