Travel Agent Software Powers Travel

There are so many travel options available online today that it can be overwhelming for many consumers to find the best deal. As some quickly learn, the lowest price doesn't always equal the best choice for many. Take the recent initiative by some airlines to allocate preferential seats within their main cabin to preferred customers only -or- at a higher rate to others. I recently booked a seat on a major airline for the lowest price available, only to find my seat selection options were limited to middle seats in the rear of the airplane. I learned that had I purchased a slightly higher fare, I would have access to preferred seating in a better location on the aircraft. This was an example of when finding a professional travel agent would have been a good first step in planning my trip.

Travel agents are a great resource and help their customers research the different options and find the best deal possible based on their specific needs. And in today's online world, travel agent software plays an important role in just how much help a travel agent can provide. The right travel agent would understand the difference between the two airfares and know the customer's seating requirements or preference. Today's travel agent software would allow agent to enter a passenger's specific frequent flier number, select a seat and even reserve a special meal for them. Arranging for special assistance such as a wheelchair or other special services can be requested quickly and easily online in some cases.

Consumers who use a travel agent often get the best deals and VIP treatment during their entire journey. Travel Agents are experts in the industry and many have negotiated special deals and amenities for their clients. Some use travel booking solutions that enable them to launch their own online solution and allow their customers to research and book travel when and where they want while still enjoying the benefits of using their travel agent.

It's no secret that people today are attached to their mobile devices and in many cases, this is the first place many go when they are looking for information or perhaps to make a purchase. Researching and shopping for travel is no different, so today's travel agent software should be built using mobile ready technology so it is easily accessible via just about any type of device.

Advances in technology now allow for travel booking solutions to integrate a vast amount information as well as media files & rich content such as photos and videos. Some hotel booking engine Users can view pictures of a particular hotel property, including sample guest rooms and public areas. While cruise booking engines include itinerary maps showing a specific cruise ship's itinerary with ports of call, information about ship activities and even videos to help provide the User a better idea of what to expect onboard.

Choosing travel agent software with the right combination of options to serve your customers better 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.

Features Make The Cruise Booking Engine

More and more travel agents and consumers are using an online cruise booking engine to research and confirm their cruise vacations. The features, functionality and content available via online cruise booking solutions have evolved tremendously over the past two decades. If you have not taken the time recently to review how your business handles cruise bookings, you may be missing out on the advantages these advances can offer your business.

It's no secret that today's consumer is attached to their mobile devices and in many cases are the first thing someone grabs when they are looking for information or to make a purchase. Researching and shopping for travel is no different. Today's mobile ready technology has made it possible to extend the reach of your online cruise booking solution to be accessible via just about any type of device. So why not have your cruise booking engine available so they can start their research and complete their booking how and when they choose. There are even features available that allow a host agency to extend the reach of their booking engine quickly and easily to affiliated homebased agents. Some even allow for the booking engine's header and footer to be customized to that of the affiliate.

Another area to consider is the extent that you can control the selling price customers see and how you are able to promote special offers that the cruise lines may be offering to promote certain sailings. Your cruise booking engine needs the ability to control a product selling price down to a specific cruise line, sailing and cabin category, including the ability for you to easily mark-up or discount the selling price depending upon criteria that you choose. You should be able to include your own special "value add" offers and promote those offered by cruise lines right in the availability display so that the User has a full picture of the "value" a certain fare may have.

Today's technology now allows for a cruise booking solution to integrate 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. Users can view pictures of a particular ship, including sample guest cabins and public areas. Maps depicting ship itineraries with ports of call, information about activities onboard, even videos in some cases help provide the User a better idea of what a specific cruise has to offer.

Many cruise lines offer special rates for Past Passengers and in some cases provide special value add offers and onboard amenities to their best repeat customers. To make taking advantage of these benefits easier, some of the more advanced online travel booking solutions include User friendly features like Past Passenger Look-up. This feature allows the travel agent or consumer shopping online to easily look up a Past Passenger number to be used during the booking process and ensure they receive all the discounts and benefits they deserve as a Customer Loyalty Program member.

Choosing 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 with the content they are looking for can be just as important.

Travel Booking Solutions For Air, Land & Sea!

