Travel and Tourism Business Toolkit: Revenue, HR, and Legal Aspects

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the travel and tourism business, focusing on key aspects such as revenue management, human resources, and relevant legislation. It begins with an introduction to the travel and tourism sector, defining its scope and highlighting its economic contributions, using Thomas Cook as a case study. The report then delves into the principles of revenue management, including overbooking, pricing strategies, market segmentation, and the use of historical demand and booking patterns. It investigates various revenue management tools like channel managers, rate shoppers, booking engines, and property management systems. The HR lifecycle is explored, detailing the stages of recruitment, education, motivation, evaluation, and celebration. A performance management plan for a travel and tourism job role is developed, covering planning, monitoring, developing, rating, and rewarding. The report also examines legislation that organizations in the travel and tourism industry must adhere to, such as the Equality Act and the Health and Safety Act, and assesses the potential impact of employment and contract law on business decision-making, like the Contract Act of 1963. The report aims to provide a holistic understanding of the challenges and strategies within the travel and tourism industry.

Travel & Tourism
Business Toolkit

INTRODUCTION
Travel and tourism refers to those activities when a person go to one place to another for
fun, business purpose or others. It can be the movement of people between distant geographical
locations from habitual environment for not more than one consecutive year (Budeanu and et. al.,
2016). It help in make contribution in the development of economy of the nation and help in
generating revenue or employment. Thomas Cook is a British global travel company which was
founded in 1841 and headquartered in London, England, UK. This firm offer various products
such as package holidays, cruise lines, hotels & resorts etc. and provide travel agencies service to
its clients. This report will discussed about the principles of revenue management, managing
budgets and maintain statistical & financial records, HR life cycle and Human resource strategy.
Further will defined about legislation and ethics in travel and tourism sector.
TASK 1
P1. The rationale and principles of revenue management
The rationale and principles of revenue management for travel and tourism sector are as
following:
Overbooking- Thomas cook is British travel and tourisms sector organisation and from a
long time, it provide better services and products to its customers and show its loyalty towards
them by providing quality services to them. The website of this firm is frequently followed by
the consumers cause of overbooking because they do booking in advance. This help the company
in generating more profit and increasing customer base by offering good and better quality
services in future.
Pricing- The company also offer services at reasonable price by designing good pricing
strategy. The company provide good quality services so customers are ready to pay high prices
for taking the services of it. It help in gaining advantages of profit and help in managing revenue.
If the price are high and quality of those services and products are low which are providing by
the organisation then it will not attract more customers.
Market segmentation- For generating huge profit from customers, the management
department of Thomas Cook require to set its targeted consumers. If there are several customer,

it means that the organisation offer number of services according to the customers (Chang,
Backman and Chih Huang, 2014). Segmentation help in making the work profile easy because
with the help of the administration division of the organization can identified the demands of its
targeted consumers and offer employments according to the needs and demands of them. Due to
it, employees of the firm also aware about the customer demands and they create tour packages
and other products and services according to them. It help in generating more profit margins and
management the revenue of the firm.
Historical demand and booking patterns- Now these days people prefer modern tools
and techniques which are useful and beneficial for Thomas Cook for make improvement in its
economic condition in terms of profit (DeLacy and et. al., 2014). By using online facilities such
as online tickets booking, relevant inflammation through applications and discount rates or
others are helpful in attracting number of customers. For example, if the firm provide offer and
discount on its tour packages in off seasons then customers also attract with them and help in
enhancing profitability of the company.
P2. Investigate how a specific sector of the travel and tourism industry applies revenue
management tools
There are different revenue management tools and they are as following:
Channel manager- In Thomas Cook, the channel manager of the company analyse and
monitor all the activities and operations affiliated to the impressions in the business
(Wattanacharoensil, 2014). It help in maintaining all inventory and prices of all the reservations
portals and manage them with the help of single channel manager. It help in online arrangement
with the harmonious aggregation of transmission for attracting consumers and set standards for
other rivals.
Rate shopper- To know the price rate of competitors, Thomas Cook does rate shopper
and design their pricing strategics according to that so that it can attract number of customers.
With the help of this tool, the manger create pricing strategy according to its competitors and
retain in the market for long period of time (Rogerson, 2015). They help the travel and tourism
sector by monitoring the actual price of the services which provided to the clients. This tool not
only help in increasing revenue but also help in increasing sales and earning lot of profit.
Booking engine- It is the software application which can be used by the organisations to
secure online international reservations. It play an important role in travel and tourism sector

