Why Not Add a Hotel?

It's time for many businesses evaluate the way they conduct business and see what improvements can be made. Is your business operating as efficiently and effectively as possible? Are you offering the products and services that your customers are looking for? Has your technology kept pace with your business? All basic business questions that apply to any size travel agency.

First consider the customers you currently have and determine if you are capturing all of their travel related business. For example, when you sell a customer an airline ticket for a quick business trip or a week long vacation, do you offer to book a hotel for them as well? Chances are they may need to book a hotel, so why not include this too? Easy access to hotel content integrated with other travel components is a great way to make this happen quickly. Incorporating a hotel booking engine with a dynamic packaging module can allow both agents or consumers to price as well as package Cruises, Airlines, Hotels and other travel products in real time for example.

Look for a hotel booking engine that includes links to media files & rich content to assist the User with selecting the right hotel property and room type during the shopping process. It's also important that the application allow the User to modify the Search and narrow down results to their specific criteria. Some may look for a property downtown with free internet for example, while others may want to be closer to the airport or beach. The amenities a particular hotel offers can be as important as the room for many, so detailed descriptions of a particular property come in handy when deciding which hotel to choose. Travel booking solutions should contain all the information and tools needed for the User to easily research and book a complete travel package quickly and easily.

Then check to see if you are serving your customers via the channels they prefer. For today's customer on the go, a mobile ready hotel booking engine is an option you'll need to include. Today's consumer uses different devices to research and eventually purchase products online. Many who are typically younger for example start their initial research using their smartphone and then may switch to a tablet or Laptop to complete the purchase. Others may start their research with their Laptop and then complete their purchase directly or with a travel agent. Either way, the travel booking engine you use needs to be ready to serve these customers on the device they choose.

Lastly, you want to make sure the travel booking engine you are using has kept pace with the latest developments. If you plan to expand into new markets for example, you'll need a solution that can easily handle multiple currencies as well as multiple languages. And make sure the can the application be customized to match the "look and feel" of your company's branding.

Identifying a travel booking solution with the right combination of content and product features for your business can be a critical decision. Finding the right technology partner can be just as important.