There are so many different travel booking solutions available in the market today to research and book travel that it can sometimes be simply overwhelming. The number of online air booking engines alone is staggering, a point perhaps proven by the number of “Meta Search” engines that simultaneously search hundreds of websites to provide the User with the lowest possible airfare. And there are online air booking solutions for just about any size business, whether you are a single location agency looking to extend your reach online or you are looking to extend access to your booking solution to other agency locations or homebased agents. There are even air booking engines that will allow you to simultaneously search multiple GDS IDs for published as well as private airfares for those agencies with multiple locations or perhaps partnering with an air consolidator for private fares.

Online hotel booking engines are also popular, offering consumers the ability to shop for Hotel accommodations quickly and easily just about anywhere in the world. Today's travel booking solutions can access information to research which hotel property meets a customer's particular needs with just a few clicks of a mouse. These state of the art applications allow Users to search for a hotel room by a specific neighborhood within a city, by price range and even star rating. Finding the exact hotel properties that include specific amenities such as free internet or perhaps concierge service may be important. Detailed pictures of guest rooms as well as public spaces can provide the User a good idea of what to expect upon arrival. Hotels offer varying levels of luxury, comfort and service, so matching a guest with the right hotel is important.

The fastest growing sector of the travel industry are cruise vacations. As cruise lines continue to build newer ships and expand into different markets, they are offering exciting new itineraries and onboard activities. Travel booking solutions focused on selling cruises have kept pace and now integrate a vast amount cruise line, cruise ship and cabin descriptions linked to rich content such as cabin photos, ship images and deck plans to assist in the shopping process. Users can view pictures of a particular ship, including sample guest cabins and public areas. Maps with ship itineraries that show all the ports of call for a particular sailing are integrated into the display. Detailed information about ship activities, pictures of public spaces and even videos where available help provide the User a better idea of what to expect onboard.

As customers look for a customized travel experience, the ability to offer dynamic packaging of an individual's specific itinerary has become an increasingly popular component for travel booking solutions. Dynamic Packaging solutions 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. A custom packaging tool can allow travel agents to tailor make a travel itinerary to be sold online.

Choosing an online booking solution with the right combination of options for your travel business can be a critical decision. Finding a technology partner that will help set your travel business apart from the competition can be just as important.

Airline Reservations Systems Help Your Business Fly

As online travel technology solutions continue to advance, more and more people are using some type of flight reservation system to research and book their air travel arrangements. Whether looking to just book airline tickets to visit friends or for a business trip, there are online air booking solutions in the market that can help easily guide even a novice user through the entire process of researching and booking and airline reservation. There are countless airline reservation systems and booking engines in the market today.

A little up front research of all the options available will save you loads of time and aggravation in the long run. Choosing the best application for your business can be a critical decision and should be considered carefully. There are airline booking systems designed to meet the requirements of just about anyone selling travel online, but finding a solution with the right combination of product features and content for your business is the key. A good place to start may be to evaluate the way you currently make airline bookings and identify any improvements you would like to see or can be made there. Ask yourself whether your business is operating as efficiently as it could when it comes to making airline reservations. Are your products priced competitively and are they easily available for your clients to book? Has the technology your using today kept pace with today's advancements or your competitors?

As consumers continue to shift just about all their purchases to online sales, you may want to make sure your online booking engine is mobile ready so you can avoid the need to develop a separate, expensive dedicated Mobile APP in the future. For this you will want to make sure the Flight reservation system you choose is built using responsive technology that automatically adjusts the Users screen size based on the type of device they are using.

Consider how your customers like to research and book their airline reservations. Whether your customer prefer to research and book their flight arrangements online or speak with an experienced travel professional, a flight reservation system should be designed to be easy to use for travel agents and consumers as well. Researching and booking an airline ticket online today should be as easy as just a few clicks of the mouse and the application should be simple in design and not require the end User to input too much information or remember complicated formats.

Access to live pricing and availability is key in order to provide your customer the most accurate and up to date information about their flight. Access to the right airline content and lowest available fare can be critical in today's price sensitive marketplace, so a flight booking engine that can simultaneously search multiple content sources via a live connection for the best price can be an extremely valuable feature to have.

Choosing a flight reservation system 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.