Offer Your Best Deals When, Where And To Who You Want

With the Holiday shopping season here, it’s impossible to ignore the messages constantly bombarding us with offers of deep discounts and special promotions. With so many special offers and discounts available online today, it can be difficult for any size business to keep up and compete. Consumers expect to receive the best value possible for their money and nothing can drive traffic to your website more than an exclusive, targeted online promotion or sale. Today’s online travel business needs the flexibility to define Business Rules that target promotions to any number of specific parameters in order to succeed.

Can your Travel Booking Engine properly handle special sale events like Happy Hour Specials, Early Booking Bonuses or a Last Minute Sale? How about a Black Friday Sale or a Cyber Monday Special? Since these types of Sale events occur on a specific day or time, flexibility in timing promotions and special sales for exactly when you want to extend the offer can be crucial to the success of a promotion.

The world of online commerce continues to evolve rapidly and your online travel booking needs to keep pace or your business will be left behind. Many of today’s Travel Booking Solutions come with the basic Revenue Management Tools that allow for the product price to be adjusted up or down by Supplier for example, but is this enough considering today’s “ Sale Crazy World”? Travel Booking Solutions also need the ability to easily adjust a product’s selling price and value add offers based on the specific day or time of day that a booking is made. Offers can even vary based on a specific set of travel dates, the travel supplier used, the number of days before departure or even the passenger’s age. What about offering a lower price on your website to drive consumers to this cost effective channel to research and make their bookings? Or perhaps you want to charge a service fee when clients use an agent in a call center? An advanced online Travel Booking Engine will allow for you to make price adjustments and extend special offers that target a specific sales channel such as B2B or B2C.

Managing all these criteria with your online booking solution can be complicated unless your application has an advanced Rules Engine to help you quickly and easily manage all these parameters in a single place.

Even parameters like length of trip, origin city and class of service used can impact the price a customer pays and your online travel solution should allow you to define, manage and enforce these Rules quickly and easily. A little time researching and understanding the extent that a Travel Booking Engine can accommodate these different types of business rules can save a travel business an enormous amount of time when it comes to managing it’s online business and can actually help increase sales in the process.

So the time you spend doing a little research to find the right booking engine for your business can save you time and money in the long run and provide you the ability to quickly and easily offer your best deals when, where and to who you want.

Are You Accessing The Best Airfares?

The business of selling airline tickets today is more competitive than ever and agency owners are constantly looking for ways to access the best airfares. Airlines have reduced the standard commission they pay travel agents for published airfares over the past few decades which has forced many travel agents to change the way they do business. Some agencies have given up selling airline tickets all together and now focus on other areas of travel. Those that continue to focus on selling airline tickets have been forced to implement changes to operate their business on lower profit margins and find ways to access the lowest airfares in the market.

Some are able to charge the customer a service fee in exchange for their expertise and service. This is a good example of when the right online Flight Booking Engine can be a valuable tool to define how and when service fees are charged. With the right booking engine, agencies are able to provide today's traveler the industry expertise that only a travel professional can offer combined with the ease and convenience of promoting special offers or added value online.

Other agency owners have looked to Air Consolidators to access the best fares for their Flight Reservation System since many airlines offer reduced Negotiated or Private Fares to Air Consolidators that book high volumes of tickets with them. These fares are usually priced below those made available to the general public and provide the Consolidator and agent the ability to mark up the fares with a service fee and still be competitive with published fares. Some Consolidators even offer a Flight Booking Engine for affiliated agents to cost effectively research and book these reduced airfares online. This can be a “Win/Win” situation for both since the agent is able to offer their customers access to lower airfares while increasing the Consolidator's overall sales volume further with the airline. This incremental sales volume not only helps the Consolidator increase their overall sales revenue, but it also improves the Consolidator's negotiation power further with the airlines in some cases.

Air Consolidators can be a great source to access these low fares and many focus on a specific geographic market or ethnic group. Many travel agents may choose to work with several different Air Consolidators simultaneously and will choose the best Consolidator for a specific market. In some instances an agency may want to designate a certain Consolidator when booking a certain airline. Others may want to check a Consolidator just for possible lower Private Fares and use their own agency's GDS for Published fares. These are just some of the options that can be quite beneficial and cost effective ways to find the lowest airfare available in the market. This is where a Flight Reservation System needs to provide the powerful, flexible tools that allow the agency to control specifically how and when multiple simultaneous searches are performed.

So whether you decide to work with a Consolidator or not, choosing the right Flight Booking Engine can be crucial to the success of your travel business.

In this article author writes about Odysseus Solutions. So whether you decide to work with a Consolidator or not, choosing the right Flight Booking Engine can be crucial to the success of your travel business.

Can One Type Of Booking Solution Serve All Customers?

All online booking engines are not created equal. Today's online booking solution needs to be a mobile booking engine with flexibility in how business rules are applied and where content is sourced. It is also becoming increasingly important for many successful online retailers to have greater control in customizing their travel booking engine's user interface and overall branding.

Let's face it, the internet is full of websites with online booking solutions, many of which look the same and access the same exact content as the others. So how can your travel agency compete and succeed in the crowded online travel marketplace? One way is by offering something different or extra to your customers and incorporating that distinguishing factor into your overall branding.

Online travel booking engines are designed to reduce the time and effort required to complete a booking by automating much of the process. Many of the air booking engines available in the market today offer live access to airline pricing and availability to be sure the most up to date information is used as well as live booking capability to book an airline seat on the spot. However, finding an affordable booking solution that protects your businesses unique brand identity can be a challenge.

The typical "out of the box" online booking engine provides some minimal capability for customization or branding. Some offer the ability to change booking engine elements like headers, footers or even the colors and font used. Others provide the ability change certain features in the template such as adding a customer or membership number, an additional phone field or even a promotional code input box depending upon your specific business needs. Complete private label versions are also available where you can design the complete layout of the booking engine to meet your specific requirements.

There are even XML Booking Engine options for those business owners who want to completely control their own User Interface while taking advantage of the powerful business logic and connections to multiple content sources that an established online booking engine can provide. More than just a "Live connection", an XML Booking Engine can help your business take full advantage of powerful administrative features such as the ability to easily mark up or mark down selling fares and include "value add" offers in the display.

Robust reporting capabilities that can help you easily track and analyze your business are often available. And some XML Booking Engines offer the ability to simultaneously search multiple content sources for the best airfare. There are even a few that can serve as a tool for clients to integrate their own negotiated airfares into some of the most popular online meta search engines. And remember to consider a mobile booking engine so that no matter what device your customers use to research and eventually book their travel plans, your booking engine will be available and ready to help you serve them.

A little research will go a long way when you're looking for the best booking solution to serve all your customers.

Different Customers Require Different Hotel Content

Picking the right hotel is one of the most important aspects of planning a trip. Different types of travelers will look for different features in a hotel. Understanding the different types of traveler is critical to identifying the hotel that meets their specific needs.

There is so much more to booking a hotel room than simply availability and price. Luckily, easy to use hotel reservation software is available to help agents as well as consumers research and book the right hotel based on a customer's individual needs and preferences.

Business travelers may look for a hotel close to the city business center that provides access to conference rooms & business services.Onsite catering and ballroom facilities combined with a large number of guest rooms may be important for those planning a conference or large family gathering. Proximity to sporting venues or concert facilities may be important for leisure travelers looking for a long weekend getaway to support their team or seea favorite artist perform live. And those planning their annual vacation will look for hotels and resorts that offer the activities they enjoy most whether that beeasy access to the Ski slopes or being steps away from the beach.

