Though travel demand in Europe stalled during the global recession, the pace of technological progress continued unabated. Those hotel and travel companies that seek success must either catch up or risk becoming irrelevant, according to a new report. There was not one game-changing advancement or trend but rather a confluence of subsequent shifts that are changing the overall environment, he said during a news conference. For B2C Travel Software Development – Get a Project Quote – http://www.provab.com/get_quote.html Following are the top 10 technology trends that will help hotel and travel companies leverage innovation in the coming year and beyond. 1. New patterns of content challenge distribution The old model of travel distribution, which saw large intermediaries—such as global distribution systems—aggregate content for booking, is being undermined by new models. Personal clouds, for instance, allow users to access information anywhere, anytime and on any device. The “Internet of things” enables integration of connectivity and objects that can influence a trip, such as real-time baggage location, weather conditions and homeland security advisories. Ubiquitous online communications allow even small hotel companies to connect with customers in real-time, allowing them to shop and book without delay. Those same companies, as well as the individuals they serve, also are better able to collect and integrate itinerary data from multiple sources without a GDS. 2. Too much choice means less is better Giving people too many choices tends to lessen their satisfaction. Online travel agencies used to provide as many options as possible to exhibit their computing clout. Today the focus is on providing relevant results that target the specific needs and wants of each traveler. The new traveler, the millennial as we call him today, embraces technology and embraces all devices, and he wants to be shown the right information for what he needs. Providing such targeted content is even more critical in the mobile arena, where smaller screens require both streamlined offerings and the presentation of those offerings. 3. Social technologies change the shape of travel Facebook alone has more than 1 billion users, while social media in general reaches 85% of the world’s total Internet users. However, travel companies have yet to unlock the true potential. 4. New efficiencies re-energize the customer experience As demand for customer service increases, new technological advances will lower the cost of providing it. But travel companies must consider whether a penny saved comes at the risk of a pound of customer preference. Excessive menu trees or outsourced call centers in foreign countries may cut monetary costs but frustrate customers. Each travel company needs to determine how to use customer service technology in a way that increases customer satisfaction and reduces costs” the report states. 5. Cross-platform data access engages users As customers realize their dreams of accessing desired digital information on any device or platform, hotel and travel companies are facing nightmares in providing the necessary development and support. “Cross-platform data access requires travel companies to track the changing user-interface patterns of their customers to provide the appropriate level of service. This will be a continuing process as new technologies evolve and businesses become less restrictive about the devices their employees can use for particular tasks. The suppliers and distributors that support the most user-friendly, convenient interfaces will enjoy increased market share,” according to the report. 6. A cloudy future beats no future at all
Cloud services are becoming more and more sophisticated Not only do they reduce IT costs and improve time to market, but they allow integration across multiple travel brokerage services, allowing customers to combine hotel stays with airfare or train tickets. The travel industry has been slow to adapt the services, however. 7. Intermediaries require fresh approaches throughout the travel cycle Intermediaries, including travel agents and OTAs, must help consumers break through information overload to stay relevant. “Instead of just selling the best airfare between Point A and Point B, intermediaries will have to provide the best (or lowest-cost) travel experience as a whole. This new imperative requires (sometimes drastic) changes—and investment—in technology, training, customer service time, and service delivery tools. If intermediaries can’t make the needed changes, they will cede shopping to suppliers,” according to the report. 8. Big data makes travel smarter The effective use of big data can really increase your performance and can really be your competitive differentiator Instead of focusing on transactions, companies must focus instead on data to better understand how, when, where and why travelers shop and book the way they do. The report cites efforts by Choice Hotels International, which has set up a master record for every guest and loyalty program member to collect service history, bookings and such on-property selections as food and beverage. It’s working in the case of Choice. The company’s enhanced loyalty program now delivers $1 out of every $3 in revenue, according to the report. 9. Better travel management through predictive analysis The travel industry was an early adopter of business intelligence tools, which allowed it to make sense of and informed decisions about the growing amounts of data at its disposal. But as supplier and distribution channels have evolved, the use of business intelligence to manage those channels hasn’t kept up, according to the report. “Travel companies need to determine their own ‘best practices’ for optimizing content acquisition and distribution,” the report concludes. “Doing so involves acquiring the appropriate tools and establishing business processes and management structures to monitor, analyze and respond to channel business intelligence.” 10. Short-range communications links improve processes “Most people are acquainted with Bluetooth, but fewer know about radio-frequency identification and near-field communications. All three technologies provide limited-range communications capabilities,” the report states. Hotel companies have only begun to tap into this potential, utilizing RFIC and NFC for room entry devices payment delivery. Further opportunities exist in the monitoring of visitor patterns, “as this data can lead to improvements in the visitor experience,” according to the report. RF – HotelNews PROVAB TECHNOSOFT (http://www.provab.com) is an award winning travel technology company, delivering best in class online travel software and CRS systems to global clients. Author: Author is a travel technology expert and has been involved in several travel portal development projects
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Starting a travel business from home is a good idea indeed. You need only a little investment. It is low-risk too. Just that you must be very enthusiastic to offer your clients best in class travel deals. For B2C Travel Portal Development – Get a Project Quote - http://www.provab.com/get_quote.html The first step in your home based endeavor is finding the right host agency. It’s better to have a host agency. It will keep your spending low, give you big commissions, and do your backend office. Moreover, if you are a novice in travel industry, they will train you too and assist you in running the business. Most of the host agencies have their online travel software in place, which you can also get access off. With the host agency, you need not have an ARC, CLIA, or IATAN number which is costly and difficult to get for a startup. The host agency’s accreditation number is enough and it will be your parent company. If you use the GDS, the host will take care of the ARC report which will be time-saving to you. They will also help you to get a travel agent license as required by your region.
