Hopper is
offering an online program to train people how to work as travel agents.
Dubbed “Bunny Bootcamp,” the self-guided course
includes 160 hours of material primarily created by Hopper and provides simulation activities using a Sabre global distribution system
emulator.
Hopper director of learning and quality Jacob
Morris says the company began developing the program in the middle of 2021, as
it was going through a period of rapid growth and also as it received interest
from people wanting to work as travel agents who did not have any prior
experience.
“This is a great opportunity for us to engage in
the travel agent market, with individuals looking to get into this space, and
be able to give them a path to enter into it,” Morris says.
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“And then being able to take a program like this
and, as we evaluate our own recruiting and hiring needs over the years, this also
can serve as a pipeline for our organization but also for others too.
"For us
it’s really extending what we know to be good learning and a modern approach to
learning and really making this easy for people to break into this space and
allow us to attract the best talent.”
Hopper currently has about 1,300 agents that provide
customer support to people that have booked travel through its app, and it says
it is looking to hire hundreds more.
For now, the training content is focused
on leisure travel and is only offered in English, but Morris says the program may
be expanded on both counts in the future.
Learning modules in the program cover topics
such as PNR creation, fares and ticketing, hotels and a GDS overview. Participants
get access to a private Slack community where Hopper learning specialists are
available to offer assistance. The program costs $299.
Hopper ran a pilot of the training program in Q4 2021 and made it publicly available in mid-February.