Just like each hotel is different, so are the different hotel content options available. Many content providers specialize in certain geographic locations or type of hotels, while others may focus primarily on room rates or special amenities. Even travel agency consortia agreements may impact which content provider your hotel booking engine should use to best to meet your customer's needs.

Today's hotel reservation software combines a variety of tools and content to make the process of researching and booking a hotel much easier than even just a few years ago. Most have some type of Geographic Coding to help find a hotel in exactly the right location. You can check a hotel's proximity to anything from a city convention center to a favorite beach.

Searches can be performedby property "star" rating and special amenitiescan even be booked for your guests. For the budget conscious, most have the ability to easily search for a hotel room by price.

If you do plan to compete on price, you'll need to keep a close eye on the market and make sure your hotel booking engine has access to the best room rates at the right hotels. Here the key is for you to identify the provider with the hotel content your customers are looking and negotiate the best price. Hotel booking software with reporting capabilities that help easily track what customers are booking as well as searching for will be helpful with this endeavor. This type of information can be extremely valuable when considering hotel content providers and help you determine what hotels are most important to your business.

The key to success is finding a technology partner that offers a hotel booking engine with the right features combined with the flexibility to access the content your clients are looking for. With a little research, you can find an online booking solution that will have your business working smarter and earning more. 

In this article author writes about Odysseus Solutions. Some of the more advanced hotel booking engine  available today will even track the number of searches made for a specific cruise line or itinerary, helping travel agents identify what their customers are looking for online.  

Why Your Business Needs To Go Mobile

Getting your business noticed in a world overloaded with media messages from every direction is not an easy task today. With some many different devices, offering so many different methods of communication, it's difficult to know where any business needs to be present to reach potential customers. The answer today is EVERYWHERE!

By the year 2020, one of every three adults will be what are commonly referred to as Millennials. This is a generation that grew up being constantly connected and is by far the largest group using social media and mobile technology today. Millennials grew up interacting with each other via email and text messages as well as social media like Facebook and Twitter.

They not only use today's technology to interact with each other, they also use various technology and devices to make a significant number of their purchases online. Many will even use several different devices during the research and purchase cycle. For example, some start their initial research using a handheld device and may switch to a Tablet or Laptop to complete the purchase. Others may exclusively use their mobile device to access a company's mobile friendly website or dedicated mobile App to research and make a purchase.

Simply put, today's consumer demands options in the technology and device they use to research and purchase just about anything. Want to order a Pizza for lunch? There is an App for that! Need to make an airline reservation for an upcoming trip? There is a Travel Booking Engine with a mobile App for that! Just about any business has had to quickly respond to this growing demand and Travel Agents are no exception.

The Travel Agent Software available today provides some of the most innovative and cost effective ways to complete a travel related booking. Whether your business needs an Air Booking Engine, a Hotel Booking Engine or even a Cruise Booking Engine, chances are there's an online booking engine to meet your needs. But you need to remember how important it is for today's Travel Booking Engine to be built using mobile friendly technology so it is accessible via any of the devices today's potential customer may be using.

In addition to providing distribution of your product and services across a range of devices and selling channels, today's Travel Agent Software comes with the tools you need to properly manage your business. These B2B and B2C web based applications are designed to automate processes, increase revenues and reduce time and effort required to complete a transaction. Most include revenue management tools which allow you to control the selling price while providing the ability to offer special promotions. Many have robust reporting tools that track the number of bookings made by each distribution channel. Some of the more advanced Travel Agent Software available today will even track the number of searches made by Origin and Destination from a particular website to help travel agents identify what their customers are looking for online.

Finding a Travel Booking Engine for your travel business is important. Finding a technology partner that will help you reach today's consumer where and how they shop for travel is even more important.

Get Your Sales Cruising!

Cruising has been one of the fastest growing sectors in the travel industry for many years and recent industry figures indicate there is no sign of it slowing down anytime soon. Several cruise lines continue to build larger, more advanced ships and many are adding new itineraries and tour options every day. Savvy Travel Agents continue to make the majority of cruise bookings and earn good commissions doing so.

The popularity of Cruising and the amazing growth the cruise industry has experienced overall have encouraged many travel agencies to switch focus away from other travel products and focus all their resources on selling cruises. Travel Agents can be a great resource for consumers who are trying to choose the right cruise itinerary as well as the right cruise line or cabin type. Travel Agents are even aware of the vast number of special promotions offered by the cruise lines and can help you access the best deals. In other words, they are experts in the cruise industry and have the knowledge needed to help you navigate through the research and booking process.

Today, an online Cruise Booking Engine provides some of the most innovative and cost effective ways to research and book a cruise vacation. Whether a consumer is looking for a quick 3 day getaway to the Bahamas or a two week trip through Europe, chances are there is a cruise line with an itinerary that matches what exactly what they are looking for.

Many consumers start their search for a cruise vacation online, so it is critical that any Cruise Booking Engine contain the information a consumer needs to choose the right cruise vacation for them. Cruise Line, Cruise Ship and Cabin descriptions must be readily available during the shopping process and should be linked to pictures and rich media files for shoppers to view and compare. Detailed descriptions of ship itineraries, ports of call and shipboard activities are also helpful.

Today's Cruise Booking Solution also needs to use mobile friendly technology so it is accessible to potential consumers via any of the devices they may be using to research and book a cruise in today's mobile, online world.

In addition to providing access via a range of different devices, you will want to find a Cruise Booking Solution that comes with the powerful business tools that you will need to properly manage your business. Revenue management tools should allow you to control the selling price while providing the ability to offer special promotions. Robust reporting tools should allow you to track the number of bookings made by each distribution channel. Some of the more advanced Cruise Booking Engines available today will even track the number of searches made for a specific cruise line or itinerary, helping travel agents identify what their customers are looking for online.

Choosing a Cruise Booking Solution can be a critical decision for your travel business. Finding a technology partner that will help you reach today's consumer how and where they shop for a cruise is becoming increasingly more important every day.

The Flight Booking Software Evolution Revolution

The flight reservation system has been around for decades, started many years ago by the major airlines in an effort to automate bookings as their flight networks and number of bookings grew at an amazing pace. Initially these internal systems were used by airline reservation staff to confirm bookings across their vast flight networks, but it was not long before the airlines began offering Travel Agents their own version of these systems. Today's online air booking engines are a result of years of technological evolution and have helped lead the online revolution in selling travel. Today's online booking engines can provide the tools for any size agency's website to compete with even the major online players.

There are a countless number of online travel solutions available in the market today and choosing the right air booking engine for your travel business can be critical decision. You need to identify what type of travel and how your clients prefer to book and decide what content you'll need access to.

You'll also need to consider any alliances or preferred relationships you have with suppliers or other travel agents. Over the years, many travel agencies have been forced to consolidate with another agency or form a closer working relationship with other individual agencies or large Consortia. The ability to expand distribution of an agency's airfares to affiliated agencies quickly and easily is an important tool for many air consolidators in the market today. Most agency owners still want to maintain their own unique company brand with their customers however, so the ability to easily expand the access of your flight reservation system to affiliated agencies while maintaining their individual brand identity can be crucial.

With so many airfares and so many agencies forming alliances, the ability for flight booking software to simultaneously search multiple content sources for the best airfare is a critical advantage for many. In today's competitive market, agency owners need the flexibility to control a products selling price and maintain their competitive edge. Today's travel agency flight reservation system sallow for the selling price to be adjusted based on a wide range of criteria including travel or booking dates, supplier or class of service booked and even based on the distribution channel that the booking is made.

