Agile Design helping Airline Reservation Software, Travel eCommerce in scalability – PROVAB.com5/4/2017 Software designing is filled with a lot of buzz words at present and the most frequent of them is the word “Agile”. There are other similar kinds of words like SCRUM, KANBAN, Crystal Clear and Extreme Programming. Top travel technology companies around the globe adopting agile design process for travel portal software development, travel CRM and mobile apps. Hire Travel Technology Company – Get a Project Quote - http://www.provab.com/get_quote.html The place that the word Agile holds in software designing could be explained with the help of the waterfall model. You may have read about the concept of waterfall model, when you were undergoing your bachelors in engineering. Waterfall model was also an ornate term used for defining a concept. The waterfall model is sequential designing process, according to which progress is defined as flowing downward like that of a waterfall. The various phases of the waterfall model include Conception, Initiation, Analysis, Design, Construction, Testing, Implementation and maintenance. Leading travel software companies are adopting the same model for scalable travel portal development projects. The waterfall model dates back to the olden days when the Romans involved themselves in the construction work. The main theory that the Romans has put forward and the concept that is implemented in the Waterfall model is the fact, that when you build a bridge it is a challenging task to bring about change or fix the bridge later. Even if you find a path of fixing the bridge, it will be costly. It is very essential to know what you want at the beginning, when you are designing the project. The case is different with the software, wherein you can bring about changes in the end-products. Looking at the demand that the users pose to the current software industry, it would not be wrong to say that the users expect change in the end-product very frequently. I can put forward a very common concept in regards to the reason behind demanding change in the end-product. During the beginning of the project an user might have a very vague idea about the features that they want in the project, and a strong opinion is formed with the progression of the project depending on the business needs. Now I could clearly say that, it is the benefits associated with the Agile designing process that had helps in creating an exclusive place when it comes to software designing. The Agile design process enables the project managers to generate a condition that leads to clear and frequent interaction among the customers, business folks and the delivery team. There are many projects that Provab.com have accomplished and in which the Agile method was implemented very effectively. These are the projects wherein the features associated with the end-result were quite different in comparison to the features that were through about, while beginning the project. The factor that mattered for us as an organization was the level of customer satisfaction and appreciation that these projects brought along with them. As mobility solutions depend on the web services generated from the web projects, agile development process will be the backbone of travel portal development companies.
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Online Travel eCommerce Website and Reservation Systems growing in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt.4/4/2017 http://www.provab.com - Ticketing system in travel technology means an online booking system to search and book, flights, hotels, transfers, sightseeing and holiday packages. Travel ticketing system supports immediate booking and request management (*which is called queuing up), both the models. Ticketing system also refers to travel software (travel agency software), which are widely used by global travel management companies. Looking for a Travel Portal – Get a Project Quote - http://www.provab.com/get_quote.html A ticketing system / travel agent software is online system to store & to retrieve travel related contents. The data may come from the ticketing system’s database or it may come from the GDS Systems – Global Distribution Systems or the 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 ticketing systems, which are most widely used today.
A ticketing system / 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. Below are distinct advantages of travel ticketing system / travel agency software.
Author: Author is a travel technology expert and has been involved in several travel portal development project. http://www.provab.com - With summer is on, people are planning for travel & vacations. Travel agencies are also pushing the operations to meet the demands. As the competition is high, its important to connect to right clients, either using a great travel agency software, supported by a good CRM team. Following are a few tips to increase the sales. Get a Project Quote - http://www.provab.com/get_quote.html As most of sales are through online travel agency software, use a travel software which connects to social media. Most of the clients read the reviews before they make the purchase. Find the real interests of your potential customers and highlight them. Encourage them to send and update the reviews / comments on your travel website, which is anyways accessed by several potential clients. Going to places is always trending in the social media. Travellers when dissatisfied or angry at a restaurant, hotel, or a flight immediately inform the world through social media. Sometimes they appreciate good service. Interact with them, win their trust, and transform them to your loyal customers. Create a separate travel blog to accommodate the end user contents. With pictures, videos, questions or statuses you can get followers and likes. Social media will tell you where to improve. Social media is big tool to boost sale. A buzzing travel portal will always convert more sales. Offers are an all-time favourite for customers. Declare discounts and freebies frequently. Sell hotel booking, flight booking and activities together. Travel packages attract even reluctant customers. Publish everything using the CMS of your travel portal software and share it to clients. Use SMS sending software to sell ‘last-minute’ flight tickets at great discounts, when there are unexpected cancellations in flights or when tickets are not sold out enough. Who will not desire to get highly discounted last-minute deals to their dream destinations on their mobiles. You can also use your mobile app for this. You can keep your customers updated on new destinations etc.
