Hotel Reservation Software Can Increase Sales

The internet has changed the way the hotels are researched and booked today. But there are so many hotel options available on the market that it can be overwhelming for many consumers. This is why finding a professional travel agent can be an important first step. Travel agents are a great resource to help consumers research options and can find the best deal possible. Customers who use a travel agent often get the best deals and VIP treatment upon arrival. Travel Agents are experts in the industry and many have negotiated special deals and amenities for their clients. Many have launched their own online booking solutions that allow their customers to research and book travel when and where they want while still enjoying the benefits of using a travel agent.

The Hotel reservation software a travel agency chooses should be easy to use and provide Users the functionality they need to research and book the hotel property they are looking for. The ability to narrow the Search to a specific neighborhood within a city near a specific point of interest may be important for some Users. The ability to find a hotel that has a restaurant or banquet facilities may be key for those planning an event. The ability to sort a search for hotel rooms by a particular star rating or the average nightly rate can speed up the process dramatically. Easily finding a hotel property that includes the specific amenities such as free internet or perhaps concierge service may be important for others. Hotels offer varying levels of comfort and service, so matching a client with the right hotel is important.

Today's hotel booking engines can access information to research which particular hotel meets an individual customer's specific needs with just a few clicks of a mouse. Search for a hotel room by a specific neighborhood within a larger city, by price range and even star rating. Recent industry consolidation has many travel agents forming alliances, so the ability to extend their hotel reservation software to affiliated agencies quickly and easily is key for many. The ability to easily expand the access of an online booking engine to affiliated agencies while maintaining their brand identity can be crucial to the success of launching an online booking engine for some.

The hotel reservation software products available in the market today include links to media files & rich content to assist with selecting the right hotel property during the research, shopping and booking process. Some applications even use innovative responsive technology that automatically adjusts the screen display layout based on the type of device being used to access the booking engine. Dynamic Packaging modules are designed to allow agents and consumers to package hotels with other travel products like airline tickets and cruise vacations. Dynamic packaging allows the user to create their own unique travel itinerary.

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

Airline Booking Engines Automate Business

Is the airline booking engine your travel business is using designed to automate processes, increase revenues and reduce time and effort required to complete a transaction? Technology continues to evolve at lightning speed and so has the software and applications that power today's online travel booking solutions. There are technology companies dedicated to developing applications to address the demand for travel technology solutions that automate operational processes and provide the ability to customize an "out of the box" solution to support a client's unique brand identity. Many have researched market requirements, worked closely with customers to identify their specific needs and discovered new and innovative ways to increase revenues while reducing expenses.

Online Booking Engines are often "out of the box" solutions that are hosted by a third party technology company but allow the headers, footers and style sheets to be customized to maintain a client's brand identity and provide a seamless online experience for customers. There are also private label versions where a technology partner can change the complete layout of an air booking engine so it is customized to meet a client's specific requirements. And it seems like just about everything in between.

User templates are designed to streamline the selling process for Users and make it easier for agents and agency financial staff to manage bookings. Live access to airline content is often provided via Global Distribution Systems to provide the most up to date availability and pricing. Robust business management tools allow application owners to preset rules that automatically mark up or mark down a product's selling price by airline, itinerary, class of service, travel or booking dates and more. Promotions capability allow agency owners to include specific marketing messages and value ad offers right in the availability display. Some even allow for the setup of promotional codes that can be redeemed in the booking process. Time saving administration tools that cross check bookings with Suppliers automatically compare a booking made by the airline booking engine with the Supplier's system.

Dynamic Packaging products have become a popular option for many travel booking engines as consumers look to create their own unique travel experience. If you plan to sell to today's online consumer, you need to keep pace with the multiple ways that they research, shop and book airline reservations today. Some will use responsive technology for greater support of various mobile and tablet screen sizes so customers can easily view and navigate through the booking process regardless of the type of device they are using. There are even a "state of the art" mobile air apps available that take advantage of the powerful features today's online Air Booking Engines offer combined with the ease and mobility using a smart phone or tablet.

Finding an airline 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 with the right content and tools to automate your business can be just as important.

Cruise Software Fuels Cruise Sales

There are several factors contributing to the increase of cruise sales. More capacity is available than ever before and the cruise lines continue to build new ships. Larger ships are being built with new features and options available to passengers. Ships are becoming "destinations” as cruise line add new entertainment options, public spaces and cabin types while increasing the number of overall available berths.

While the significant bulk of cruise line passengers have traditionally originated from North America, cruise lines have seen explosive growth in passengers originating from outside North America. These new markets coupled with a robust "repeat customers” base have helped fuel growth as well. Cruise lines have repositioned ships so their homeport is closer to these customers. Many have added new itineraries that include the latest, hottest destinations and some have even modified their onboard service to better serve the needs of these new passengers. The growth of river cruising has added to the increase with smaller ships that access routes not available to ocean cruise liners.