Applications have even kept pace with the consumer trend to use mobile devices to research and book airline tickets. There are Air Mobile Apps available for those travel agencies looking for a dedicated app for their individual agency brand. For those who are simply looking to make their website and associated online booking tools “mobile friendly”, there is flight booking software available that can automatically adjust the screen size and layout of an air booking engine based on the type of device being used.

The time you invest in identifying your product requirements and researching the different options available to you will be time well spent. With technology advancing as quickly as it is, maybe it is time to consider whether your travel technology needs to join the travel booking software evolution revolution.

In this article author writes about Odysseus Solutions. Today's travel agency flight reservation system sallow for the selling price to be adjusted based on a wide range of criteria including travel or booking dates, supplier or class of service booked.

Travel Agent Software Continues To Evolve

Travel Agents remain an important part of the travel industry and have been evolving the way that they interact with Suppliers and Customers along with the rest of the industry. Travel booking solutions such as airline booking engines, hotel booking engines and even cruise booking engines were introduced into the market years ago and have been evolving ever since. The transition to online commerce has been crucial for many agencies to remain in business. The online booking engines available today provide agents or their customers the ability to book just about anything online including an airline seat, a hotel room or even a cruise vacation.

With just a few clicks of a mouse, today's travel agent software can access the information agents or their consumers need to research which particular hotel best meets an individual's needs. Hotel searches can be narrowed to a specific neighborhood within a city, the hotel star rating or price range. You can even research whether a hotel property has banquet facilities, a restaurant or room service. Air travel searches can be specific to an airline, time of day or even class of service. Online searches for cruise vacations can be specific to a Sailing region, such as the Eastern Caribbean, a specific cruise line or cruise ship and even by the cruise length. Cruise ship and cabin photos along with detailed descriptions are integrated into the booking engine to help agents and customers make the right choice. They can even select which seating time option they prefer for dinner or alert the cruise line of a special occasion such as a passenger's birthday or anniversary.

Different types of clients may have different requirements for an online booking engine. For example, the online booking engine needed to service corporate clients can be dramatically different from those for leisure travel. Corporate travel policy may dictate which specific airline, class of service or routing can be used by an individual passenger's position or title within the company. There may be a limit to which hotel chains can be used or the type of room that can be booked. Leisure travelers may look for a tool that's somewhat less restrictive in these areas but perhaps searches multiple content sources to ensure they get the best price for the airline seat or hotel room they decided to choose. Regardless whether a travel agency services corporate accounts or leisure clients, there are travel booking solutions available today that can help automate processes and increase revenues.

Like much of the travel industry, consolidation has forced many travel agencies to merge with other agencies or form new closer affiliate relationships. The ability to expand distribution of your agency's airfares to affiliated agencies quickly and easily can be a powerful tool in today's competitive airfare market. And while many agencies are forming new alliances and joining Agency Consortia, most still want to maintain their individual agency's unique branding with their customers. The travel agent software available today can easily provide the tools for any size agency to compete with the major online players.

In this article author writes about Odysseus Solutions. The travel agent software available today can easily provide the tools for any size agency to compete with the major online players.

Hotel Reservation Software to Fit Your Business

The internet has changed the way the travel industry conducts business and the way hotels are researched and booked today is no exception. However, there are so many options available on the market that it can be overwhelming for many. This is where working with the right travel agent can be important and finding a travel agent with the right hotel booking solution even more important.

Travel agents are a great resource to help consumer's research options and can find the best deal possible and ensure get you the VIP treatment you deserve upon arrival. They are experts in the industry and many have negotiated special deals and amenities for their clients. Many have launched their own online booking solutions that allow you to research and book your travel when and where you want while still enjoying the benefits of using a travel agent.

Hotel reservation software should be easy to use and provide Users the functionality they are looking for. The ability to narrow the Search to a specific neighborhood within a city near a specific point of interest may be important for some. Easily finding the property that includes the specific amenities a client may be looking for such as free internet or perhaps concierge service may be important for others. The ability to find a hotel that has a restaurant or banquet facilities may be key for those planning an event. Hotels offer varying levels of comfort and service, so matching a client with the right hotel is also important. The ability to sort a search for hotel rooms by a particular star rating or the average nightly rate can speed up the process dramatically.

With just a few clicks of a mouse, today's hotel booking engine can access the information to research which particular hotel best meets an individual customer's specific needs. Search for a hotel room by a specific neighborhood within a larger city or by price range and even star rating. You can even research whether a hotel property has free internet, a restaurant or SPA services.

Recent industry consolidation has forced many travel agents to form affiliate networks or join a travel agency consortia, so the ability to extend hotel reservation software to affiliated agencies quickly and easily is key for many. However, most agency owners still want to maintain their own unique company brand with their customers. Here the ability to easily expand the access of an online booking engine to affiliated agencies while maintaining their brand identity can be crucial to the success of launching an online booking engine.

The hotel booking engines available on the market today include links to media files & rich content to assist with selecting the right hotel property during the shopping process. Some applications even use innovative responsive technology that automatically adjusts the screen display layout based on the type of device being used to access the booking engine.

In this article author writes about Odysseus Solutions. So not matter what size your travel agency is, there is a hotel booking engine in the market today to fit your business. 

The Right Travel Agent Software Will Have Your Agents Selling More

The travel business has gone through significant changes over the past few years and travel agencies have had to adjust their business tools along the way. Finding the right travel agent software can help an agency owner get agents trained and selling quicker while streamlining the agencies overall selling process. The travel agent booking engines available today are easy to use and are designed to help agency owners automate processes, increase revenues and reduce time and effort required to complete a transaction.

Today's applications provide an agent view (B2B) for travel professionals to use as well as easy to use consumer views (B2C) for an agency's website. Many use the same application for each view, eliminating any concern an agency owner may have with syncing up passenger records with two separate systems. The travel agent view provides agents using the application with important information such as commission amount, fare basis codes used, etc. While these fields are visible to travel agents using the application, they are hidden to the consumer who would not understand the relevance anyway.

Flexible and Customizable, online booking engines can be easily customized to support each agency's own brand identity and unique selling style. Many online booking solutions include revenue management tools to help an agency owner control the selling price and maximize revenues. The ability to define unique business rules allow an agency to feature special deals and value add offers to their customers and adjust theses offers along the way.

Knowing what your customers are purchasing online is important, but knowing what they are looking for on your website can be even more important. Most of today's online applications include the ability to track bookings made online, but some also have the ability to track specific search criteria, which will show what customers are looking for. This can be valuable information when identifying travel trends and ensuring that you have the right product at the right price available for your agents and customers alike.

The right travel agent software can also enable agency owners to expand their clientele base while reducing their overall operating costs. For example, there is often no limit to the number of users or websites that can access an online travel booking engine and some can even handle multiple languages and currencies to allow travel agencies to quickly expand their business into new markets.

An online booking engine is no longer something that only large travel companies can afford and there is an online booking engine available today to meet the needs of any size travel business. So if your agency needs an air booking engine, hotel booking engine or a cruise booking engine and whether your customer books directly with a travel agent (B2B) -or- they prefer to shop and book online (B2C), there is a travel agent software available to help you service them quickly and easily. All you need to do is find a technology partner that has the tools that your business needs to compete.

In this article author writes about Odysseus Solutions. The added value that a Travel Booking Engine can offer your customers will simply help your travel business build brand recognition and expand the ways that you interact with your customers.

Flexibility Drives the Mobile Revolution

There has been revolution in online commerce and suddenly there are Mobile Apps for everything. The travel industry is no exception, with state of the art mobile apps available to book anything from an airline ticket, a hotel room or even ground transportation. These mobile apps are not just offered by the big online travel agencies (OTAs), but also small and midsize travel companies who have joined the revolution and are now offering a mobile booking engine of their own.