Your travel software must remind them about travel insurance, special baggage regulations or about the delay of their flight. Users will always appreciate taking care of these small things. You can concentrate on a certain demographic area, a type of travel, a destination and make a travel niche. Your travel software will play a significant role in keeping in contact with these special people even when they are on the move. Regarding Author: Author is a travel technology expert and has been involved in several travel portal development projects. 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 - A global distribution system (GDS) is a database capable of storing and updating enormous information on the supply of a wide range of tourism products worldwide. GDSs enable the travel agents to access, in real-time, availability, features and prices of flight tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, cruises, ferry reservations, trains and other services. With a Global distribution system integrated to their website, travel agencies can allow their customers to search and book travel products and services and issue tickets too. Looking for a Travel Portal – Get a Project Quote - http://www.provab.com/get_quote.html Global Distribution System Travel agencies are greatly aided by GDS systems because they are enabled to offer their customers rates, inventory, discounts, rooms, and descriptions on a real-time basis. In other words, global distribution systems are intermediaries between travel product suppliers –and travel retailers who sell tickets to the final consumer. Main features of GDS: • Report availability and prices of travel products • Reserve user requests. • Sale and ticketing • Track sales (extend customer’s stay, change of flights, etc). • Facilitates control management for travel agencies). Evolution of GDS The prototype of GDS in the travel industry can be seen in the 1950s as the traditional legacy business model which inter-operated between airline vendors. Computer reservation systems (CRS), at the initial stage, was used by the airline companies as an automated booking system, but later, travel agents were given access. Around 1980, CRS enabled travel agents to connect to various travel providers in a single system. At this stage, in addition to flights, hotels and car rentals were included. CRS acquired much strength by late 80s being so helpful to both suppliers and distributors. In the 90s, computerized reservation systems of airlines were transformed to global distribution systems (GDS). So we see that GDS has developed from airline alliances and ended up becoming independent business units with product internationalization and introduction of new products, especially hotel rooms, which is why Amadeus and Galileo software are used for all the top travel agencies worldwide. GDS integration for travel agencies and suppliers of travel products Travel agencies must have full access to a global distribution system GDS. To get connected to a GDS, travel agencies need a contract. This will enable the travel agents to provide an astonishing amount of travel product rates and information to their customers, at the lowest possible rates. An experienced travel technology company can integrate any GDS to the computer reservation system or website of a travel agency. It’s critical also for the properties to be on a GDS. Travelers now go to travel portals to find travel products. So hotels, car rentals, etc, have to be there to get Internet visibility and, thus, more reservations. A GDS allows real-time access to inventory system of a hotel with the current prices, discounts, room types, facilities like Wi-Fi and different aspects of interest to the potential customer. Owners can hire a good travel technology company to get access to the GDS of their choice. A property can be connected only in one GDS provider. If the property owner wants to change the provider, he can cancel the existing provider and activate another with a switch letter. How much does it cost? To integrate GDS to your system, you’ll have to pay a one-time setup cost and pay a monthly charge of a minimum amount per reservation. Major GDS systems Amadeus was started in 1987 by Air France, Iberia, Lufthansa, and SAS in order to create a European GDS, by fusing their CRSs. In 1989, seven more airlines joined Amadeus and began to allow travel agents to book flights through neutral screens. It is now the largest leisure package distributor in the world. Through Amadeus GDS integration, a travel agent can offer travel products from 430 airlines in 195 countries, 32 car rental companies in 37,918 locations, 20 cruise lines and 300,000 hotel properties. More than 100,000 travel agencies are connected with Amadeus GDS. Sabre, a joint venture by American Airlines and IBM, was started in 1960. In 1970, Sabre system began to be installed in travel agencies. Now 55,000 travel agencies use Sabre GDS to book products from 400 airlines, 88,000 hotels, 24 car rental brands, and 13 cruise lines.
Galileo and Worldspan are the other two major GDSs. There are also third party consolidators like Sahara, Infini (Japan), Axess (Japan), Tapas (Korea), Fantasia (South Pacific), and Abacus (Asia/Pacific) that cater to particular regions or countries. The big consolidators also include such as Expedia, Orbitz (Merchant program registration needed), Hotels.com, Travelocity, AAA, Hotwire, Priceline and TravelWeb. The future of GDS As a tool of of content aggregation, GDS is here to stay and be more powerful. Novel technological solutions in middleware continue to appear. Global distribution systems have a long way to go. 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. 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. With summer is on, people are planning for travel & vacations. Travel agencies are also pushing the operations to meet the demands. As the competition is high, its important to connect to right clients, either using a great travel agency software, supported by a good CRM team. Following are a few tips to increase the sales. As most of sales are through online travel agency software, use a travel software which connects to social media. Most of the clients read the reviews before they make the purchase.