because it integrated with PMS and channel manager so that the availability of vacant or
unavailable rooms are automatically updated (Du Cros and McKercher, 2014). It also help in
providing international reservation facilities because it do not require online payments but
welcomes international currency and transaction in the nation.
Property management system- It is a software application for the operations of
hospitality accommodations and commercial residential rental properties. In Thomas Cook, this
software used by the management department of the firm to keep track of profits, expenses and
marketing of properties (Fuchs, Höpken and Lexhagen, 2014). With the use of this software, the
organisation can arrange systematic management to deal with customers who prefer online
booking, collect information related to offers and discount rates etc. so that consumers attract
towards the goods and services and make focus on the products and services which are offering
by the company. It help in creating loyalty and make trust of the customers on the products of the
firm.
TASK 2
P3. Different stages of HR life cycle
There are five stages of HR life cycle, they are as following:
Recruitment- It is the activity of hire a eligible candidate for a empty place. In Thomas
Cook, the firm hire right applicant for the role of assistant HR manager at right place which is
helpful for the company because by utilizing their skills and knowledge, they help in increasing
sales and profit of the firm. To chose talented and skilled employees for the organisation, the HR
manager of the company can use various tools and methods for selection such as interview,
ability test, aptitude text and various others. It help the manager to hire a right person for the
right job at right place.
Education- It refers to the qualification and understanding of the employees. When the
manager hire assistant HR manager then they provide information about the organisational
policies and strategies. In Thomas Cook, for this they organise and conduct orientation program
in which they share information about the company with the new employees.
Motivation- It is a type of encouragement. In Thomas Cook when the employees are
demotivated cause of load of work and other reason, then the manager for the company motivate
them by organising motivational sessions, training program and others so that they can

encouraged and doing their work properly or achieve their target in set period of time (Getz and
Page, 2016). By providing rewards, gifts, extra vacations and others, the management
department of the company motivate its employees.
Evaluation- In this stage, a supervisor is involve to measure the employees performance
who is hire as as Assistant HR manger. In Thomas Cook, the management department of the firm
monitor all the issues and problems related to employees when they are dealiong with customers.
If there are any issues faced by the employees then the manager provide training to them so that
they can do their properly and get effective output (Höpken, Fuchs and Lexhagen, 2014).
Continuous evaluation help in analysing the performance of employees that they are contributing
in the success of the organisation and help in achieving the business objective of the firm.
Celebration- This is the last stage, in which the organisation celebrating the hard work of
the employees. Thomas Cook offer certain perks to to the handwork workers and employees
such as extra pay, incentives, trips, training and others so that they can retain cream employees
which help it gaining profit and attaining objectives.
P4. Develop a performance management plan for a specific travel and tourism job role
Performance management plan
It is a plan is a tool that is used by the organisation to measure the romance of employees
and employers. It is an ongoing process of communication between a supervisor and employee
that occurs throughout the year. There are five stages of this plan, they are mentioned below:
Planning- It is the first stage, in which the management department of the organization
making proper planning related to it business activities, operations and functions. In Thomas
Cook, If proper planning is done then the issues can easily find out and resolve on time. In
tourism industry, the company running in advance respect to the actions of waiters so that
forthcoming mental object and issues can be solved. In it, the stages of HR life cycle can help the
company to identify a skilled and talented candidate which help the company in planning.
Monitoring- It refers to the process of observation and check something over a period of
time. In Thomas cook, the manager of the company analyse the activities and nature of
employees to resolve the problems. Continuous monitoring of activities and operation of an
organisation help in generating security and safety in the minds of customers regarding
organisation and its products and services.

Developing- In Thomas Cook, the administration division of the organization can applied
various theories and models fro motivating employees and retain effective staff. By using
motivation techniques, the business associate can tries to increase performance to attain the set
goals (Höpken and et. al., 2015). If the organisation developing continuous basis then they can
remove the conflicts and make improvement in employees performance. With the help of it, the
firm can retain more customers and enhance the productivity and increase the profitability.
Rating- It is a tool which can be used by the organisation to analyse the performance of
the employees (Kasemsap, 2016). In Thomas Cook, the management department provide rating
to its employees according their performance in the end of the year when the process of
performance appraisal conduct. This process help in identifying skiu8lled employees and retain
them till long period of time.
Rewarding- It refers to a tool and techniques by which the management department
provide motivation to employees and retain them within the firm. In Thomas Cook, there are
various perks and reward that are provided and offered by the company to the employees
according their performance which is analysed through rating.
TASK 3
P5. Legislation that organisations in the travel and tourism industry have to adhere to
There is a set of laws such as safety act, health & safety act, equal pay act and others
which is framed and designed by government bodies. In it, Food act is specifically adhered by
the Thomas Cook UK are follows:
Equality Act- This act is developed in 2010 by the Parliament of the UK with the
purpose of consolidating, updating and supplementing the numerous prior Acts and regulations.
In Thomas Cook, with the help of this act, the organisation supply equal rights to them in
different sector. For example, if the firm appoint two person at same post but at different location
then it provide equal pay to them while they are male of female.
Health and safety act- It was formulated in 1974 by the Parliament of UK for cater
security to workers and leader at workplace. In Thomas Cook, the company follow this act to
provide security to its employees from uncertainty and others. For provide safety and security to
the employees, it provide various benefits to then such as health insurance etc.