With so many people spending so much time looking at their mobile devices today, just about any website needs to be mobile friendly in order to fully compete in the online market. Many of today’s consumers start their research for travel products using their mobile devices, so it is critical that any online travel website and associated booking engines be mobile friendly as well.

Many online retailers offer more than just a mobile-friendly websites, and several of the small businesses you may interact with everyday probably have their own dedicated mobile apps. Whether it is your favorite restaurant in town or a big online retailer, companies are leveraging the mobile revolution mobile booking engine and making their products available and visible to potential customers at all times.

There are several companies specializing in the development of online booking engines complete with mobile apps for booking travel. There are also some offering the tools for those looking to customize the User Interface of their online booking engine and mobile app themselves. The XML booking engine options that are available today can provide clients all the powerful business logic and processing capabilities that an online travel booking engine requires while allowing for the customization of the User Interface at their own convenience. When flexibility in design and client control of the User Interface are key requirements for your travel business, an XML booking engine may be something you want to consider.

With the average person spending over two hours a day their mobile device, there are added benefits that a dedicated will bring your business when it comes to brand image which you may not have considered.

One of the benefits of having your own dedicated mobile app is the ability to provide your customers with information such as special discounts and promotions right on their mobile device. Plus the fact that each time a user scrolls through their device searching for an app they want to use, your app icon will there for them to see whether consciously or unconsciously!

The added value that a mobile booking engine can offer your customers will simply help your travel business build brand recognition and expand the ways that you interact with your customers. There is no doubt that mobile apps will soon be a standard component of any online retailers business model, the question is when will your online business be ready with the tools you need to succeed? Flexibility is key in today’s online world, so finding a technology partner that can provide the tools needed to revolutionize your travel business is more important than ever!

How Helpful Is A Hotel Booking Engine?

Today you can research and buy just about anything online, and travel is no exception. Whether you are looking to book an airline ticket, reserve a car or make a hotel reservation, chances are there are several places you can go online. This major shift in consumer behaviour has forced many travel agents to adjust the way they interact with their customers.

Let's face it, most people today will start their research online whether they are purchasing a book, a new car or planning a trip. Today's traveller can go online from just about anywhere to research what a destination has to offer, review various flight possibilities, consider hotel options and find things to do during their trip. Whether a traveller is looking for a good restaurant in a distant town or interested in the nightlife a certain city may have to offer, chances are they will be able to find the information they are looking for online.

The right hotel reservation software can allow any size travel agent to compete with the largest online travel company while providing the personalized service that only an individual travel agent can provide. Whether customers book directly with a travel agent -or- they prefer to shop and book online, hotel reservation software is a key tool that any travel business will need in order to serve customers looking to reserve a hotel room quickly and easily.

Finding the right hotel booking engine can help any travel agency automate the hotel booking process, increase their agency revenues and reduce the amount of time and effort required to complete a hotel booking for their customers. The online booking engines that are available in the market today can even be customized to an agency's specific needs and branded to provide a seamless online experience for those visiting an agency website.

For today's traveller, researching and booking hotel accommodations is easy when using an online hotel booking engine. Many are designed with the capability to search the rates and check availability at multiple properties within a given city or location. Most hotel reservation software will include various hotel images and room descriptions to help decide which hotel and room type is best for a specific traveller. Some booking engines even have the ability to search multiple websites to find the best deal at a specific hotel property. The different website options available seem endless and can sometimes overwhelming for many shopping online. Using a travel agent can certainly help, finding a travel agent with the online tools that allow their customers to research and shop for hotel accommodations on line can be even better.

So how important is an online hotel booking engine for a travel agent's customers today? How important is an online booking engine to a travel agency business? I would say very important for those travel agents that are looking to serve the millions of travellers who are already researching, shopping and purchasing their travel arrangements online today.

Make Hotel Bookings Online With Minimal Effort

Today, no online travel solution is complete without a hotel booking engine. Researching and reserving a hotel room is quicker and easier than ever for anyone with access to the internet. With just a few clicks of the mouse, travelers are able to research hotel properties across the globe, check up to the minute room availability and rate information, view pictures of the actual hotel property and even confirm a reservation. Finding the right hotel is an important component of planning a trip and with so many online booking solutions on the market today, it's difficult to know where to go to get the best deal.

Booking with a travel agent has always been a great way to find the best deal at just the right hotel. Not only are travel agents familiar with the variety of different hotels and amenities available, but they can often get you the best deal on a hotel room. Travel Agents can help you get the best rate, extra amenities and even room upgrades. A good travel agent can also help with your entire trip including VIP access to local attractions, restaurant reservations and airport transfers.

Using a travel agency online booking tool can give you the best of both worlds! A travel agency online booking provides the ease and accessibility of an online booking engine combined with the security and expertise you get when booking with a travel agent. Today's hotel booking software can allow any size travel agent to compete with the largest online travel agencies while providing the personalized service only a travel agent can provide.

There are countless online hotel booking engines available in the market today, but the key to success is finding a solution that fits your particular business needs and then developing an online marketing strategy to drive customers to your website. After all, a travel agency can have the best online hotel booking engine available in the market, but if their website visitor traffic is low, so will their bookings! Hotels have been successful driving customers to their website booking engines with guarantees of the “lowest price”, special offers for past guests and even promotional offers. Price is a determining factor for many shopping online, but special value add offers, superior customer service and convenience are also important.

If an agency does plan to compete on price, they need to keep a close eye on what their clients are looking for and ensure that they have access to the best room rates. Some hotel booking software comes with robust reporting capabilities that not only help easily track what customers are booking, but also what customers are looking for. This information can be really valuable when considering relationships for hotel content and help determine what markets and hotel brands are most important to your business. In this case, a little research with a minimal investment can result in significant rewards once your booking engine is in place and you've launched your website marketing campaign.

In this article author writes about Odysseus Solutions. After all, a travel agency can have the best online hotel booking engine available in the market, but if their website visitor traffic is low, so will their bookings!

Air Booking Engines Are Revolutionizing the Flight Booking Process

Gone are the days when making a flight reservation was a time consuming and complex process. Today just about anyone can book a flight quickly and easily using an online air booking engine. Whether consumers use a flight booking engine found on an airline website or one of the many travel agency online booking engines, they are just a few clicks away from having their air travel arrangements confirmed.

An online booking engine can even help travel agencies reduce their overall administrative costs while expanding their customer base and increasing revenues. Some of the more advanced booking engine seven have the ability to simultaneously search multiple sources for the best airfare! Easy to use booking engines for travel agents are designed to allow agents to be trained quickly and get them selling faster. Revenue Management and Reporting tools give an agency owner the powerful controls they need to manage their business.

There's a wide variety of online booking solutions available, the key to success is to find the solution that fits your business and develop an online marketing strategy to drive customers to your website. After all you can have the best online air booking engine available in the market, but if your website visitor traffic is low, your bookings will be low as well. Airlines have been successful driving customers to their websites with promises of the “Lowest Fare” available, special offers for frequent flyers and website promotional offers. While price is a determining factor for many shopping online, value add offers such as insurance, superior customer service and convenience also play a role.

If you do plan to compete on price, you'll need to keep a close eye on what your clients are looking for and ensure that you have access to the best fares. Many travel booking solutions come with rich reporting capabilities that not only help you easily track what your customers are booking, but also what they are searching for. This information can be extremely valuable when evaluating your airline relationships and help you determine what markets and fare types are most important to your business.

