Content is Key to Selling Cruises

The growing popularity of cruising worldwide has made selling Cruises an important part of any leisure travel business plan. The Cruise industry has been one of the fastest growing sectors of the travel industry and there are still opportunities to take advantage of this growth with cruise booking solutions that can help you maximize the profits selling cruises can bring.

It seems like year after year the cruise lines launch newer, larger ships as they try to set their brand apart from the competition with different ship features and onboard services. Some have added waterslides that cascade down several decks into a pool creating a waterpark atmosphere. Specialty restaurants offering exotic cuisine and cocktails made by a professional mixologist and served on a bar made of solid Ice can be found on others. There are even ships with a place to take a walk and spread your toes out on an actual live grass lawn while in the middle of the ocean. There are so many different ships and options available that finding the right fit can be a bit overwhelming for many.

An experienced travel agent can play an important role in matching a cruise passenger with the right cruise ship or itinerary and the growing popularity of cruising worldwide has made the selling of Cruises a central role in leisure travel. Whether your agency sells the Air & Sea cruise packages offered by the cruise lines or a complete cruise vacation that has been bundled by a tour operator or individual travel agent, the way that cruise vacations are researched and booked continues to change as technology evolves. To be successful, you'll need to take advantage of the powerful cruise booking solutions available today.

The best cruise booking engines provide users with live connectivity with cruise lines for the latest availability and pricing to ensure the most up to date information is provided. Depending upon your business, you may need the capability to access cruise groups and special fares like Military or Senior rates. Having the right content available at the right price for your client's specific needs can be critical to your success. The different content sources available are NOT equal and can vary dramatically when it comes to speed and functionality, so content source is an important area to focus on when evaluating cruise booking solutions.

You'll also want to consider a cruise booking engine that includes detailed ship and cabin information connected to media rich content to assist both travel agents and customers shopping for a cruise. After all, if a picture is worth a thousand words … pictures of a sample cabin can give a far better idea than a few words. This content should be integrated into the shopping and booking process and include links to important information such as individual ship deck plans and photo galleries to give the user a better idea of what the ship has to offer.

Choosing a cruise booking solution with the right combination of options for your travel business can be a critical decision. Finding a technology partner that will help provide you with the right content to sell cruises can be just as important.

Remember to Include Hotel Reservations

Hotel companies and large online travel agencies were early to embrace attracting online customers and were pioneers in travel e-commerce. Unfortunately for many hotels, price integrity quickly became a challenge as the race to embrace e-commerce began. Suddenly hotels realized that the hotel reservation software available at the time limited their ability to differentiate their brand or the features a particular hotel property offered from the competition. Consumers were going online in droves to find the best deals and suddenly the lowest price became a determining factor in whether they even noticed a particular hotel in the crowded display.

Hotel companies were quick to react and developed hotel reservation software with access to information & rich content. This not only helped them distinguish their Brand from their competitors, but also assisted online shoppers with finding which particular hotel is best for them. The ability to search for a hotel room by a specific neighborhood within a larger city or by price range and even star rating. Detailed information about whether a particular hotel property has free internet, a restaurant or SPA services was integrated into hotel booking engines. And the rich media content provided the shopper a "preview" of the experience they could expect at a particular hotel. Hotels offer varying levels of comfort and service, so matching a client with the right hotel is important. The wealth of content and information hotel booking engines make available help strengthen and expand online business with consumers.

Somehow in the middle of all the commotion however, many consumers overlooked the benefits of working with a professional travel agent and went online themselves. But using a travel agent can ensure a consumer gets the best deal possible and the VIP service they deserve upon their arrival. Many are hotel experts and have negotiated special deals and amenities for their clients.

A Custom Packaging tool can allow travel agents distinguish the product they offer online further by tailor making a travel itinerary to be sold as a package. This can help increase overall hotel sales and be a valuable tool in setting an online travel business apart from the competition. Dynamic Packaging products are another tool becoming increasingly popular. These are typically an extension of an existing Booking Engine designed to allow Users to package and book cruises, flights, hotels and other travel products in real time.

