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.
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