Today's traveler has the option to book a flight using a variety of devices, including their mobile phone or tablet. The increasing popularity of air mobile apps has been driven by a population that is always on the move and prefers not to carry their laptop with them. All they need to do today is to download a flight booking engine mobile app on their cell phone and log-in. The mobile phenomenon has taken the travel industry by storm with a significant percentage of air travel now being booked using a mobile device. Mobile apps take full advantage of the powerful features and functionality offered by an online booking engine combined with the convenience of a mobile device. As a result, many of today's' air booking engines have optional air mobile app that can revolutionize any travel business and allow it to cater to clientele on the move.

In this article author writes about Flight Booking Engine. To request an online product demonstration and introductory call visit: Odysseus Solutions.

Add speed to your travel agency with online travel booking engine

Technology has not advanced to the point that travellers can "click" and be at their favourite destination instantly yet, but anyone with an internet connection is just a few clicks away from confirming their travel arrangements using an online travel booking engine. This is great news for travellers and travel agents alike. Travellers are able to research travel options at their leisure and travel agents are able to reach and service more clients quicker and easier.

The introduction of the online booking engine has dramatically changed how travel arrangements are researched and booked. Flexible and Customizable, the online travel booking engine designed by Odysseus Solutions is easily customized to support each client’s own brand identity and unique selling style. The booking engine is hosted by Odysseus, however the header, footer as well as the look and feel are customized to provide a seamless online experience for customers.

The Odysseus travel agent software is both a B2C and B2B booking engine designed to automate processes, increase revenues and reduce time and effort required to complete a transaction. The B2B booking engine is easy to use and allows for travel agents to be trained quickly and has them selling faster. The B2C booking engine can be accessed from anywhere and allows customers to easily research and book travel at their leisure. There are even mobile apps available that are optional "add-ons" to Odysseus Booking Engine. These state of the art mobile apps take advantage of the powerful administrative features that the Odysseus Booking Engine offers combined with the ease and mobility a of using a smart phone or tablet.

For the business owner looking to design their own travel agent software, custom booking applications can be easily developed to meet your specific business requirements. For those looking to simply enhance or update their website so it is more compatible with customers using a Smart Phone or Tablet, Odysseus Solutions offers custom booking applications with innovative responsive technology that can automatically adjust the layout of the booking engine display based on the type of device being used to access a website.

So whether your agents use the B2B booking engine to confirm your customers travel arrangements or you choose to use custom booking applications for your website, an online travel booking solutions can help speed up the service your agency provides customers.

Odysseus Solutions is a Miami based travel technology company providing some of the most comprehensive and innovative online booking solutions available in the market today. Odysseus helps automate processes and increase revenues for customers in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe as well as Australia and is ready to provide you the right online booking engine for your business. Visit Odysseussolutions.com to learn more.

Opportunity to Sell Cruises Continues To Grow

As the cruise industry continues to grow, cruise lines are building newer, bigger ships and many have started to offer new destination focused itineraries. With an annual growth rate of approximately 7%, the cruise industry is booming and represents one of the fastest growing sectors in the travel industry. A recent survey found that more than 60 percent of cruisers were repeat customers and over 85% of those taking a luxury cruise have taken a cruise before. So what attracts so many to book a cruise and plan their vacation on the high seas? Well consider that the purpose of a vacation is to relax and recharge and that taking cruising is one of the easiest ways to travel.

For many, the appeal of taking a cruise is based on the fact that it offers multiple vacation destinations in one. You board the ship, head to your cabin, unpack your things and your vacation has begun. A cruise provides the opportunity to visit multiple destinations without the hassle of checking in and out of hotel rooms or taking away from precious relaxation time to travel to the next destination. With a cruise, you will be enjoying your vacation the minute you step onboard and well before the ship even departs for it's first destination.

And if you think being on a cruise ship will be boring, you should dismiss that idea right now! Today's cruise ships offer so many things to do onboard that spending a day on the ship can be as entertaining as a day of sightseeing. Start the day with a breakfast at one of the many venues on board, squeeze in a quick workout in the ships gym followed by an afternoon sitting by the pool. There are even options for those who wish to get a massage, go rock climbing or attend a dance class. Simply put, a cruise vacation has something for everyone.

With so many different cruise lines and itineraries to choose from, planning a cruise vacation can be overwhelming for many. All too often researching and planning a cruise can be confusing or frustrating for some, but a professional Travel Agent can help sort through the many options available. Today's travel agent software can help agents sort through the different options and travel agents often have access to special deals and promotions. Many cruise booking engines have even integrated cruise line, cruise ship and cabin descriptions along with media files & rich content such as cabin photos, ship images and deck plans to assist in selecting the right cruise package.

Travel agent software that includes a cruise booking engine is a great way for any travel agency to expand into the world of selling cruises. Some of today's cruise booking software even serves as a B2B, B2C and B2B2C web based application designed to automate processes, increase revenues and reduce time and effort required to complete a cruise booking.

With cruising this easy, no wonder the cruise industry is booming. And the easy to use cruise booking software available today makes it easy for any travel agency to expand their business and tap in on this prosperous industry.

There's an App for Everything

Take a good look around and chances are you will see someone looking at their Smartphone. Today's handheld devices have been designed to be so addictive to use and have become an integral part of today's culture. Nearly 65% of adult Americans own a Smartphone and many younger adults and those with a lower-income, depend solely on their Smartphone for access to the internet.

There are currently mobile Apps for just about anything with new apps being developed every day! This phenomenon is driven by the fact that mobile phone use is much higher than personal computers and people tend to use Mobile Apps six times more than a website. People have become so attached to their handheld devices that many check their device an average of once every six minutes. Handheld devices have become an integral part of the way people get their news, shop for just about anything and interact with each other.

With the amount of time that people spend using their mobile devices, it's no wonder that mobile Apps have become such a popular way for businesses to interact with their customers. Nearly 80% of the people with smart-phones use them to make purchasing decisions and over half of them use their mobile device to make a purchase within one hour, compared to one month for desktop users. It's not just consumers benefiting however, over 70% of business owners use mobile Apps daily to run their business and interact with customers and travel booking solutions are no exception.

Booking a Flight? There are hundreds of apps for air booking engines and many of them are much easier to use than calling the airline directly. Many airlines have developed their own mobile apps for customers to book a flight, select a seat, even use as a boarding passes at airports. There are even some airlines complimenting their onboard entertainment by offering passengers the ability to stream video or music directly to their handheld device.

Renting a car? No problem, most car rental companies have launched Mobile Apps that let you reserve a Car rental, but many have developed apps that also allow you to bypass the rental counter and go right to your vehicle and be on your way.

Need a hotel? Most hotel chains have mobile apps for hotel booking engines that allow you to book a room and some even allow you to check in and use your Smartphone to unlock your hotel room door. And once you arrive at your destination, there are plenty of apps that offer maps and points of interest around town. There are even Mobile Apps for cruise booking engines or to help find the closest coffee shop, restaurant or movie theatre.

Travel Agencies were quick to join the “App Revolution” and have been launching their own mobile APPs for customers. Today's travel agent software that include an air booking engine, cruise booking engine, hotel booking engine and more are all available via a mobile devices. There is an App for everything!

Is It Time To Retire Your Legacy Technology?

It is no secret that the travel industry has been focusing more of its resources on e-commerce solutions as more people rely on the internet for booking their flights, hotels and even cruises online. However, many travel companies have had their own, unique challenges developing online booking solutions. A lot of companies are still using travel booking solutions built on legacy technology, which does not allow them to easily add new content or make simple changes to their User Interface.