And remember e-commerce today is not only "online", it is also "mobile". The best hotel booking engines use innovative responsive technology that will automatically adjust the screen size and display layout based to match the type of device being used. Hotel software should be easy to use and provide Users the functionality they are looking for. And since most travel reservations are not complete without a hotel reservation, it can be said that no travel booking solution is complete without mobile ready hotel reservation software.

But no matter what type of travel you sell, choosing a travel technology solution with the right combination of content and options for your business can be a critical decision. Finding a technology partner that will help you reach today’s mobile consumer with the content they are looking for can be just as important.

The Airline Reservation System of Today

The days when making a flight reservation was a time consuming process are long gone. Today, anyone can book a flight quickly and easily using an online booking engine. Whether consumers use an airline reservation system they find on an airline website or one of the many online travel agencies, they are just a few clicks away from having their airline reservation confirmed. Today's online booking engines are easy to use and can help a travel business owner reduce their overall administrative costs.

Today's consumer can purchase just about anything using a variety of mobile devices including their travel arrangements. The increasing popularity of mobile applications has been driven by a population that is always on the move and prefers not to carry their laptop with them. All they need is their mobile phone. The online travel applications available today are designed to take full advantage of the many powerful features and functionality offered by an airline reservation system. These easy to use booking engines allow new agents to be trained quickly and has them selling faster. There are even solutions for those who want to control their own User Interfaces while still taking advantage of the innovative technology offered by some of the most powerful booking engine's available.

To serve the multiple travel distribution channels used today, there are Business-to-Business (B2B) solutions for Agents, Business-to-Consumer (B2C) solutions for Customers, and even Business-Business-Consumer (B2B2C) solutions to extend an agency's business to include outside Agents looking for their own web presence.

The travel booking engine you use should be integrated with an airline reservation system that provides access services and amenities like interactive seat maps so passengers can easily select their seat, request special services or make their onboard meal selection in advance. And customer loyalty programs have become so popular with travel suppliers that it is important to include a customer's loyalty program ID with the reservation.

Business Management Tools are another critical feature to consider. Revenue Management tools to help an agency owner control a products selling price and offer targeted promotions or special offers can help set your business apart from competition with unique offerings. The ability to integrate your own marketing message right in the booking engine's availability display or adjust the selling price based on how and when the booking is made can be quite powerful when competing with today's online world.

Online booking engines with dynamic packaging tools have become increasingly popular as consumers look for a single source to satisfy all their travel needs. Online dynamic packaging solutions are often an extension of an existing booking engine designed to allow agents as well as consumers to package and price cruises, flights, hotels and other travel products in real time. Custom Packaging solutions allow agency owners to custom tailor a travel package in advance to be sold online.

Choosing an airline reservation system with the right combination of options for your travel business can be a critical decision. Finding a technology partner that will help you reach today's mobile consumer can be just as important.

Time to Upgrade Your Travel Booking Engine ?

The travel industry has been focusing more and more of it's resources on e-commerce solutions as more people rely on the internet for booking their travel arrangements. Some travel companies however have had unique challenges designing and developing their own online booking solutions. Many of the major travel suppliers have been stuck using solutions built on legacy technology that prevent them from easily add new content or make a simple change to their User Interface.

This is usually because the architecture used even a few years ago to build a travel booking engine is not at all like the architecture of today's distributed and layered applications. Business policies and rules are typically hardcoded using an inflexible and predefined process flow in most legacy systems. This old approach makes any integration with external systems and Internet-based business applications difficult or just impossible. On top of that, this old technology that has become increasingly difficult for anyone using it to find developers who want to work with applications written in languages that are not widely used in today's technology.

