Wednesday 21 December 2016

Flight Booking Engines Need Content And Features



As online travel technology solutions continue to advance, more and more people are using some type of Flight Booking Engine to research and book their air travel arrangements. Whether looking to just book airline tickets for a business trip, to visit friends or the annual family vacation, there are online air booking engines available that can help guide just about anyone through the entire research and booking process.

There are countless airline reservation systems and booking engines in the market today. A little research up front about the options available will save you a lot of time and aggravation in the long term when choosing the best application for your business. There are airline booking systems designed to meet the requirements of just about anyone selling travel online, finding the one with the right combination of content sources, price and product features for your business is the key to success.

It is always a good idea to start with evaluating the way you currently make airline bookings and identify any improvements that can be made there. Is your business operating as efficiently as it could when making airline reservations? Is your product priced competitively and easily available for your clients to book? Has your technology kept pace with your competitors?

As consumers continue to shift just about all their purchases to online sales, you may want to make sure your online booking engine is mobile ready so you can avoid the need to develop a separate, expensive dedicated Mobile APP in the future. For this you will want to make sure the Flight Booking Engine you choose is uses responsive technology that will automatically adjust the screen size based on the type of device being used.

Next, consider how your customers like to research and book their airline reservations. Whether your customer prefer to research and book their flight arrangements online or speak with an experienced travel professional, a Flight Booking Engine should be designed to make it quick and easy to use for travel agents and customers alike. The application should be a simple design that does not require the user to input or remember complicated GDS formats. Researching and booking an airline ticket online today should be as easy as just a few clicks of the mouse.

Access to live pricing and availability is key in order to ensure your customers are being provided the most accurate and up to date information available. Access to the best content and price can be critical in today's price driven marketplace, so an airline booking engine that can simultaneously search multiple content sources live for the best price can be extremely valuable feature to have.
You will also want to ensure that any application you choose provides the business management tools that you will need to properly control and manage your business. At a minimum you'll need the ability to adjust the selling price as well as offer targeted sales promotions or include "value adds" to customers using your services.

Identifying the right combination of content sources and product features for your Flight Booking Engine can be a critical decision, finding the right technology partner can be just as important.

Tuesday 20 December 2016

Consider A New Hotel Booking Engine for The New Year



The Holiday season is the time of year when we look back at all that has happened during the past year. We consider the high points along with the low points as we reminisce about our success and perhaps moan about where we might have fallen short or experienced failure. It is also the time of the year when we make those new year resolutions to improve ourselves and our personal lives. We sign up for Gym memberships to get ourselves in better physical shape, enroll in educational courses to learn a new language or how to cook that perfect meal. Some even take the opportunity to reorganize or redecorate their surroundings while taking down the holiday decorations. The new year provides a sense of a fresh start and is a great time to get things in order and make those some changes to improve our personal lives.

It is also a perfect time to evaluate the way you conduct business and see what improvements can be made there. Is your business operating as efficiently as it could? Are you offering the products and services that your clients are looking for? Has your technology kept pace with your competitors?

First consider whether you are offering to help your clients make all their travel arrangements. If you are selling your client an airline ticket for a quick business trip or a week's long vacation, chances are they are going to need to book a hotel as well. So, access to a hotel reservation system is something you may want to be sure to consider. Check if it includes access to links to media files & rich content to assist with selecting the right hotel property during the shopping process. Make sure the can the application be customized to match the "look and feel" of your company's branding.

Then check to see if you are serving your customers via the channels they prefer. For today's customer on the go, a mobile ready Hotel booking engine is an option you may want to include. Many consumers use different devices as they research and eventually purchase products online. For instance, many start their initial research using their smartphone, but switch to a Laptop to complete the purchase. Others will choose to use their handheld device exclusively. Either way, the hotel reservation system you use needs to be ready to serve these customers on the device they choose.

And lastly, you will not want to overlook how the hotel booking engine you are using has kept pace with the latest developments in technology and allows you to easily expand your business.

If you plan to participate in the Global Marketplace, you'll need a hotel booking engine that can easily handle multiple currencies as well as multiple languages. Look for "state of the art" applications that are flexible & fully scalable and will easily grow with your business.

Identifying a hotel reservation system with right combination of content and product features for your hotel booking engine can be a critical decision for your travel business, finding the right technology partner can be just as important.

Monday 19 December 2016

The Airline Reservation System Puzzle



An airline's internal systems often come together like huge technology puzzle that tightly fits multiple pieces together to form a complete picture. The applications required to operate an airline are vast to say the least and are required to quickly perform multiple functions. Systems must be accurate and easy to use and may include important functions such as departure control and In Flight systems, passenger reservation systems the distribution of airline schedules and fares. Access to seat & meal selection, interface with frequent flyer programs to access special fares or onboard amenities are all things that need to be considered.

The airline reservation system is one of the most important pieces of an airline's "technology puzzle" and the flexibility for it to interface with an airline's distribution network easily has been a priority for most airlines for years. Many of the older legacy systems used by some airlines quickly became outdated forcing them to migrate to newer and more flexible platforms requiring significant time and resources.

The same is true for many traditional as well as online travel agencies. Having the right airline reservation system can be central to your business. Whether you are selling one of your clients a hotel room for a business trip, a week's vacation at a resort or even a cruise, chances are they are going to need to book a flight to make their travel arrangements complete.

For today's price driven customer, make sure you have access to the best value and price. Your online booking engine must be able to search the best sources for content quickly and cost effectively in order for you to offer a competitive price. You will also need the ability to easily adjust the selling price and perhaps include value add offers right in the fare availability display. Accessing low rates offered by air consolidators is one great way to ensure you are accessing the best fares for your clients. Since many air consolidators specialize in specific markets or destinations, you may look for an airline booking engine that allows you simultaneously search multiple air consolidators for the best fares.

Travel agents can be a great resource to consumers trying to make sense of all the options available and find the best deal possible, so make sure your agents have the expertise and tools to provide the topnotch service that only a professional travel agent can offer. It helps to negotiate the best deals possible with the airlines and promote any special deals or amenities that are available. Travel Agents can make sure a consumer gets the best deal and make sure your clients get the VIP treatment they are looking for. Make sure the airline reservation system your applications use allow your agents and clients to select seats, request meals and add loyalty program information to airline reservations.

Identifying the right combination of content and product features for your air booking engine can be critical for your travel business, finding the right technology partner can be just as important.