RCI, the timeshare exchange and travel organisation, has retained the accolade of Call Centre of the Year - Large Agency and picked up the additional title of Best Leisure Air Seat Retailer of the Year - Large Agency at the travel industry's 2003 Agent Achievement Awards.
Over 80 finalists from all over the UK took part in the awards held at a ceremony at the London Hilton Hotel on April 6. Nominations for 33 award categories were submitted from across the industry and judged by a panel of specialists in each field. RCI was also a finalist in the Travel Agent of the Year - Central England category. RCI's award-winning call centre is based at its UK HQ in Kettering, Northants, where a dedicated team of around 60 travel agents help service the holiday needs of its 200,000 member families. In addition to its core exchange and travel business, RCI acts as travel agency for a number of banks in Europe, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank and Lloyds TSB in the UK, for whom it sells the full range of holiday products, including leisure flights. Paul Carter, vice-president - Travel, RCI Europe, commented: "We are absolutely delighted to receive these prestigious awards and would like to thank all of our key travel partners for their continued support. "RCI has now been recognised as Call Centre of the Year for two consecutive years. We attribute this to our large investment in new technology and comprehensive staff training, enabling our agents to deliver a consistent, world-class service to our customers. We are part of Investors in People and have one of the best records for staff retention in the industry. Our commitment to our employees has resulted in a steady growth in package holiday, car rental and leisure flight sales." As part of the Cendant group of companies, which includes Galileo, RCI is in a strong position to capitalise on group synergies. A considerable investment is committed during the next 18 months to cement RCI's position as a leading leisure travel agency focusing primarily on new mid- and back-office technology. This will include the introduction of the latest dynamic packaging technology to enable agents to build customised travel packages, and enhancements to the travel Internet site. RCI is a global provider of leisure travel services to businesses and consumers. It is the market leader in holiday property exchange, rental, and resort management.