This is because the architecture used by Legacy systems is not at all like the architecture of today's distributed and layered applications. Business policies and decisions are hardcoded using inflexible, predefined process flows in most legacy systems which makes any integration with Customer Relationship Management systems and Internet-based business applications difficult and sometimes just impossible. On top of that, it is just basically old technology that has become increasingly difficult for anyone to find developers who want to work with applications written in languages that are not widely used in today's technology.

As a result, the Internet revolution is usually the driving force behind a company's decision to switch away from a legacy system. E-commerce sales can save a business time and money making it the most cost effective method for many to deliver products to customers. The “state of the art” technology available today helps software solution providers design, develop and deliver flexible & fully scalable applications that easily grow with any size business. Some even provide the ability to customize the application to maintain a company's own unique brand identity.

Experience has shown that some of the best travel agent software solutions are the result of collaboration. Software Developers, Suppliers and Travel Agents can all provide valuable input to help design and develop the ultimate travel booking engine. Each of these entities play an important role in the process and any solution should meet each of their individual needs.

To serve today's growing number of consumers who use their mobile device to purchase travel products as well as those that switch between devices during the research and booking process, many companies are building applications that use responsive technology. Now, regardless of the type of device a customer uses to access a website, applications built using responsive technology can automatically adjust the screen layout based on the type of device being used.

For those looking to have a dedicated Mobile App, there are several companies designing and developing custom Apps. Some offer mobile applications as an optional “add-on” to an existing Booking Engine while some develop them independently. Either approach offers Consumers the ease and mobility of using a smart phone or tablet. Mobile Apps and mobile responsive technology are no longer for big brand names either. Travel software companies can now provide any size travel agency affordable applications built on the latest technology with the powerful tools to they need to compete with any size online travel business.

So whether your travel business needs an Airline Booking Engine, a Cruise Booking Engine or a Hotel Booking Engine, is sure your travel booking solution is built using the latest responsive technology.

Innovative Cruise Booking Engine for Travel Agents

Years ago, searching for the right cruise and confirming reservation would require a series of phone calls before knowing which cruise lines had which sailings available. Not to mention the different types of cruises available or numerous choices in ships and cabin categories. Today's cruise booking software makes it easy for just about anyone to research and book their cruise vacation online. Cruise line websites may provide customers the ability to research and book their cruise vacations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but are consumers getting the best deal? With so many suppliers offering so many different deals, keeping track of price adjustments and special promotional offers can be overwhelming for many customers and a full time job for many travel agencies.

Travel Agents have always been a great resource to sort through the different options and select the right cruise for their customers. Quite often, a travel agent will have access to special deals with cruise lines and they can often ensure V.I.P. treatment when you get on board. Their help and expertise can certainly can make your trip easier to plan as well as more enjoyable overall.

However with the increasing popularity of the Internet and improvement in technology, many consumers now prefer to research and book their cruise vacations online. This allows them to research and book a cruise when they want from the comfort of their own home. However, there are so many websites that offer cruise vacations and with such a variety of cruise booking software to choose from today, many are just not sure where to go. While technology has made it easier for consumers to book directly with cruise lines, many consumers are missing out on the benefits and perks that using a travel agent can bring. Savvy travel agents recognized the value of combining their expertise with the ease of internet bookings and jumped into the world of online booking engines years ago.

Today's travel agent software makes adding a cruise booking engine to an agency's website easy. Many include a vast amount cruise line, cruise ship and cabin descriptions linked to media files & rich content such as cabin photos, ship images and deck plans to assist in the shopping process. Consumers can go online and view pictures of a particular ship including sample guest cabins, shipboard restaurants and gyms. In some cases they can quickly view where a specific cabin is located on the ship and determine whether it is in the right location.

The cruise booking software available today makes it easy for any size agency to compete with the largest online players. Many cruise booking engines are easily customizable to match an agency's brand identity and provide the features and tools to manage business online.

Online travel booking solutions lead to more profits, but only after careful planning and successful implementation. Launching an online cruise booking engine alone will not guarantee you receive cruise bookings from your own website, you'll need to also implement a solid online business strategy.

Hotel Booking Engines Have Revolutionized Hotel Reservations

Whether you are travelling for vacation or for business, one of the most important part of your travel arrangements are your Hotel accommodations. Selecting the wrong airline seat can be a bad start or end to any journey, but the choosing the wrong hotel room can ruin an entire trip. A hotel serves as your "home base” while travelling and it should provide the atmosphere, amenities and services you'll look for to make your stay as enjoyable as possible. Do you need a downtown location close to restaurants with a business center? Do you prefer to have a room close to the beach with a place to get an exotic tropical drink? Or do you prefer a family hotel near a particular theme park or attraction? Finding the right hotel for a specific trip at the right price can be overwhelming.

The wide variety of different hotel options available combined with the various methods to research and book hotels today provide endless options for travelers. Travel Agents have always been a great resource to sort through the different options and select the right hotel for their customers. Quite often, a travel agent will have access to special deals with hotel properties and they can often ensure you are treated like a V.I.P. when you arrive. Their help and expertise can certainly make your trip more enjoyable and easier to plan.

However with the increasing popularity of the Internet and improvement in technology, many consumers now prefer to research and book their hotel rooms themselves online. This helps them to avoid the hassle of visiting a travel agent's office and allows them to research and book a hotel room when they want from the comfort of their own home. Many hotel booking engines include links to media files & rich content to assist with selecting the right hotel property during the shopping process. Most provide the details, pictures and information about a hotel property to help a consumer research which is the best hotel for their needs. Consumers can go online and view pictures of a hotel lobby, sample guest rooms and even hotel restaurants and gyms. They can quickly view where the hotel is located on a local map and determine whether it is in the right location.

There are so many websites that aggregate hotel content and a variety of hotel reservation software to choose from today that many consumers are not sure where to go. While technology has made it easier for consumers to book directly with travel suppliers, many consumers are missing out on the benefits and perks that using a travel agent can bring. Savvy travel agents recognized the value of combining their expertise with the ease of internet bookings and jumped into the world of online booking engines years ago.

The hotel reservation software available today makes it easy for any size agency to compete with the largest online players. Many hotel booking engines are easily customizable to match an agency's brand identity and provide the features and tools to manage your online business.

Cruise Booking Software has become an important aspect of any travel agency's business

As the various methods that a consumer researches and books travel continues to evolve, today's successful travel business must keep pace with the continuous developments in technology. The right online booking engine can help any size travel agency simplify their business processes and tap into new revenue opportunities such as booking cruises. The Cruise industry has been an area in travel which has undergone explosive growth over the past few decades as more and more consumers discover the benefits of a cruise vacation. Cruise lines have been quick to respond building larger ships and opening up new itineraries.

Some consumers look for “Family” cruises where there are activities for both children and adults. Many successful professionals look for upscale vacations combined with adventure or activity. Experienced travelers want to explore new destinations and do something different. There are even “Singles” theme cruises for those looking to meet other singles. No matter what a consumer is looking for, chances are there is a cruise for them. With so many options to choose from, finding the right cruise can be overwhelming for some. Using a professional travel agent can help save time as well as money when researching and booking a cruise vacation.

As a result of the growing popularity of cruising worldwide, cruise booking software has become an important aspect of any leisure oriented travel agency's business plan. An innovative cruise booking engine can provide users with live connectivity with cruise lines for the latest availability and pricing as well as detailed ship and cabin information connected to media rich content to assist customers shopping for a cruise. Many cruise booking solutions are B2B, B2C and B2B2C web based applications that are designed to automate processes, increase revenues and reduce time and effort required to complete a cruise booking. A good cruise booking solution should include a cruise line information to assist in the shopping process and Live access to Cruise Line content to ensure the most up to date availability and pricing is used.

