Flight Reservations Are a Key Component

Airlines have become such an integral part of travel for so many, that it should come as no surprise that a flight reservation system is an integral piece of any travel booking solution. Airline reservation systems have come a long way since the days of the first computerized reservation systems (CRS) launched decades ago. Whether your travel business' focus is on Corporate or Leisure, most travel itineraries include airline segments.

For Leisure agents, especially those selling Cruise vacations, combining the different travel elements can be challenging as well as time consuming. Airports and flight arrival times need to be coordinated with cruise departure ports and passenger embarkation times. Travel time and options between airports and cruise ports can vary greatly, further complicating the process. And with the majority of cruise passengers requiring a flight to get to their cruise departure, a flight reservation system can be an important component of a cruise vacation.

Finding the right hotel to match an airline itinerary can be challenging. Travel booking solutions that prompt the user to explore hotel options based on the flight arrival and departure date/s can help simplify the entire process. Features like integrated Hotel information and descriptions linked to rich media can help the User select the hotel and room type that best fits their needs. Live pricing and availability with Suppliers ensure the most accurate information is used. From an agent's workflow perspective, a day to day itinerary is built for customers that easily shows them what their schedule is.

Sophisticated rule engines can allow a travel agency owner to deliver the right marketing message to their Users. Selling prices can be easily adjusted and rules entered that actually consider published airfares, negotiated/private airfares as well as consolidator airfares. Travel Agents that use a flight reservation system that integrates cruises and hotels can even just show the one total price to the customer. B2B, B2C as well as B2B2C channel capability give today's agency owner the flexibility to serve customers the way they choose. And with today's mobile world, don't forget travel booking solutions need to be mobile ready. Look for travel technology solutions built using innovative responsive technology that automatically adjusts screen size and layout to the type of device being used.

Air content should be easily added using any of the major GDS's using your agency ID and your travel booking engine should be include multi-language & multi-currency capability.

Travel booking solutions should help streamline the entire sales process and reduce the amount of time it takes your agency to Train new agents, allowing them focus on selling faster. There are even Packaging options that allow Travel Agents to price multiple products, bundle them into a package and sell them as packages easily online.

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.