Experts recommend to restrict your travel business first to some niche rather than offering all airlines and hotels in the world. It may be for a particular region or a special holiday package. But don’t market just one product, try two or three. Or you can cater to the travel needs of business travelers to a particular country. Or try your luck in booking charter planes for the high-end corporate travelers or billionaires. Name your travel agency accordingly. Try to offer something, which is little different from the generic node. You are in travel business to make money by providing quality, reliable service to your customers. Have separate accounts and track business expenses. To get your home-based travel agency clicked, you must have a working knowledge of travel agency software, customer service experience and experience in traveling to the destinations you deal in. Keep on having very satisfied clients and serve your clients to the max. Word of mouth does wonders in travel business. Regarding Author: Author is a senior business analyst and an expert in travel portal development and marketing strategy implementation. http://www.provab.com - As reports suggest, more and more travellers, especially the youngsters, tend to book their flights and hotels through their smartphones. In a report published some time back “Tap into mobile: managed travel in the digital economy, an investigation into the impact of mobile in the managed travel space.” It predicts travel bookings through mobile will greatly increase in the next ten years. Travel agencies will use latest mobile technology to deal with their travelers. By 2017, mobile booking will increase to 32%. For Travel Portal Design – Get a Project Quote - http://www.provab.com/get_quote.html Benefits of mobile are hassle-free, fast and efficient running of travel business, more productivity and profits and travellers’ wellbeing. Travel agencies want travel technology companies to supply a one-stop-shop app which cater to all their needs as well as of their customers. Travel portal companies in India who supply mobile websites and customized mobile apps to travel managing companies in different parts of the world like Singapore, Melbourne, Amsterdam, Nairobi, Copenhagen, Dhaka and Brussels. Now they include travel alert features, besides flight status updates and itinerary information. Indian travel software suppliers emphasize on productivity and compliance to laws in respective countries when they design and develop apps and websites for travel agencies in European countries such as Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany and Britain. When travel companies in Toronto, San Antonio, Playa del Carmen, Honolulu, Niagara Falls, San Juan, Ottawa, Whistler and so on offshore their travel software development to India. Indian mobile software companies, take special care to provide simple and efficient way of doing travel business and productivity.
iPhone and Android devices are almost in every hand and people are browsing the information more than ever. So travel agencies are seeking the services of mobile app development companies to build them a best in class tool. Online travel software offers search and booking facilities of flights, hotels, transfers, sightseeing, cars, cruises and holiday packages. Ticketing systems powers real-time booking of travel deals. Mobile apps use the same web services, which are used by travel software and bring the desired information for the end user. Get a Project Quote - http://www.provab.com/get_quote.html A travel software is a web based system to store & retrieve travel related contents including flights, hotels, transfers, sightseeing and other services. Mobile apps are connected to the same database and access the web services from the GDS & APIs directly. The data may come from the ticketing system's database or it may come from the Global Distribution Systems, hotel APIs providers or third party suppliers. Ticketing system may process the transactions related to flights, accommodations, transfers, cars, cruise and other travel related services. There are three kinds of travel software systems, which are most widely used today.