The ease and accessibility of online cruise reservation software today provides many Online Travel Agencies the opportunity to expand their customer base to include cruises. The ability for cruise reservation software to easily handle multiple languages have allowed many travel agents to serve new ethnic markets domestically. The ability to handle multiple currencies have allowed many online travel agencies to expand into new markets internationally.

While online cruise sales have a way to go before reaching the levels of airline reservations or hotel bookings made online, it is no less critical to focus resources to address the inevitable cultural shift from traditional retail to online sales. If you plan to sell cruises today, you need to keep pace with the multiple ways that consumers research and book cruises today. Some cruise booking engine will use responsive technology for greater support of various mobile and tablet screen sizes so their customers can easily view and navigate through the booking process regardless of the type of device they are using. But what will be required to shift your cruise sales online? What tools will you need to automate the booking of cruises and get your customers using this cost effective an efficient channel?

First make sure you include access to the content your clients are looking for. Make your cruise reservation software can localize the content and allow you to control what your clients are offered. Live access to multiple cruise lines with innovative connections that give access to benefits such as group allocations and the ability to sell from multiple price-points in a single category. Ease and accessibility via mobile devices is critical whether your customers start their research and shopping using their mobile device and complete their booking with a travel agent, or research, shop and book online, the application you choose is mobile ready.

Finding cruise reservation 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 content they are looking for can be just as important.

Travel Booking Solutions Need To Combine Content

Travel Booking Solutions have come a long way since the days when airlines first launched computerized reservation systems (CRS) decades ago. Some of the more advanced travel technology solutions available today allow Users to package different travel components such as Airline tickets, Hotel accommodations and even Cruise Vacations together to create their own unique travel experience. Travel Agents have done this manually for years, painstakingly coordinating a Client's individual flight itinerary with hotel accommodations and ground transfers. The process a travel agent goes through to build a passenger's complete itinerary has improved over the years as technology has advanced. New content that has become available has created additional choices for consumers and the online revolution has made the internet a key marketplace today. The innovative technology developed in recent years has also played a key role in the design and development of the travel booking engines used today.

Let's face it, you can purchase just about anything via the internet today and travel is no exception. Whether you are looking to make a reservation with a specific airline, confirm hotel accommodations or make a car reservation, there's an online booking engine ready to help you just a few clicks away. Even complete Cruise vacations can be easily researched and booked online using one of the many cruise booking engines available today. The online revolution has had a significant impact in how today's consumers research, shop and purchase travel products today.

And there are more travel choices available than ever before. Everything from low cost airlines to legacy carriers. Full service hotels or rooms for rent via services like Airbnb. Value cruise lines that cater to families or high end luxury cruise lines geared towards more discerning adult passengers. And everything in between. Travel booking solutions not only have to offer all these options, but also need to include the detailed information that allows both consumers and travel agents to easily understand the various options.

Value or price has been a driving factor for many online sales. However, years ago the best deals were usually found when purchasing a pre-packaged vacation from a traditional Tour Operator. Many of these tour packages came with preset travel dates and combined specific airline itineraries with a limited number of hotels that were available in the program. While many consumers enjoy ease of purchasing their vacation as a package and at a low price, it wasn't long before many wanted options.

As Consumer trends changed over the years, more and more customers began to look for travel packages customized to meet their specific needs. This trend led to the development of travel booking solutions offering custom packages as well as the ability for an Agent or Consumer to "dynamically" build their own travel package.

No 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.

The World is Just A Few Clicks Away Thanks To Travel Technology

Thanks to the advances in online travel technology, access to book travel anywhere in the world is truly just a few clicks away for anyone with an internet connection. Airline reservations, hotel accommodations and even cruise vacations can all be booked quickly and easily online. Travel agents have been quick to learn this and have launched their own travel agency websites with online booking engines. But with so many suppliers offering so many different deals, keeping track of price adjustments and promoting special offers can be a full time job for many travel website owners. In order to keep pace with changing prices and the multitude of special promotions that Suppliers offer, travel technology solutions must have the capability to quickly and easily adjust a product's selling price and include value add offers right in the availability display. This includes powerful business rule features that allow Client's licensing these applications to easily define their markup, discount, value add offers and more while supporting traditional Business to Business to (B2B) as well as Business to Consumer (B2C) channels.

In addition to the basic functions such as markup and discount, todays travel technology must incorporate custom rule types such as fixed deposit amounts, master promotions and agent commissions. Agency owners can even define additional filters to decide which type of booking or selling channel they want to apply a business rules to. Filters include the ability to define a specific Rule by affiliate agency, supplier, departure date & location, destination and more. With numerous powerful filters, some solutions allow rules to even be defined according to the day week and time of day a booking is made. And in many cases newly added or modified rules are applied almost instantly, ensuring the best deals are offered to customers.

