Hotels Transform To Capture Millennial Travelers

The population born between the early 1980s and 1990s, referred to as the millennial generation, now represent a significant percentage of leisure travelers. This generation grew up in a digital world and use their mobile devices for just about everything. They prefer to spend most of their discretionary dollars on experiences as oppose to owning material products. They search for relevant information on social media while researching options and look for customized, memorable experiences which they are willing to pay for. The emergence of home-sharing and new formats of hospitality have added a new dimension to the way this generation travels. These are all factors that Suppliers are considering when evaluating ways to attract today's consumer to their hotel and something to consider when choosing a hotel booking engine for your business.

The hotel industry has undergone a transformation as iconic brands and new trendy boutique hotels try and compete for today's traveler. Hotel properties have been upgrading their guest experience to meet this demand with contemporary room designs, new public spaces and modern amenities. Just about every aspect of a hotel property is being scrutinized today, whether that be the colors used, the lighting or just overall aesthetics. New technology is being deployed to address the entire guest experience including the research, reservation and check-in processes as well as intuitive in-room technology and post stay follow up.

And hotels are not the only place technology is constantly being upgraded to serve today's traveler. To serve the growing number of consumers using their mobile device to purchase travel products today, many sellers of travel are building mobile ready booking engines. So, no matter what type of device a customer uses to access a travel website, applications are available that can automatically adjust the screen size and layout to fit the type of device being used. The internet has become such a valuable and convenient resource to research just about anything and travel is no exception. Recent trends indicate that many travelers start their research using their mobile device, so having a mobile ready hotel booking engine can be critical.

Establishing a connection with the consumer and being part of their entire experiential journey can ensure alternative options don't build an emotional connection with them better. Make sure your hotel booking engine has the information and tools they'll need during the research and shopping process. Have detailed descriptions of the hotel along with pictures and information like nearby attractions, access to public transportation and restaurants. Travel businesses have been quick to learn that moving sales to E-commerce saves them time and money. An online booking engine is typically the most cost-effective way to serve customers today and the innovative technology available helps software solution providers design and develop flexible & fully scalable applications that easily grow with any size business. Some even provide the ability to customize the application to maintain a company's own unique brand identity.

Finding a hotel 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 where and how they shop for travel can be just as important.

Travel Booking Solutions Should Be Integrated Online and Offline

Whether consumers book their travel arrangements online or simply start their research there, today's travel related business needs to be ready to assist them throughout the entire process. And all signs indicate consumer use of smartphones will continue to increase as more people are constantly connected to social media, so finding travel booking solutions with mobile technology is becoming increasingly important.

Integrating the online and offline research, shopping and booking experience is critical since many consumers will switch between various devices as they research and eventually purchase products online. Mobile devices enable consumers to be online anywhere at any time, allowing today's consumer to start their research using their smartphone and then switch to a tablet or laptop to complete their purchase. While others may choose to start their research and shopping online before calling their travel agent to confirm their cruise booking. Regardless of the how a consumer ultimately makes their travel purchase, travel booking solutions need to integrate the online and offline process, provide the consumer with up to date availability and pricing and include detailed descriptions with pictures & images to assist during the research, shopping and booking process.

Applications should be easy to use and reduce the amount of time required to complete a transaction. The best travel booking solutions are flexible and easily customized to support each client's own brand identity or unique selling style. While some technology providers may host the application, the header, footer as well as the look and feel should all be easily customizable to provide a seamless online experience. Multiple selling channels should be easily managed using a single application and designed to quickly set up additional users and affiliated websites. Whether your customer books directly with a travel agent (B2B) -or- they prefer to shop and book online (B2C), your Booking Engine needs the ability to service them quickly and easily.

Many travel booking solutions are built using secure, scalable online booking platforms that are designed to meet the demands of suppliers, traditional or online travel agencies as well as consumers. And with the pace at which fares or schedules can change, real-time connectivity with suppliers can help you ensure that the most accurate and up to the minute schedule, availability and pricing are provided. Business management tools can help provide you the controls needed to easily manage your business. Revenue Management tools include the ability to mark up or mark down a product's selling price and even the ability to search multiple provider content sources for the best price. Display biasing capabilities and the ability to highlight value add offers in the availability display can give your business full control of what your customers are presented. Robust reporting tools are also available that allow for quick and easy business tracking.

Finding a travel booking 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 where and how they shop for travel can be just as important.

The Right Booking Engine Makes Selling Cruises Easier

It's no secret that online bookings for cruise vacations have lagged behind other areas of the travel industry, but this has been changing as the overall population becomes more comfortable and, in some cases, totally dependent on using technology. The online revolution has changed the way consumers research and shop for everything and cruise vacations are no exception. Whether consumers book their cruise online or simply start their research there, today's business needs to be ready to assist them throughout the entire process or risk losing them to a competitor. And all signs indicate consumer use of smart phones will continue to increase as more people are constantly connected to social media, making mobile technology increasingly important.

Deploying the right technology is an essential decision point for travel agency owners. Some of their agents may prefer to use an interface provided by the cruise line, while others may prefer third party tools that provide a single platform for multiple cruise lines. It is essential that an agency owner deploy a cruise booking engine that facilitates the maximum efficiency for User's booking experience, whether this be a consumer booking online or a professional travel agent.

This includes unique selling features like Agent-friendly features such as a Single Sign-On to the Agent home Page. Live access to cruise line pricing and availability ensure the most accurate information is provided. A cruise booking engine should have rich content such as cabin photos and descriptions integrated throughout the selling process to assist travel agents and consumers alike in selecting the right cabin. The ability to easily compare sailings during the shopping process and provide cabin upgrade options at cabin selection are other features to look for.

Agency post booking management functions should include easy access to a customer's receipt, so an agent can view and send booking details, print a copy or apply payments. The ability to send a booking related Email allows Agents to communicate with the customer using existing email templates as well as custom text. Tools that cross check a booking with a Supplier can be a valuable in identifying and correcting discrepancies while a Clone Booking function allows the Agent to search the same itinerary for a new booking creating time-efficiency.

Many travel agencies will require a cruise booking engine with backend integration to their CRM and accounting systems to avoid manual retyping of information. Integration with CRM technology can also help streamline the processes, by understanding the customer requirements especially for repeat cruise customers. Some travel agency managers also require administration tools to track the performance of their agents. Flexible tools that can quickly define business rules to adjust a product selling price or promote a special offer are critically important to remain competitive. The ability to bias the availability screen to preferred suppliers can also be a valuable tool and part of a comprehensive third-party cruise booking engine.

Finding a cruise 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 where and how they shop for travel can be just as important.