E-commerce sales save a business time and money making it the most cost effective method for many to deliver products to customers. As a result, the Internet revolution is usually the driving force behind a company's decision to switch away from a legacy system. The “state of the art” technology available today helps software solution providers design, develop and deliver flexible & fully scalable applications that can 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 the best travel booking engine is the result of collaboration. Software Developers, Suppliers and Travel Agents can all provide valuable input during the design phase to help develop the ultimate solution. Collaboration with customers and suppliers is crucial when developing a travel booking engine since each of these entities play an important role in the process since and any solution needs to meet their individual needs.

Many travel companies are building travel booking solutions that use responsive technology to serve today's consumers who use their mobile devices to purchase travel products. Now, regardless of the type of device a customer uses, applications built using responsive technology can automatically adjust the screen layout based on the device being used. For those looking to have a dedicated Mobile App, there are several companies designing and developing booking engines with custom mobile Apps. Travel technology providers can now offer any size travel agency affordable applications built on the latest technology with the powerful tools to they need to compete online. So whether your travel business needs an air booking engine, a cruise booking engine or a hotel booking engine, be sure your travel booking solution is built using the latest responsive technology.

Choosing a travel booking engine with the right combination of options for your business can be a critical decision. Finding a technology partner that will help you reach today's mobile consumer can be just as important.

Travel Technology Solutions Vary

Today's best travel technology solutions are designed serve multiple sales distribution channels. There are Business-to-Business (B2B) solutions for Agents to use, Business-to-Consumer (B2C) solutions for Customers shopping online, and even Business-Business-Consumer (B2B2C) solutions that allow an agency owner to extend their reach to include outside Agents looking for their own web presence. And there are applications designed to book all types of travel components.

Online air booking engines can help your travel business increase revenues while reducing the time and effort required to complete an airline booking. Some even have the ability to simultaneously search multiple content sources for the best price. Revenue management tools can mark up or mark down a product's selling price by airline, itinerary, class of service, dates and more. And some airline reservation systems even provide access to services and amenities like interactive seat maps so passengers can easily select their seat, request special services or make their onboard meal selection in advance.

Hotel Booking Engines include the ability to search for a hotel near specific points of interest or neighborhoods within a city. Links to media files & rich content assist the User with selecting the right hotel property during the shopping process. Some travel technology solutions even use innovative responsive technology that automatically adjusts the screen display layout based on the type of device being used.

Even cruise vacations can be booked easily online with the right cruise booking software. A cruise booking engine needs to include a vast amount cruise line, cruise ship and cabin descriptions to assist during the shopping & booking process. Links to media files & rich content such as cabin photos, ship images and deck plans enhance the User experience and are often integrated throughout the booking engine display.

A hosted Booking Engine's headers, footers and style sheets can sometimes be easily customized to provide a seamless online experience. Complete private label versions are also supported where the complete layout can be customized to meet specific requirements. It is best when Live access to supplier content is provided to be sure the most accurate availability and pricing is used. And customer loyalty programs have become so popular with travel suppliers making it critical to include a customer's loyalty program ID with the reservation.

Travel technology solutions with dynamic packaging tools have become increasingly popular as consumers look for a single application for all their travel needs. Online dynamic packaging solutions are usually an extension of an existing booking engine but designed to allow agents as well as consumers to package and price cruises, flights, hotels and other travel products together in real time. Custom Packaging solutions allow agency owners to custom tailor a specific travel package and sell it online.

Not matter what type of travel you sell, choosing a travel technology solution with the right combination of options for your business can be a critical decision. Finding a technology partner that will help you reach today's mobile consumer with the content they are looking for can be just as important.

Travel Technology Solutions For Today's Trends

The new year provides a sense of a fresh start and is a great time to get things in order and make some changes to improve our personal and professional lives. It is an excellent time evaluate the travel technology solutions your using and to reflect on the previous year's success and failures so you can adjust your business plan moving forward. A key factor to consider is what travel trends consumers will be looking for in the coming year and what travel technology solutions are available for you to reach them. Luckily there are a ton of trend forecasters out there studying consumer trends and ready to share what they believe will be "big" in travel over the next 12 months. Some of the suggestions you have probably heard before such as longer trips for many Baby Boomers and the increasing popularity of cruise vacations.

