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.

Grow Your Travel Business with Travel Booking Solutions

There are such huge numbers of various sorts of substance available thus a wide range of online Travel Booking Solutions available today that it is once in a while difficult to know which the best fit is for your organization. While one booking engine may have the extraordinary functionality and the highlights you need, it might not have the substance your clients are looking for. On the flip side, you may discover a travel booking solution with the ideal substance source, yet find that it is feeling the loss of the functionality and highlights you need.

On the off chance that you are selling multiple travel items, you may need your booking engine to get to hotel substance utilizing one source, however look to utilize a totally unique association for your airline bookings or maybe several different sources when booking a journey. Finding the all the correct travel related substance sources in a single online booking solution that has the highlights and functionality you need can be overwhelming at first and somewhat of a challenge, best case scenario.

The solution to your problems might be found with an online booking engine with the highlights and functionality you have to properly deal with your business that also has a flexible supplier association portal which will allow you to get to various substance hotspots for various travel items. A portion of the further developed Travel Booking Solutions even allows you to pick explicit substance sources by Supplier, giving the ultimate in substance source flexibility. Let's assume you need to utilize your GDS to make the vast majority of your voyage bookings, aside from a couple of where you want to utilize an immediate association for quicker reaction time or improved functionality. Your booking engine should almost certainly quickly and easily bolster these various associations and realize when to utilize each.

As favored supplier relationship become increasingly imperative to verifying the best cost and commission levels, display biasing has turned into a tool for some organizations to advance their favored suppliers more than one that is not liked. Much of the time, the ability to inclination the display towards one supplier over another allows an organization to control customers to the Supplier they acquire the best commission with, therefore expanding their overall benefits. Numerous Suppliers rush to perceive the advantages of a one-sided display and some may offer expanded commissions and advertising backing to those with an online booking solution that has this capability.

Travels Booking Software also need the ability to quickly and easily characterize business rules so you can augment benefits and include value include offers or special deals in the availability display. Your online booking engine should almost certainly stay aware of all the various specials and advancements that Suppliers make available today. Selling value alterations and value add offers should be anything but difficult to characterize and have the flexibility to characterize a rule by a particular market, travel dates, booking dates, supplier uses and then some.

Finding a travel booking solution that has the functionality and substance you need is a significant choice for your business, finding the correct technology accomplice to help you can be considerably increasingly significant.

Hotel Booking Engines Need Rich Content

The Hotel industry was an early adopter of the internet as a cost effective way to reach consumers with many hotel companies acting as earlier pioneers of bringing travel online.  As they quickly developed their own online hotel booking engine, many discovered this new channel allowed them to showcase their hotel online with pictures and eventually virtual tours of the property.  For the first time consumers were able to view the different types of rooms available as well as public areas such as the hotel restaurant or Spa and were able to decide for themselves whether a specific hotel was right for them.

The explosion of Online Travel agencies shifted some online consumers away from these individual Hotel websites to large Online Travel Agencies and Hotel aggregators where price & availability rule the display.   Travel technology solutions were quickly developed to provide online consumers a quick and easy way to identify the best hotel for their needs based on price and room availability.  Competing based on price and availability alone presented challenges to hotel companies that were looking to differentiate their product offering from their competitors.

Many began what I refer to as a “brand overall” and started to distinguish their properties with unique features and amenities to set them apart from the mass.  As these brand differences began to take root, some consumers started looking for more than just a hotel room at the lowest price.  Many of today’s consumers look for a custom travel experience that requires personalized attention or specific perks that only travel professionals can provide.  Many larger agencies or consortia groups have embraced this trend and are now using travel technology solutions that provide their customers access to special features and amenities along with their hotel booking.  Many travel agents are able to provide special amenities such as concierge service and complimentary beverages to their most valued customers.

Today’s frequent traveler is on the go and they have become increasingly dependent on their mobile devices to manage their lives as well.  Delivering the content and amenities targeted for a specific group of customers can be complicated for many, but providing it quickly and easily with an online Hotel booking engine is even more challenging.   A good technology partner can help you automate the content as well as any include amenities so you can offer it all online. Planning or changing travel plans is no exception, so travel technology solutions need to support these features during the entire research and booking process online.

To accomplish this requires integration of travel technology solutions that deliver the information to the specific hotel property identifying a particular VIP guests along with details of any special offers included.  For example, as more hotels offer unique amenities for preferred guests such as free internet or access to concierge level lounges, a hotel booking engine needs to make sure this information is sent along with the reservation informing the actual hotel property.