A travel software, while issuing any ticket connects to primary flights / hotels / cars data to find real time availability and pricing. Once the availability is confirmed, users can proceed to make payment to confirm the booking. This whole process is automated and end users get the booking confirmation / PNR or voucher in no-time after making the payment. Amadeus and Galileo software, backed by the GDS systems are some of the top used travel software. Below are distinct advantages of travel ticketing system.
Same advantages are extended through the mobile apps, which does not only help in making the booking process easier but also help in brand recall. Booking your hotel through online hotel reservation software is easy. The availability of multiple accommodations for each destination, gives end users enough flexibility to choose a right hotel at right cost. Each accommodation option provides a varied range of pricing, facility, quality and availability, using which end users can select and pick a desired option. For B2B Travel Portal & OTA Setup – Get a Project Quote – http://www.provab.com/get_quote.html Top hotel consolidators Expedia, GTA Travel, Hotelbeds, DOTW, Agoda, Hotelspro, WCT, Travco, Tourico, Bonotel, Travelocity, Jac Travels, Miki and others have designed and developed APIs for hotel inventory to share the hotel inventory to global travel agent. The web services of hotel APIs not only sharing the availability but also the room types, pricing as well. The main aim associated with the hotel APIs is travel agents, both small and medium-sized travel agents offer their clients the best of the deals at any corner of the globe. Hotel booking systems equipped with Hotel APIs, makes all the information regarding hotel selection available at the finger tip of the customers, and it is also real time information. API stands for application programming interface. In simple terms hotel API integration provides a legitimate access for one company to get access to the product of the other companies. A travel management company or a travel portal can get access to a huge variety of hotel inventory through hotel APIs integration. Hotel APIs acts as web service with the option of online functionality for searching and booking of the hotels across the world. Hotel API web service provides a broader spectrum to the online hotel booking services. The travel management companies or the travel agencies get the privilege of providing its users with the option of choosing their accommodation as per their need at a particular destination, thus giving a wider enhancement to the business of the travel agencies. The benefits of the top hotel APIs for the travel agencies are as follows:
Features associated with the top hotel APIs are:
The leading hotel APIs include Expedia, GTA API, Hotelbed XML, Hotelspro XML, Tourico API, DOTW API, Travco API, Tourico XML, Expedia API, WCT API, Bonotel XML and booking.com. API based hotel reservation system is a hit at the present as it is accompanied with benefits like 24/7 availability, enhanced client satisfaction, automated system, immediate confirmation, time saving and brings improvement in sales. Have you ever thought about the benefits associated with buying online booking B2B software or a travel distribution platform? What are the benefits that you and your partner will be able to fetch from the online booking B2B software? Have you ever thought about the functionalities of travel software or what is travel distribution platform? This write-up is an answer to all the questions that arise in your mind in regards to the online booking B2B software and the benefits associated with it. To install travel inventory distribution platform – Get a Project Quote – http://www.provab.com/get_quote.html B2B travel software is the system that allows partners or travel agents to book items from the system that is used by the travel agency or tour operator. B2B online booking system helps the partners to have a look at all the products and documents directly along with enabling them to make reservation from the system. It is very essential to know the reasons for online booking B2B software being one of the best and the benefits for the same have been mentioned below. Travel partners provided with the information required for purchasing - One of the biggest advantages is making your entry into the travel services system visible to the travel agents. The look of the travel agent system will be absolutely similar to yours. The only difference would be that you as an administrator with have more options. The next question could be the features that the travel agents would be able to view in the system. Services - The services that are a part of the system is gathered and centralized and the travel agents will be able to find them during the course of making reservation. Along with the list f the services, the travel agents will also be able to view the description (service image, service info), selling price, the location, suppliers for the services and the number of units available. These are the information required for creating a new reservation. Pricing and Availability - Along with the service list, your travel partner also has access to the pricing and price list for each and every service and the features that forms a part of the service. The pricelist viewable to your partner includes the price of the basic service along with the price of the additional services, supplements, reduction and discounts. After a service is made available through addition of allotment, enabling the partner to book the service directly and enter the payment for it. In case there is no addition of allotment, the partner can click on “Send Enquiry” option. In case you as an administrator disable booking for specific dates, partners will not be able to make any booking during the particular period. Promotion Special Offers - The promotion could be viewed on the B2B login side as well. You also have the facility of entering the special offers in the system, enabling your travel partners to use them. This helps in generating demand and increasing sales. Different pricing level for the market or partners - In case you prefer to have different pricing level for different partners, it could be defined in the back office by using the option different market. For example, if you are targeting three different markets like European market, Asian market and American market, you have the facility of adjusting the prices by the addition of different commission to the market. Each partner will be able to get the price depending on the market they are assigned to. This will enable the travel agents to get the price predefined for them. This acts as a great marketing tool when it comes to assisting, increasing and rewarding partner sales. Entering Reservation and Reservation Management - The travel interface is designed to enable the travel partner make a reservation directly, when they have availability to information like product, price, and information about special price, promotion, services, availability and similar information. The overview of all the reservations accomplished by the system is also available. This means that the system will allow the administration and the travel partner to track the reservation and manage them effectively. Making all the Documents available - The system will provide the travel partners with all the documents, enabling them to make the same available for the customers. There is a very well support system for the mutual communication between the tour operator and tourist agency and its partners. When a partner makes a reservation, the document provided is dependent on the action taken by them. When a request is sent and offer and itinerary follows automatically. When a booking is accomplished, there is an automated process of sending the invoice. This process could be customized depending on the need of the travel agencies requirement. Along will this the partners will get an overview of all the documents created and are connected to the reservation system, which could be forwarded to be printed for the customers. This is one of the key features of travel distribution platform.
