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!