Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Tour Operator and Travel agency Software: An Introduction

Travel has become an integral element of entertainment for the modern man. Gone are the days when people were happy with their 9-5 jobs, and then come back to the same but stable home, with an occasional eating out or a trip to the movies. The income has risen, so has the desire to know more about the vast world. With the demand for travel on the rise, tour operator and travel agency software need to be developed in order to meet the demand.

Travel software makes work easier for travel agency planners as well as the vacationers. It provides

• Systematic storage and distribution of Travel itineraries
• Packaging of holiday destinations for travel services providers who want to package their offerings with other products or services
• Centralized operations for tour operators who want to control their entire work including planning trips, choosing locations and determining Tariff rates
• Tour operators who want to provide complete content for hotel accommodation specifications, tour and travel activity
• Specific destination tour planners
• Member organizations who do not have specific employees to attend to different aspects of the entire travelling gamut

Some of the Features of Travel Software Include

• Online booking management
• Request and confirm bookings
• Multi-language and currency conversion options
• Online promotions through tools like discount coupons, off-season packages etc.
• Generating travel vouchers
• Online booking for travel agencies offering single travel services, keeping individual records
• Group bookings
• Maintain a client base and shortening the procedure for frequent travelers to specific destinations

Travel software has made the job a lot easier for tour and travel planners. Furthermore, consumers are also benefitted from such technologies as information is generated quickly and accurately, and they can also evaluate different plans better.

Connectivity has increased manifold with the employment of tour operator and travel agency software as they can be easily integrated into the social media scheme as well. Facebook, twitter etc. are sites on which regular updates can be provided to travelers about latest discounts, packages, and changes in travel plans. Opinions can also be taken about new destinations which are popular with the buyers and travel agencies can plan a trip to those places, based on the information collected.

Travel software is of essential importance to the travel agencies. It eases, smoothens and lessens the burden on the staff to keep a record from the conception to the completion of numerous travel plans, from the beginning to the end of a season.

It makes travel plans easily compatible with different channels of distribution like

• External Agencies and Corporates
• XML / Web Services
• Call Center and Train Stations
• Consumer Site
• External Agencies and Corporates

Travel software offers a one stop shop for serving the entire paraphernalia associated with travel. All packages including train travel, packages with hotels, flight travel, vacations to specific destinations, planning of itineraries etc. can be done easily with the help of software.

For hotels, it helps to keep a real time track of inventory, record of the guests staying in the premises, generating transaction vouchers and keeping a record of the preferences of consumers under a central and single head. The software is a dynamic option when it comes to providing direct or indirect ancillary packages and generating revenues by combining various services. They have made the task easy for everyone related, either directly or indirectly, to the beautiful activity of travelling.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Travel Software Solutions: Travel Travails Made Easy!

Travelling has become a whole lot easier with evolution in technology. Gone are the days of waiting in queues for ticket bookings, starting to plan months in advance, and of course, the last minute angsts about whether all the efforts invested on the arrangements are in place. Travel agencies have come as a boon to travelers by taking care of all of their touring transactions and ensuring they do not have to face any type of troubles. However, the massive workload of travel agencies demands a capable tool that can help them overcome their operating challenges in a cost-effective manner.

How to Improve Efficiency and Reduce Operating Cost?

In short, travel software solutions are the answer. A travel software solution is the go-to weapon for any travel agency that aims to thrive in this highly competitive industry. Such solutions can be used by inbound operators and tour management companies to plan itineraries and manage various backend tasks.

Why Invest in a Travel Software Solution?

Travel software solutions are tailored to sort multiple work requirements and facilitate seamless information exchange, at a cost that is obscenely lower compared to the increasing costs of competent travel professionals.

Such solutions support the entire gamut of the planning and execution process, starting from client identification to formulating itinerary, making quotes, recording and choosing suppliers, deciding pricing structures, targeting prospective clients with advertisements of destination photos and maps. In short, travel software is the axis around which tourism revolves.

Travel solutions help travel agencies in a number of ways. The list includes:

Group reservations management

Online management of bookings

Ensure comprehensive inventory control and synchronized marketing

Follow-up confirmation and instant bookings on request

Generate email and SMS notifications for clients

Generate proof of transactions via Automatic Travel Vouchers

Manage promotional efforts with Discount coupons and online promotions

User facilitation with Multi-language and currency options

During and Post Travel Advantages

Keep the website content updated with pictures, video uploads, maps, location finders , flight itineraries, on-tour activities, cruises, travel and accident insurance plus overhead
contingencies

Formulate and revise pricing policies for individual and group requirements

• Manage payment & cancellation policies and communicate them to the clients as lucidly as possible

Implement most profitable Contract Conditions that regulate decisions such as complements & reductions, perks, stay restrictions, non-serviceable dates, etc.

If you are a travel agent or wish to join the industry, then procuring an efficient, feature-rich and cost-effective travel software solution is a must for your business. It will take you a long way in reducing your expenditure, easy management of travel itineraries, creating accurate reports and estimating gainful measures that can help strengthen your business.