Travel technology solutions can provide operational efficiencies and reduce overall cost to serve a customer. Fully customizable, these applications automate processes and increase revenues while they reduce the time and effort required to complete a travel booking. Many online booking engines include a vast amount of descriptions linked to media files & rich content to assist in the shopping process. Live access to content is provided to be sure the most accurate availability and pricing is used. And for those customers using a Smart Phone or Tablet, applications should be built using innovative responsive technology that automatically adjusts the layout of the display based on the type of device being used.

The travel technology solutions available today makes it easy for any size agency to compete with the largest online players. Many are easily customizable to match an agency's brand identity and provide the features and tools to manage business online. Online travel booking engines can lead to more profits, but only after careful planning and successful implementation. Launching an online booking engine alone will not guarantee you receive bookings from your own website, you'll need to also implement a solid online business strategy.

So while technology has made it easier to research and book travel online, finding travel technology with right combination of content and product features can be a critical decision for your travel business. Finding the right technology partner can be just as important.

The Cruise Reservation Revolution Evolution

Many years ago, planning and confirming a cruise vacation often started with going through the glossy brochures that cruise lines created to market their brand an individual ship features. Then there would be a discussion with a travel agent or cruise line reservation specialist to narrow down the search and confirm actual sailing dates. This 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. Are your clients interested in cruising the islands of the Caribbean? Or maybe they are looking for a cruise tour visiting Europe or exploring Alaska. The cruise lines have done a great job in developing cruises that fit the unique destinations they visit and travel agents have always been the experts at matching the passenger with the right cruise line, itinerary and type of cabin.

The online revolution has changed how cruises are researched and booked, so today's cruise reservation 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. 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. As a result, many consumers now prefer to research and book their cruise vacations online, allowing them to research and book a cruise when they want from the comfort of their own home.

But are some of these consumers getting the best deal? With so many cruise lines offering so many different deals, keeping track of price adjustments and special promotional offers can be overwhelming for most looking to book a vacation. This is where the services of a professional travel agent can be invaluable in getting the best deals available and today's online booking engines make it easy for travel agents to include cruise reservation software on their website.

Quite often, a travel agent will have access to special deals with cruise lines and they can often ensure V.I.P. treatment onboard. Their help and expertise can certainly make a cruise vacation easier to research plan as well as more enjoyable overall. Who doesn't like extra cash to pay for onboard services like Spa treatments or specialty dining? The best travel agents ensure their customers get the best possible value and options when booking a cruise vacation.

So while technology has made it easier for consumers to research and book their own cruise vacations online, travel agents continue to be a great resource to sort through the different options and get the best deal. Finding cruise reservation software with right combination of content and product features can be a critical decision for your travel business, finding the right technology partner can be just as important.

Travel Agent Software Can Make Travel Agent

Booking with a travel agent has always been a great way for consumers to find the best travel deal. Not only is a good travel agent familiar with the variety of different travel options available, but they can often get their customers the best rate, extra amenities and even upgrades. A good travel agent helps with their customer's entire trip and this includes getting the VIP access many look for.

The travel agent software used years ago required agents learn and use multiple supplier systems to book all of a client's travel arrangements. It took hours to research the different travel options and a checklist was needed to ensure all the travel arrangements were confirmed and in place. Today using an online booking engine, agency owners are now able to streamline this process as they automate transactions while reducing the time and effort required.

The popularity of the internet as a marketplace has changed the way people research and shop and it seems like almost anything can be purchased online today. The travel industry is no exception and has been the driving force behind the development of innovative online booking solutions that have changed the way consumers as well as travel agents research and book all types of travel. Whether consumers research and book their travel online themselves or use a travel agent, consumers today have choices. Today anyone with an internet connection is just a few “clicks” away from being able to quickly and easily confirm their travel plans using an online booking engine.

The right travel agent software can give you the best of both worlds! A travel agency's online booking engine can provide it's customers the expertise they enjoy when using a travel agent combined with the ease and accessibility of an online booking engine. An online booking engine can also help an agency owner automate processes while they maximize revenues using innovative business control tools needed to manage any size travel business. In addition to the basic functions such as markup and discount, agency owners can even define additional filters to decide which type of booking or selling channel they want to apply a business rules to. Filters include the ability to define Rules by supplier, departure date, destination and more. Newly added or modified rules are often applied instantly so you always ensure the best deals are offered to customers.

Travel agent software can provide operational efficiencies and reduce overall cost to serve a customer. Many online booking engines include a vast amount of descriptions linked to media files & rich content to assist in the shopping process. And for those customers using a Smart Phone or Tablet, applications should be built using innovative responsive technology that automatically adjusts the layout of the display based on the type of device being used.

While technology has made it easier to research and book travel online, finding travel technology with right combination of content and product features can be a critical decision for your travel business. Finding the right technology partner can be just as important.