There are several options available in the market today, including the innovative cruise booking software ready for you to use “out of the box”. Or if you are looking to build your own solution, some companies can provide the critical components used with the booking engine such as a cruise data cache which is ideal for those looking for the latest updates on cruise line pricing and sailing availability in a standardized file format. For those looking just for detailed descriptions and images to assist during the research and shopping process, cruise line static content is also available. This content typically includes detailed descriptions of cruise lines, cruise ships, cabin categories as well as itinerary information. The cruise line static content can be fully integrated with a cruise booking engine or it can sometimes be purchased separately.

Today's technology can provide solutions to allow any size agency to compete with even the largest online players. It's just a matter of finding the solution that fits your business and getting started!

Flight Booking Software - An Effective Airline Booking Engines

One of the most important parts of your travel arrangements are your flight reservations. With so many airlines serving so many different routes it is difficult for the average consumer to know which airline to call. Sometimes it’s an airline’s particular flight schedule that determines which airline a consumer ultimately chooses. Sometimes price is the determining factor. Airline loyalty programs, airline alliance partners and geographic locations can also often play a role.

The wide variety of different airline options available combined with the various methods to research and book airlines today provide endless options for travelers. Travel Agents have always been a great resource to sort through the different options and select the right flight on the right airline to make a trip more enjoyable. Quite often, travel agents can help travelers receive V.I.P. treatment and access to special deals and services. A Travel Agent’s help and expertise can certainly make any trip more enjoyable and easier to plan.

However with the increasing popularity of the Internet and improvements in flight booking software, consumers have embraced technology and increasingly prefer to research and book their airline reservations online. This allows them to research different flight schedules and pricing options available whenever and wherever they wish. Flight reservation systems often include links to detailed flight information as well as access to airline seat maps so seat requests can be made at the time of booking. Today’s applications provide all the information a traveler needs to choose the best flight option.

However, it can sometimes be overwhelming to determine which website to use to find the best deal. Many advertise the lowest price, but the volatility of airfares often makes this a moving target. Some websites provide a “best price guarantee” and some even search multiple websites and show you the different prices for each.

There are so many websites that aggregate airline content and a variety of flight reservation systems to choose from today that many consumers are not sure where to go. While technology has made it easier for consumers to book directly with travel suppliers, too many available options cause confusion and uncertainty where to go. Many consumers are also missing out on the benefits and perks that using a travel agent can bring. Savvy travel agents recognized the value of combining their expertise with the ease of internet bookings and many jumped into the world of online booking engines years ago. Many travel agencies now have travel websites of their own which provide their customers with the ability to research and book travel online, while still receiving the benefits of using a travel agent.

The flight booking software available today makes it easy for any size agency to compete with the largest online players. Many flight reservation systems are easily customizable to match an agency’s brand identity and provide the features and tools to manage your online business. Many include robust reporting capabilities to track your business as well as tools to easily adjust a products selling price and include value add offers. So find the online booking engine that is right for your business and start taking advantage of the multiple benefits it can bring your business.

Online Travel Booking Software benefits for Travel Industry

Online travel booking solutions are one of the biggest benefits that the internet has provided the travel industry. These online booking solutions have revolutionized the way the entire travel industry interacts and conducts business with customers. The travel booking solutions available today have automated and customized the entire booking process while providing comprehensive and innovative travel solutions to different segments of travel industry including online booking engines for Airlines, Hotels and even Cruise Lines.

Many airlines started years ago by automating the process for travel agents to sell flights by launching their own travel booking engine. By using an air booking engine, travel agents were able to greatly improve their productivity when selling airline tickets and provide better service to their customers. Travel agent software has been evolving ever since, constantly adding new features & functionality as well as adding new product lines such as Hotels and even Cruise vacations.

With so many different hotel booking software solutions in the market today, it’s difficult to know where to find the right solution for your business. Most applications are designed to automate processes and reduce the time and effort required to complete a booking. Many include detailed descriptions and pictures of hotel properties to assist with choosing the right hotel.

The online cruise booking engine is one of the latest innovations that allows a travel agent to quickly research and book cruise vacations without waiting on the phone to speak with a cruise line sales representative. These booking engines for travel agents provide up to schedules, availability and pricing to make sure the most up to date information is used during the process. Many booking engines provide “Live” booking capability with a majority of the world’s most popular cruise lines, eliminating any concerns over last minute availability or lost reservations.

Adding a cruise booking engine is a great way for any size agency to quickly expand the type of travel products they can offer to their clients. Built to automate processes, increase revenues and reduce the amount of time it takes to book a cruise, many cruise booking engines are so easy to use that they can have agents selling cruises in no time with minimal training.

The best Travel Booking Solutions software has been developed using state of the art technology, allowing them to deliver fully scalable travel booking solutions that provide the business controls that a client needs to manage their business while maintaining their own unique brand identity.Travel agents are provided powerful business tools to adjust a products selling price or offer a special promotion to their customers. Robust reporting tools tell agents not only what is being booked, but many reporting tools include the ability to check search criteria to see what customers are searching for on your travel booking engine.

So whether you want to add a Travel Booking Solutions to your website or you are looking to expand into the world of selling cruises, there is an online solution that is right for your business. Check out the Odysseus Solutions options and get started today!

Are Your Sales Ready To Cruise?

Cruise is one of the fastest growing sectors in the travel industry today and presents a tremendous opportunity for anyone selling travel. To meet this growing demand from consumers, most cruise lines and even many travel agencies now offer an online cruise booking engine so customers can research and even book their cruise vacations at their leisure.

However with so many different cruise lines and cruise options available today, there's an increasing need for new, more advanced online cruise booking tools. To meet this demand, Odysseus Solutions put together a working group of travel agents, cruise line personnel and software developers to collaborate on building the ultimate solution. The result was the Odysseus cruise booking engine, the most complete and advanced online cruise booking software available today. This online booking engine is hosted by Odysseus, but the headers, footers and style sheets are customized to match your company's individual branding and provide a seamless online experience for customers visiting your website. Designed to automate processes and reduce the time and effort required to complete a cruise booking, this "state of the art" cruise booking tool will help you increase revenues and have your sales "cruising" ahead in no time! .

With so many options to choose from when booking a cruise today, selecting the right cruise ship or cabin type can be overwhelming for many. The Odysseus booking engine helps travel agents and consumers easily navigate their way through this process with the information they need to make the right choice. Vast amounts of cruise line, cruise ship and cabin information are linked to media files & rich content such as cabin photos, ship images and deck plansto assist travel agents as well as consumers during the shopping process. It provides "Live" access to cruise line content, so you can rest assured the most accurate and up to date availability and pricing is used. Powerful management tools even provide you the ability to easily adjust a products selling price as well as advertise value add offers right in the availability display.

So get your company's Sales ready to Cruise and contact Odysseus Solutions today to learn more. Odysseus Solutions is a Miami based travel technology company serving customers in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe as well as Australia by providing some of the most comprehensive and innovative online booking solutions available in the market today. To request an online product demonstration and introductory call visit: Odysseus Solutions.

Sell More Travel with an Online hotel Booking Engine

As more and more travel agents look for new revenue opportunities, they quickly realize that no online travel solution is complete today without a tool to book hotel accommodations. Researching and reserving a hotel room is quicker and easier than ever today thanks to the internet. With just a few clicks of the mouse, just about anyone can research numerous hotel properties across the globe, check up to the minute room availability & rate information, view pictures of the actual hotel property and even confirm a reservation. A hotel reservation is an important part of planning any trip and provides a great opportunity for travel agents to take care of their customer's complete travel needs while earning extra commissions.