Find the real interests of your potential customers and highlight them. Encourage them to send and update the reviews / comments on your travel website, which is anyways accessed by several potential clients. Going to places is always trending in the social media. Travellers when dissatisfied or angry at a restaurant, hotel, or a flight immediately inform the world through social media. Sometimes they appreciate good service. Interact with them, win their trust, and transform them to your loyal customers. Create a separate travel blog to accommodate the end user contents. With pictures, videos, questions or statuses you can get followers and likes. Social media will tell you where to improve. Social media is big tool to boost sale. A buzzing travel portal will always convert more sales. Offers are an all-time favourite for customers. Declare discounts and freebies frequently. Sell hotel booking, flight booking and activities together. Travel packages attract even reluctant customers. Publish everything using the CMS of your travel portal software and share it to clients. Use SMS sending software to sell ‘last-minute’ flight tickets at great discounts, when there are unexpected cancellations in flights or when tickets are not sold out enough. Who will not desire to get highly discounted last-minute deals to their dream destinations on their mobiles. You can also use your mobile app for this. You can keep your customers updated on new destinations etc. Your travel software must remind them about travel insurance, special baggage regulations or about the delay of their flight. Users will always appreciate taking care of these small things. You can concentrate on a certain demographic area, a type of travel, a destination and make a travel niche. Your travel software will play a significant role in keeping in contact with these special people even when they are on the move. Regarding Author: Author is a travel technology expert and has been involved in several travel portal development projects. How we can improve customer engagement through the latest travel technological advancements?27/9/2016 The internet and the proliferation of smart-phones have transformed the way consumers reserve hotels and accommodation. This drastic change in consumer behavior has led to an up-rise in online bookings around the world and inherently meant a transformation in how travel agencies help their customers book hotel rooms. Travel agencies with hotel booking systems are getting more business. Hotels also benefit from hotel booking systems as they get more rooms booked, thus avoiding the prospect of rooms remain vacant. For the B2C user perspective, below is work flow, which they see during the booking process-
The whole online hotel booking system being 100% web based model, it was profitable rather than conservative method. Major business models, B2C, B2B, B2B2B and B2B2C are used widely across the globe. There have been a consistent debate about, which one is better but most of the leading travel agencies are actually using both. Professional travel portal development companies, which are offering online hotel booking system are now clubbing the system with mobile apps based on android and iOS operating systems. Most of the working and corporate professionals prefer to get the booking done on the go and thus mobile apps are far more helpful rather than web version. Online hotel booking systems which are openly definable and customizable to cater to their specific business needs. Multilingual hotel booking systems are widely used in USA, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Dubai UAE, India and Singapore. A combo of robust hotel booking system and mobile app can certainly keep you ahead of competitors. Regarding Author: Author is a senior business analyst and an expert in travel portal development and marketing strategy implementation. For handling the ever growing network of various online reservation systems, there are the global consolidators, which consolidate the global travel data from various airlines, hotel providers and car providers. Such a system that aggregates and distributes travel related information to end travel management companies, is called GDS System / Global Distribution System. GDS System is a centralized reservation system used as an ultimate access point by different travel agents for reservations on different reservation systems. It is a computerized travel reservation system that provides automated transactions between Vendors and travel agents who in turn provide booking services to the travellers. GDS works in 3 sectors namely, airline reservations, hotel reservations and car rentals. A GDS system connects all of these three sectors and a huge share of worldwide travel bookings goes through GDS and other consolidators. The major GDS systems are Amadeus, Sabre, Apollo, Galileo, Worldspan, Abacus and Infini. These have links to the airline's database and provide all links to the travel agents who are the primary customers. Basically it is a medium used by various travel agents to access the seats, rates and booking information related to different airlines. It connects various such reservation systems all together within a single entity and also connects them to various other GDS present so as to provide combinational services like flights plus hotels or hotels plus rental cars etc. The association between single ARS – Airline Reservation System and the GDS is so advanced that the booking systems and the travel agents access availability and pricing information in real time. Whole process of searching and booking and generating the PNR, can be finished in in no time. In case of ARS, whenever a booking is made, a PNR is generated that contains all the journey details for that passenger. GDS also holds the entire data in that PNR, called user profiling whereas ARS contains PNR details for that passenger only related to that particular airline. Author: Author is a travel technology expert and has been involved in several travel portal development projects. |
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