Travel technology continues to evolve at lightning speed and has significantly impacted the way that Suppliers as well as Travel Agents attract and interact with customers. In today's world, travel technology solutions are a key element to the success of any travel business whether a small to medium size traditional retail agency or one of the large online travel agencies (OTAs) that dominant today's online travel market.
Many "out of the box" solutions do not have the flexibility needed and are too generic for many businesses. A custom built application can be expensive to develop and maintain putting them "out of reach" for most except for the largest companies. When considering online travel booking engines, look for one that automates processes, has the business rule features you need and is easily customized to support your unique brand identity.
When trying to reach a limited amount of targeted customers, the traditional method of face-to-face meeting at a retail travel agency location or speaking with an agency call center is usually enough and in some cases can help strengthen the relationship an agency has with their customer. A good travel agent does more than just "take travel orders", they are a resource that can assist with making the right choices for a trip and can often provide access to special deals and amenities. They can help today's traveler avoid making a disastrous mistake with their travel arrangements and can often help make them feel like a VIP during their trip.
Whether your customers shop online or through a retail travel agency, travel technology plays an important role in their interaction with your business. The best applications provide both Business to Business (B2B) capabilities for retail travel agents and call centers as well as Business to Consumer (B2C) to serve those customers shopping online. But there is more to selling travel online than having a website, there are travel technology solutions available today that are built using responsive technology. These mobile ready applications automatically adjust their display based on the type of device being used. A critical feature to reach the growing number of consumers addicted their mobile devices.
The right technology solution also plays an important role in setting a business up for future expansion. Whether that be through organic growth, reaching out to a new ethnic markets or expanding into a new geographic region, your travel technology needs to be ready to expand with your business.
Look for applications that are designed to meet the unique requirements of Global Marketplaces and can easily handle multiple currencies as well as multiple languages. However, going global involves a lot more than language or currency since each market can have it's own requirements and set of local supplier content that is critical to success there. You'll want to find a global application that has worked closely with customers and suppliers to localize the product including access to that specific local content critical to the market.
Finding travel technology with the right combination of options for your business can be critical to the success of your travel business. Finding a technology partner with solutions to help you reach today's mobile consumer where and how they shop for travel can be just as important.
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