The rise of sustainable travel and Ecotourism is a trend that can be associated with the fact that so many consider preserving natural resources and protecting the environment extremely important. As a result, many have not only adjusted how they live on a daily basis, but also how and where they decide to spend their vacation.

The physical fitness craze has even spilled over into travel with may now looking to make their travel plans around various races or events they plan to compete in. To capture this market, some have started to develop city packages around events such as marathons or other races that their clients are participating in. A local running club or sports team can sometimes be an excellent source of information and may even be able to provide a list of potential interested clients. Music festivals and other major events also draw huge crowds and can be an excellent opportunity to create a custom package for potential out of town customers interested in attending the event.

Activity based vacations have become popular with today's consumer looking to do something more than just sitting on a beach sipping a cold drink. Scuba diving packages, rock climbing expeditions and even bicycle vacation packages are all becoming increasingly popular. You need to Identify where the sales opportunities are and what travel technology solutions are available to pull it all together.

And don't forget that the mobile revolution is one of the biggest social trends of all, so look for travel technology solutions built using the latest responsive technology to ensure your online solution is easily available to customers regardless of the type of device they choose to use. Research indicates that many consumers use different devices as they research and eventually purchase products online. For example, many consumers start their initial research using their smartphone, but switch to a Laptop to complete the purchase. Others may choose to use a handheld device exclusively. Either way, you need to be ready to serve these customers on the device they choose.

Finding a travel technology solution with the right combination of options for your business can be a critical decision. Finding a technology partner that will help you reach today's mobile consumer can be just as important.

Expand Sales with Hotel Reservation Software

The hotel industry has been around in one form or another for centuries, long before cruise lines, automobile rentals and airlines. Each of these have played their part in the evolution of the travel industry and the development of today's travel technology solutions. While airlines were a driving force behind the development of what became today's Global Distribution Systems or GDSs, hotel reservation software has been quick to see the value of rich content and links to media files to help distinguish one hotel property from another. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.

A travel booking engine should be designed to automate processes and reduce time and effort required to complete a reservation. Online Business to Business (B2B) as well as Business to Consumer (B2C) applications can provide a seamless online experience to Users by customizing the headers, footers and style sheets based on a Client's specific branding. Complete private label versions are also available where the layout can be changed to meet a Client's specific requirements. Hotel reservation software should include links to media files & rich content to assist Users with selecting the right hotel property during the shopping process. Travel booking solutions developed with Innovative responsive technology can automatically adjust the screen display size and layout based on the type of device being used, ensuring your business is mobile ready.

A hotel reservation is an important part of most travel plans and access to the right hotel reservation software can play an important role in determining how successful a travel agent is selling hotels. Access to the right content is key, so you'll want to make sure that the hotel content available will be what your customers look for. You'll want to make sure you have the right hotels available and at the right price! Develop a relationship with hotels your client's use a lot and make sure you have access to any special VIP perks that might be available. This can help improve your customers overall experience and make you a star for getting them "special treatment" during their stay.

Another factor to consider is how and at what point in the sales process are hotels offered. Some travel plans start with booking a hotel room and maybe arranging a few other elements around that. Others may start with an airline reservation and then offer the option to add a hotel based on the itinerary booked. There are even packaging modules that use Cruise as the base transaction and then add other travel products like airline and hotel reservations around the cruise to create a unique packaged cruise vacation. These can either be pre-set packages or built dynamically based on an individual's specific preferences.

Hotel software can vary greatly with some simply providing the ability to adjust a product's selling price and others taking things a step further and allowing travel agents to customize and deliver a specific marketing message to their customers. Finding a travel software with the right combination of options for your business can be a critical decision. Finding a technology partner that will help you reach today's mobile consumer with the right content can be just as important.