Hudson Fare Files 103 – Alternate Fare Files Beginning Fare File Management Hudson Fare Files 103 – Alternate Fare Files Rev. 8/15

Creating and building fare files for the Hudson Ground Transportation System (HGTS) is one of the first and most important tasks you will undertake when migrating to the HGTS suite of applications. It is the foundation for the pricing of all the services you will offer to clients and is where much of your revenue will be generated.

In this 3rd fare file orientation program we will be dealing with the configuration of Alternate Fare Files. Setting up Alternate Fare Files is nearly identical to the process covered in the first session, Fare Files 101 where we reviewed how to setup: Fixed Airport rates These are the base prices only that you will charge to travel between a city, town, zip code, hotel, hospital, school, business, or any other location you service and the airport, train, bus or cruise terminal.

What is an Alternate Fare File? An Alternate Fare File is nearly identical to a Default fare file; used to manage the prices for fixed rates charged to / from an airport. Why would I need an Alternate Fare File? This fare file can be used to provide different pricing for from one to many Group Profiles where the rates cannot be adjusted by configuring a discount percentage inside the profile (which is the preferred method). continued >

Additionally, an Alternate Fare File can be temporary and smaller than a default fare file. It can be used to provide short-term and unique pricing for a convention or conference and where travellers should only have a few locations to select from (though there are also ways to restrict travel locations within a Group Profile).

Is there a reason I should NOT use an Alternate Fare File? Alternate Fare Files designed for long-term pricing become additional files that need to be edited, updated, imported and uploaded. If you provide service to multiple airports, you may need to create an Alternate Fare File for each airport. Though they provide flexibility with custom pricing for Group Profiles, their use is generally discouraged by Hudson unless other pricing options will not work due to the time required to manage them.

Though you will probably remember this key point from HGTS Fare Files 101, let’s quickly reiterate…

When following the steps that appear on the next several pages, you will not include any surcharges, taxes, fees or discounts whatsoever. All of these items, referred to as Fare Components, will be dealt with later. At this time, you will only be entering BASE FARES into your fare file.

For this presentation we will assume that this is the 1st Alternate Fare File you are creating. If it is the second, third, etc., just remember to substitute that value for the places where we refer to the number ‘1’. First Step: Create a copy of your default fare file. Locate and open your primary airport fare file e.g. msyfares.csv. Typically it will be located on your network in \\<ServerName>\Hudson\CSVs

With the file open, click File > Save As from the menu bar of your spreadsheet application. Give the Alternate Fare File the same name as the default, but add a ‘-1’ to the end (e.g. msyfares-1) and save it as a *.csv formatted file, and saved to the same location as the main or default msyfares.csv.

With the msyfares-1 file now open, locate Column D: Fare Table ID With the msyfares-1 file now open, locate Column D: Fare Table ID. For every record in your Fare Table, insert a ‘1’ in this field. Copy and paste for the quickest way to update a large number of records.

Save the changes to your msyfares-1. csv Save the changes to your msyfares-1.csv. Second Step: Remove Unwanted Locations. If this fare file is going to be used for a conference, convention or similar, and members of the group(s) should only see a few locations, you may highlight any and all rows of locations that will not be needed and delete them. While not necessary, it will make the file a little easier and quicker to manage or edit.

Third Step: Edit your fares For every location where the fare for the group(s) that will use this Alternate Fare Table needs to be changed, locate the appropriate service and passenger columns and adjust (up or down) the fare to the base fare that is desired.

Repeat the process for your remaining services… Continue reading horizontally across the columns, entering in the fare values as we have practiced and according to the type of services you are offering. TIP 1: Save Often! You will spend a fair amount of time working on these fare files and don’t want to lose them. Save them every 5-10 minutes or so.

Import your Alternate Fare File Following the guidelines in HGTS Fare Files 102 presentation, import the new fare file into your Hudson local system.

Group Profile Management Now that you have built and imported the Alternate Fare File, you need to modify any Group Profile(s) that will use these fares.

Open HGTS Agent and look for a Group Profile that will be using these fares. Once you have the profile dialog window open, select the tab labeled Res Preferences.

At the bottom of this tab are two places to set: Fare Table Preferred Fare Table

Adjust the drop lists so that the ‘number’ of the Alternate Fare Table to be used is displayed. In our case, we are using msyfares-1 so we will put a ‘1’ in both of these lists.

If this Group Profile is used on the Web reservation system, you should export the profile changes to the web. With the Group Profile dialog open, select Tools > Update the Web

If prompted for which sites to upload to, select the appropriate site(s) or select ‘All’ and then OK. A dialog window will show the results of the upload process.

If you exported your changes to the web, then you were already prompted to save the changes to your profile. If you did not export the changes to the web, save the changes to your Group Profile. Repeat the process for other Group Profile(s) that should use this Alternate Fare File.

One last step before testing : If needed, don’t forget to upload your Alternate Fare File to the Web system. Following the instructions in HGTS Fare Files 102, upload the fares, but be sure to set the Table ID value so it matches the ‘-1’, ‘-2’, etc. in your fare file name!

You are now ready for testing You are now ready for testing! Start your HGTS Agent Application by first looking up and launching from the Group Profile you just revised. Proceed with a test reservation. You should only see the short list of locations in your Alternate Fare File (if you removed locations) and should see the adjusted fares you entered. Repeat the test on your web system as appropriate.

Congratulations! This should be sufficient to get you started building your Hudson Alternate Fare Files! Becoming familiar with this process is very important as it is one you will use to update fares and service options as your company and system expands and grows.

For more information: Consider looking at the Hudson KnowledgeBase for additional support articles and information: http://kb.hudsonltd.com/ If you have questions or need assistance, we are always available to you! www.TheHudsonGroup.com