P6. Potential impact of employment and contract law on business decision making
Contract act- It is an act which is developed by the parliament of United Kingdom in
1963 to introduced the necessity to give reasonable notice dismissal. It can be describe as a
legally binding agreement that exist between employees and employer (Kasemsap, 2018). This
act is developed for providing protection to employees rights so that the authority of the
company can provide them a reason before dismissing them. For example, If the rights of
employees are violated in any terms then the firm can lead to pay huge penalties. The company
properly provide employees rights to them according to law then the organisation will work
effective an efficient manner and attain its business objectives in set period of time or build a
strong image at market place.
Employment Act- It is a broad area encompassing all areas of all employee or employer
relationship except the negotiation process covered by labour law collective bargaining
(Mowforth and Munt, 2015). In Thomas Cook, the main objective of this act to provide
safeguard against discrimination and unfair dismissal. For example, If the management
department does not provide rights of employees to them then it negatively affect the decision
making in terms of employees turn over and others.
TASK 4
P7. Different types of financial statements and reporting mechanism for organisation
Financial statement are those statement that include necessary content accompanying to
finance and the fund of the administration that invest in the activities and operations of the firm.
Financial statements provide a clear image of the performance, financial position and cash flows
of a business. There are different types of financial statements and they are as following:
Balance sheet- It is financial documents that provides detailed information about the
firm's assets, liabilities and shareholder's equity. In Thomas Cook, when this document prepare
by the management department of the company then most liquid assets are defined at the top of
the balance sheet to show the real image of the business in the market (Rogerson, 2015).

Income statement- It is calculated by subtracting ll expenses taken place during the year
from the sales to arrive net profit and loss (Wattanacharoensil, 2014). In Thomas Cook, the
income statement of the company begins with sales and shows how much revenue earned over a
specific time period and it also report earning per share.

P8. The importance and value of budgets for controlling business performance and identifying
variances
Budget is a fiscal idea for a defined period often one year. It consist planed sales volumes
and revenues, resources, resources quantities, cost and expenses, liabilities, cash flows, assets
and others (Budeanu and et. al., 2016). It is the backbone of each business because without
having finale no business can run and operate or survive twill along period of time in the market.
It is essential and necessary to control the budget so that the organisation can do profit
maximization. There are several kind of budgets which are mentioned below:
Operating budget- It include of all locus and detriment over a time period of time that a
organization, authorities and organisation uses to plan its operations. It is prepared by the
management department in progression of a reporting period as a goal or plan its operations. It
help in providing a clear image to the company regarding the production, labour, sales,
overheads, material cost and others which helps the business associates to evolve laws and
strategies to pull more customers regarding services and survive in the market till long term.
These kind of budget can designed and formulated on the basis of weekly, monthly or yearly to
analyse the argumentation and strategies of competitors.
Master budget- It refers to an expensive business plan of action that written documents
expected future sales, purchases, capital investments, manufacture levels or others to be acquired
and repaid. In Thomas Cook, the master budget considers all other fiscal funds as well as
budgeted financial gain evidence and balance sheet. The management department of this
company frame budget with the combination of assets, sales, operating income and activities
which leads the company to set objectives accordingly (Chang, Backman and Chih Huang,
2014). Mostly, this budget is formulated by big finance companies.
CONCLUSION
From the above information, it can be analysed that travel and tourism industry follow all
the rules, regulations and policies to reduce and avoid any interpretation of government. HR
stages and performance development plan help the company to identifying issues so that
effective result can be carried out. Legislation such as employment and contract act are defined
with the possible effect on business decision making. Different types of fiscal statements and the
importance of budget are explained in the assignment.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
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Chang, L. L., F. Backman, K. and Chih Huang, Y., 2014. Creative tourism: a preliminary
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DeLacy, T. and et. al., 2014. Green growth and travelism: Concept, policy and practice for
sustainable tourism. Routledge.
Du Cros, H. and McKercher, B., 2014. Cultural tourism. Routledge.

Fuchs, M., Höpken, W. and Lexhagen, M., 2014. Big data analytics for knowledge generation in
tourism destinations–A case from Sweden. Journal of Destination Marketing &
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Getz, D. and Page, S.J., 2016. Progress and prospects for event tourism research. Tourism
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Online
Master Budget. 2019. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.myaccountingcourse.com/accounting-dictionary/master-budget>.
Annual Financials for Thomas Cook Group PLC. 2019. Available Through:
<https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/tcg/financials>.