Online booking B2B enhances the communication process - This is a benefit that both the sides can enjoy. One partner checks with the suppliers, makes a confirmation for the reservation and send documents while the other one is sending new reservations. This process eliminates the need of communicating over the phone and saves time and money. This is also a way of attracting customers, finding new customers, creating new marketing campaigns and making better sales. Providing better control over the whole process - This means everything is under the same roof. Partners get an overview of the reservations and the documents that they have made. The whole process is centralized, eliminating the risk of making possible mistakes. Travel distribution platform has become a backbone of travel agencies, who are using online travel portals. Global Distribution System / GDS System is computerized and centralized web service that provide travel related transactions covering airline reservation, hotel reservation, cruise reservation and car rentals. In brief, central reservation systems that book and process the PNR for global airlines are known as Global Distribution Systems / GDS Systems. Originally, GDS systems were set up for airline reservations but later its extended to process hotels, cars, cruise and holiday packages. GDS system makes it convenient for users to purchase tickets from different airlines or providers thereby forming the backbone of internet based travel booking services. GDS system reaches out to more than 300,000 plus IATA registered travel agents powered by four major GDS networks like Sabre, Amadeus, Worldspan and Galileo. Thus the GDS systems today, are used by travel agents and online customers all over the world to book flights, hotels, rentals and other travel related services. The key point here is that any GDS system will not hold the inventory, but the inventory is held on vendor’s reservation system itself as GDS has real-time access to the vendor’s database.
GDS can also be understood as a network operated by a company that enables automated transactions between booking agents and vendors so as to provide travel related services to end consumers. A GDS system usually links rates, services, bookings consolidating products and services across the major travel sectors like hotel reservations, car rentals, airline reservations and other activities. GDS system’s primary customers are mainly travel agents, who are either following OTA model or using a web based software to connect to GDS. To understand, how global distribution system works, take for example the case of Amadeus GDS. Amadeus is used globally by over 90,000 travel agency locations and over 32,000 airline sales offices for distribution and selling of travel services. This service processes more than 480 million transactions per day, which is huge and over 3 million total bookings per day. GDS along with Online Distribution Data or ODD in the form of connectivity modules allow hotels to connect with Travel agents and online customers. GDS are owned and operated as joint ventures by major airlines, hotel groups, companies and car rentals. Sometimes they are also called as automated reservation system or ARS or computerized reservation system or CRS. Modern GDS system typically allow users to take advantage of booking hotel rooms, rental cars, airline tickets, as well as for other activities like outdoor tours. They also provide access to railway and bus reservations in some segments of markets, although these are not always integrated with the main system. For many years, GDS had a dominating position and role in the travel sector. To avoid high GDS fees airlines have started to distribute flights directly from their websites through web services or APIs, thus bypassing GDS to a large extent, another way of bypassing is by facilitating direct connections to the travel agencies. Author: Author is a travel technology expert and has been involved in several travel portal development projects. Hotel APIs / Hotel XMLs are web services provided by the leading hotel aggregators like GTA, Hotelbeds, Agoda, Expedia, Hotelspro, DOTW, RoomsXML and several others alike. Hotel APIs provided unrestricted access to huge hotel inventory compiled by hotel consolidators. Online hotel booking system is a term for web application offering the seamless ability to search and book hotels online. It covers a range the entire range of hotel / rental business, connected or non-connected with hotel aggregators. It is currently one of the most important part of online travel industry as online hotel booking systems are generating all the high bookings worldwide. Hotel booking systems are also having advantage because of its absolutely convenient due to its 24-hour availability, global reach and generally efficient customer service. Hotel booking system is basically of two types, B2C – which is focused towards end customers and B2B – which is focussed towards travel agents. Travel industry today operates operates in all four of the major market segments: business to business, business to consumer, business to corporate and white-label. Hotel booking system can be thought of as a more advanced form of global hotel catalog, where in user can search, check images, check pricing and do the booking online. Setting up an online hotel booking system can be done in following two ways:
