When Was Your Last Technology Check-up?

Is it time to evaluate the way you conduct business and see what improvements can be made?  When was the last time you evaluated whether your business is operating as efficiently as it could?  Are you offering the products and services that your clients are looking for? Have the travel technology solutions your business is using kept pace with that of your competitors?

First consider whether you are offering to assist your clients with all of their travel arrangements. If you are selling your client an airline ticket for a quick business trip or a week’s long vacation, chances are they may need to book a hotel as well.  So, access to hotel reservation software is something you may want to be sure to consider when looking at your travel booking solution. Check if it includes access to links to media files & rich content to assist with selecting the right hotel property during the shopping process. Make sure the application can be customized to match the “look and feel” of your company’s specific branding.

A good technology partner can help you automate the content as well as any include amenities once you have identified the content providers that match your client’s requirements. Planning or changing travel plans are no exception, so your hotel booking engine needs to support these features and benefits not only during the research and shopping process, but the entire booking process as well. You’ll need the flexibility to control your business rules a variety of ways, so here is where you want to make sure the application has the flexibility you’ll need.  Price adjustments should have the flexibility to be calculated as a fixed dollar amount ($) -or- a percentage (%) of the fare.  Business Rules should be easy to enter with the ability to define filters for a specific product type, supplier or travel date.

Make sure to check if you are serving your customers via the channels they prefer.  For today’s customer on the go, mobile ready travel technology solutions are an option you’ll want to consider. Many consumers use different devices as they research and eventually purchase products online.   For instance, some may start their initial research using their smartphone, but switch to a Laptop to complete the purchase.  Others will choose to use their handheld device exclusively. Either way, the hotel reservation software you use needs to be ready to serve these customers on the device they choose.

And lastly, you will not want to overlook how the travel technology solutions you are using have kept pace with the latest technological developments and whether they allow you to easily expand your business. If you plan to participate in the Global Marketplace, you’ll need a hotel booking engine that can easily handle multiple currencies as well as multiple languages.  Look for “state of the art” applications that are flexible & fully scalable and will easily grow with your business.

Identifying hotel reservation software with right combination of content and product features for your travel technology can be a critical decision for your travel business, finding the right technology partner can be just as important.

Today’s Travel Booking Solutions Take Your Business Further

The airline reservation system was originally designed to automate the process and reduce the time and effort required to complete and manage passenger reservations.  Many of today’s travel booking solutions go a step further with advanced functionality and customized applications that provide complete travel packages via a seamless online experience for customers. Some support complete private label versions where the complete layout can be changed to meet your specific requirements.  Whether your customers are looking to book an airline ticket, a hotel room or even that perfect cruise vacation, an online reservation engine can help you serve them quicker and easier.

Today’s airline reservation system provides live access to airline content to be sure the most up to date availability and pricing is used. Some even have the ability to simultaneously search multiple content sources for the best fare. Most provide the revenue management tools you will need to manage your business, including the ability to easily adjust a product’s selling price by airline, itinerary, flight number, cabin class, dates and more.Whether your customers prefer to make their air arrangements directly with a traditional travel agentor they prefer to shop and book online, today’s travel booking solutions provide the ability to service them quickly and easily and some even support multiple selling channels using a single application.

Hotel booking engines are designed to allow travel agents as well as consumers to research and book hotel rooms quickly and easily online.  Most include links to media files & rich content to assist with selecting the right hotel property during the shopping process. Many provide maps allowing the user to quickly see where the hotel property is located in relation to local area attractions. Today’s cruise booking engines include 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.  Many provide live access to Cruise Line content to be sure the most accurate availability and pricing is used as well as powerful business management tools that allow business owners to keep pace with changing fares and the multitude of special promotions that cruise lines offer.

Another key feature to consider in a travel booking engine is the use of responsive technology to provide greater support of various mobile and tablet screen sizes.  Handheld devices have become such an integral part of today’s culture their mobile devices to shop and purchase goods and services online. With the all the time that people spend using their mobile devices, it’s no wonder that mobile Apps with travel booking solutions have become a popular way for travel agents to interact with their customers. One online travel booking engine that can be used on any device will become progressively more important to your online strategy in order to keep pace with the increasing use of handheld devices by consumers. So find the online travel booking solution that is right for your business and start providing a seamless online experience for your customers.

Putting the Technology Puzzle Together

For many businesses, internal technology systems come together like a huge puzzle that fits multiple pieces tightly together to form a complete operating system. For example, the flight booking software required to operate an airline must perform multiple functions quickly and easily. Systems used to operate an airline must be accurate and incorporate important functions such as departure control and In-flight systems, passenger reservation management systems as well as the distribution of airline schedules and fares.  This includes access to seat maps& meal selection, interface with airline frequent flyer programs and access to onboard amenities is all things that a flight booking engine needs.

Flight booking software is one of the most important pieces of any airline’s technology puzzle and the flexibility for an airline’s system to easily interface with its distribution network has been a priority with most airlines for years.  Many of the older legacy systems that some airlines were using became outdated as technology has evolved, forcing them to migrate to newer and more flexible platforms.  The same is true for many traditional as well as online travel agencies.  Having the right travel booking solution can be central to your business.  Whether you are selling one of your client’s tickets for a business trip or a week’s vacation at a resort, they are probably going to need to book a flight to make their travel arrangements complete.

For today’s price driven customer, you’ll need to make sure you have access to the best value and price.  Your online flight booking engine must be able to search the best sources for content quickly and easily in order for you to offer a competitive price to your customers.  You will also need the ability to easily adjust the selling price and perhaps include value add offers right in the fare availability display.  Accessing low rates offered by air consolidators is one great way to ensure you are offering the best fares to your clients.  Since many air consolidators specialize in specific markets or destinations, you may look for an airline booking engine that allows you to simultaneously search multiple air consolidators for the best fares.

Travel agents can be a great resource to consumers trying to make sense of all the options available and find the best deal possible, so make sure your agents have the expertise and tools to provide the topnotch service that a professional travel agent can offer. Negotiating the best rates and amenities with Suppliers combined with promoting any special deals that are available will help keep your business competitive. A good travel agency can make sure consumers get the best price as well as the VIP treatment many of today’s consumers look for.  Make sure the flight booking software your application uses allows your agents and/or clients to select seats, request meals and add loyalty program information to airline reservations.

Identifying the right combination of content and product features for your flight booking engine can be critical for your travel business. Finding the right technology partner to help your business grow can be just as important.