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.