Finding the right hotel content to serve your customer’s needs is important, finding a technology partner with the flexibility to customize that service is even more important.

Travel Agent Software Needs Flexibility

The internet has dramatically changed the way that the world researches and shops for everything from appliances to airline tickets.   The ability for consumers to shop online means retailers now have the opportunity to sell their products or services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  Today’s online retailer virtually always opens for business.  So today’s Travel agent software must be designed to provide the flexibility to serve these consumers when and how they choose.

You’ll need an application that allows your travel business to serve customers via multiple channels including Business to Business (B2B) for those consumers that still like to speak with a travel agent call center to discuss and book their travel arrangements.  For consumers shopping online, you’ll need an easy to use Business to Consumer (B2C) online booking engine, but make sure it is a mobile ready so you can easily serve consumers using any device, including their smartphone.

The internet has also made the world a smaller place for retailers and the travel industry is no exception.  No longer limited by “brick and mortar” store fronts, today’s travel agent can serve customers anywhere in the world with the right travel agent software.  Those who are looking to reach Latino consumers may want to consider an online booking engine that has multi-language capabilities so they interact with these customers online in Spanish.  For those looking to expand beyond their country’s boarder, the online booking engine needs to easily support multiple currency types.  It will also need to consider any local requirements and regulations for online commerce in a specific market.

Your travel agent software will also need the flexibility to easily define business rules and promotions for each specific market so you can easily take advantage of market specific deals and promotions.  Easy to use business rules will allow you to manage and localize what your customers are offered in each market.  Choosing online travel booking software that has the flexibility to quickly define business rules using a wide variety of criteria can help any size business compete with even the largest online retailers.

The ability to quickly and easily customize a sub-website’s “Look & Feel”, including unique headers and footers for each can be a powerful tool when working with an affiliated agency or group.  Flexibility to choose the language or currency used as well as products offered can be critical to your success in a new market.

So whether you are looking to serve a new customer group, expand your service into new geographic markets or just distribute online to multiple websites, flexibility is key.  Flexible & fully scalable applications can help you grow your business to serve new customer groups as well as new easily expand into new geographic markets and still allow your business to maintain its own unique brand identity.   Flexibility to grow and expand your business is key when deciding on the right travel technology solution for your business, choosing the right technology partner can be even more important.

Your Flight Booking Software Should Provide Options

There are so many different types of travel related content available and so many different online travel technology solutions available today that it is sometimes difficult to know which the best fit for your needs is. While some travel booking software may have the great functionality and the features you need, it may not have the type of Supplier content your clients are looking for.  On the flip side, you may find an online booking solution with the perfect content source, but find that it is missing the functionality and features you need.

If you are selling multiple travel products, you may want your booking engine to access hotel content using one source, but look to use a totally different connection for your flight booking software or perhaps several other sources when booking certain destinations.  Finding the all the right travel related content sources in a single online booking solution that has the features and functionality you need can be overwhelming at first and a bit of a challenge at best.

The solution to your problems may be found with travel booking software that includes the features and functionality you need to properly manage your business as well as a flexible supplier connection gateway which will allow you to access different content sources for different travel products.  Some of the more advanced travel technology solutions even allow you to choose specific content sources by Supplier, providing the ultimate in content source flexibility.  Say you want your flight booking software to use your GDS ID to make most of your airline bookings, except one or two where you prefer to use an air consolidator to ensure you offer the most competitive price.   Your travel booking software needs to be able to quickly and easily support these different connections and know when to use each.

Flight booking software also need the ability to quickly and easily define business rules so you can maximize profits and include value add offers or special deals in the availability display.  Your online booking engine needs to be able to keep up with all the different specials and promotions that Suppliers make available today.  Selling price adjustments and value add offers should be easy to define and have the flexibility to define a rule by a specific market, travel dates, booking dates, supplier uses and more.

And finally to serve today’s growing number of consumers who use their mobile device to purchase travel products as well as those that switch between devices during the research and booking process, many companies are building travel technology solutions that use responsive technology that automatically adjusts the screen layout based on the type of device being used.  For those looking for a dedicated Mobile App, there are several companies designing and developing custom Apps.

Finding flight booking software that has the right functionality and the specific content your customers need is an important decision for your travel business. Finding the right technology partner to assist you can be even more important.