Hotel booking systems have expanded rapidly over the past five years and is predicted to continue at this rate, or even accelerate. Carrying out hotel booking transactions electronically provides numerous competitive advantages over primitive methods. More over, the hotel inventory, which is one of the most important components of any hotel booking system, is accessed through hotel APIs, which have global data. When implemented with several hotel APIs, online booking system becomes faster, cheaper and more convenient than the traditional methods of bartering goods and services. Hotel Booking System with Self Contract Inventory (Hotel CRS / Hotel Extranet) Hotel booking systems with self contracted inventory are implemented more, for a specific geography. For example any travel company having several hundred hotel contracts in Dubai, will go for this model rather than going for hotel APIs. The commission in this model is more than the API model. GTA Travel, Hotelbeds, Hotelspro, Tourico, Travco, Expedia, DOTW, Bonotel and several other hotel aggregators are providing the best in class hotel inventory with good rates. Author: Author is a travel technology expert and has been involved in several travel portal development projects. With the evolution of online hotel booking system, traveling has become easy and comfortable. Sitting in your living room, you can avail the ease of planning an exotic holiday vacation in your dream location with the help of online hotel booking system. Nowadays, hotel booking systems are popular travel portals as they connect users to an extensive inventory from multiple hotels wholesalers across thousands of destinations worldwide. The leading hotels also incorporate hotel booking software to help their clients do the booking online. The hotel booking software plays a significant role in the planning as it allows the users to find the most competitive hotel rates as per their choice along with the multiple suppliers and get the best results for a specific geographic area or product category which suits their budget. Key Features of hotel booking system software, are:
Key Benefits of Hotel Booking Systems:
Regarding Author: Author is a senior business analyst and an expert in travel software development and marketing strategy implementation. PROVAB TECHNOSOFT is a major travel technology provider, which has been developing travel portal development for travel agencies worldwide, by integrating the GDS systems and third-party consolidators. We carry out travel portal development projects for B2C as well as B2B. Our travel portal will enable you to easily and efficiently carry out domestic & international flight booking, travel agency management, subagents management, etc. The travel agency software we present you will include payment gateway integration with SMS and email sending facility. Moreover your travel portal will be e-commerce enabled. If you require, we will make a holiday portal for you.
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Please click below to know more about travel portal development / travel website development/ travel software PROVAB TECHNOSOFT (provab.com) is a prominent travel technology provider known worldwide. We have been supplying excellent travel software and reservation system software to tour operators all over the world. PROVAB, the leader among Travel technology companies India, has been offering travel software development to the travel industry since its beginning in 2003. We also offer travel website development that gives power to travel agencies to deliver a fully loaded online travel booking website that boosts their business and profit. Agencies world wide especially likes our scalable and flexible hotel booking systems, hotel CRS systems, hotel reservation systems and hotel extranet apart from flight booking systems. We, as a capable travel technology company with a long-term experience in dealing with GDS and API Integration, successfully integrate GDS and hotel APIs. You can accept unlimited hotel room bookings or reservations from your own website with the hotel booking systems provided by PROVAB.
As an acclaimed travel technology company PROVAB promise you just one thing: simply more bookings. Our Central Reservation System is a multipart set of tools for online distribution and revenue management. Grab it and a new prosperous era will start for your company. Travel management companies around the world choose us because of our skill in supplying user-friendly CMS and efficient content standardization. To know more about us, please visit http://www.provab.com. You can call us at +91.8880321321 and email us at [email protected]. |
AuthorPROVAB TECHNOSOFT is an award winning travel technology company , delivering B2B / B2C travel software, travel CRM, accounting software, car rental software and mobility solutions to global travel & hospitality companies. ArchivesCategories
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