With so many different hotel booking software solutions in the market today, it's difficult to know where to find the right solution for your business. Most applications are designed to automate processes and reduce the time and effort required to complete a hotel booking. Many include detailed descriptions and pictures of hotel properties to assist with choosing the right hotel.

CIO Review Magazine recently named Odysseus Solutions one of the 20 Most Promising Solution providers in the Travel and Hospitality Industry. The easy to use Odysseus hotel booking engine was designed with the capability to search rates and availability at multiple properties in a given location and even includes hotel images and descriptions to help decide which best hotel for a specific traveler.

The Odysseus hotel booking application is designed to automate processes, increase revenues and reduce time and effort required to complete a hotel booking. This online booking application is hosted by Odysseus with the headers, footers and style sheets customized to provide a seamless online experience for customers. Complete private label versions are also supported where the complete layout can be fully customized to meet a client's specific requirements.The Odysseus Solutions booking engine allows any size travel agent to compete with the largest online travel agencies while still providing the personalized service only an individual professional travel agent can provide.

So start selling more travel with the online hotel booking application developed by Odysseus Solutions. Odysseus Solutions is a Miami based travel technology company serving customers in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe as well as Australia by providing some of the most comprehensive and innovative online booking solutions available in the market today. To request an online product demonstration and introductory call visit: www.corp.odysseussolutions.com.

Are You Using The Right Air Booking Engine?

With so many online airline booking systems available in the market today, it is difficult to know which one is right for your business. Most applications are designed to automate processes and reduce the time and effort required to complete an airline booking. Many offer live access to airline content to be sure the most up to date availability and pricing is used. However, finding an airline booking solution that protects your brand identity can be a challenge.

The airline reservation system developed by Odysseus Solutions is hosted by Odysseus, with the headers, footers and style sheets customized with your specific branding to provide a seamless online experience for your customers. Complete private label versions are also supported where Odysseus can change the complete layout to meet your specific requirements.

The Odysseus Solutions' airline booking engine provides live access to airline content to be sure the most up to date pricing and availability is used and even has the ability to simultaneously search multiple content sources for the best price. It includes revenue management tools that provide the ability to mark up or mark down a product's selling price by airline, itinerary, class of service, travel dates and so much more. Multiple languages and multiple currencies are easily supported while optional currency exchange management tools can display a single price to customer regardless of the currency the fare is sourced in.

All booking related Email communication uses your agency's email address and logo when communicating with customers and provides easy access to the booking so customers can add things like payment information. Reminders can even be set up to send automatic emails to Customers' as well as Agents based on various parameters including when payment is due. The booking application even provides the flexibility to search by dates, nearby airports, etc. allowing clients to narrow their search criteria. Robust reporting tools provide you the information you need to run your business and include the ability for you to generate graphical reports showing Search and Booking Statistics such as the Top Origin/Destination cities searched and the booking ratio for each.

If you are looking to enhance or update your website so it is more compatible with customers using a Smart Phone or Tablet, Odysseus Solutions offers innovative responsive technology that automatically adjusts the booking engine's display based on the type of device being used to access website.

Odysseus Solutions is a Miami based Travel Technology Company providing some of the most comprehensive and innovative online booking solutions available in the market today. Contact Odysseus and learn how they can help you find the right online booking engine for your business. Visit http://corp.odysseussolutions.com/ to learn more and request a product demonstration.

Do You Have The Right Airline Booking Engine?

The travel industry has been experiencing explosive growth in online sales over the past decade which has made choosing the right online booking engine a critical decision for any travel business. And with online airline ticketsales increasing every year, having the right airline booking engine is more important than ever. Flight booking software can serve as B2B, B2C and B2B2C applications that will automate processes, increase an agency's revenues and reduce time and effort required to complete an airline booking. Applications should be easy to use Easy to Use for travel agents and consumers alike.

Most travel agents look for an online booking engine that allows for the headers, footers and style sheets to be customized to maintain their unique brand identity and provide a seamless online experience for their customers. Complete private label versions are also available for those looking to customize the complete layout of the flight reservation system to match their own specific requirements. There are even state of the art Air Mobile Apps available that allow any agency to expand the reach of their travel booking engine to hand held devices. The most advanced online booking applications utilize responsive technology to provide greater support of various mobile and tablet screen sizes so customers can easily view and navigate through the booking process regardless of the device they are using.

Many airline booking engines provide “live” connectivity with airlines to be sure the latest pricing and availability is used. Some airline booking software even has the ability to simultaneously search multiple content sources for the best price, allowing our clients to combine their own content with content from one or more sources.

The revenue management tools that booking software includes is an important factor that can vary greatly. Most include the ability to simply adjust a products selling price, but it is the level of flexibility in setting up these business rules where systems can vary tremendously. Most have the ability to mark up or mark down a product's selling price by airline, but some go much further to include itinerary, class of service, dates and much more.

Reporting capabilities are also an important factor to track your business and help you make adjustments along the way. Who are your top producers? What are the top origin and destination city pairs your customers are searching for? Do you have what your customers are looking for? Some applications include robust reporting capabilities that not only allow you to track your bookings, but some even include search statistics that will quickly and easily let you know what clients are searching for on your website. This can be valuable information to consider when reviewing any negotiated fare agreements with airlines.

With so many options available in the market today, it is important to choose the travel booking solution that is right for your business. So best for you to do some research and find the right airline booking engine for your business. You will be glad you did.

Online Travel Solutions Revoluntionize The Reservation Process

Online travel booking applications are one of the biggest benefits that the internet has provided the travel industry. These online booking solutions have revolutionized the way the entire travel industry interacts and conducts business with customers. Today, anyone with access to the internet is just a few clicks away from being able to research and book their own travel arrangements. The travel booking software available today has automated and customized the entire booking process while providing comprehensive and innovative solutions for different segments of the travel industry. There are solutions to book travel available today that will automate the shopping and booking process for any travel component including Airlines, Hotels and even Cruise Lines.

The airlines started this trend years ago by automating the process for travel agents to sell flights by launching their own booking engines for travel agents. By using an airline booking engine, travel agents were able to greatly improve their productivity when selling airline tickets and provide better service to their customers. Travel booking solutions have been evolving ever since, constantly adding new features & functionality as well as new product lines such as Hotels, Ground Transportation, Travel Insurance and even Cruise Vacations.

Applications that are easy to use and contain the information a travel agent or consumer needs to research the options available are critical to success. For example, finding the right hotel based on an individual’s specific needs is an important part of planning any trip, but can be overwhelming with so many options available. To help simplify this, many hotel booking engines integrate links to media files & rich content to assist with selecting the right hotel property during the shopping process.Online cruise booking engines allow anyone to quickly research and book cruise vacations with many containing detailed ship and cabin descriptions as well as photos to help in the shopping process.

These easy to use online booking engines are built to automate processes and reduce the amount of time it takes to make a booking and can have agents selling quickly with minimal training.Some booking software can also extend booking capability to an agency’s website, allowing customers to research and book travel when and where they want, while still receiving the benefits of using a travel agent.

With so many options available in the market today, it is important to choose the solution that is right for your business. Some things to consider include the type of products you plan to sell (i.e. airlines, hotels, cruise, etc.), the source you plan to secure your content from (i.e. GDSs, Consolidators, Direct, etc.) and the ability to protect your brand identity. You will also want to consider which selling channels you plan to use (i.e. B2B, B2C, B2B2C ) as well as any future expansion plans you may have for your business.

So start using an online Travel Agent Software solution and revolutionize your reservation process, both you and your customers will be glad you did.