We all have been there. Your travel agent has made a mistake and now you need to reschedule the vacation, because the hotel of your dream is fully booked till the next month. Or perhaps you are the travel agent yourself bombarded with hundreds of customer requests pouring in. Now that’s where Traveltech steps in.
The travel industry has been profiting from various digital solutions for quite a while. The growth of mobile and web technology in tourism has made the life of travelers and travel service providers much easier, turning the traveler experience into an extremely enjoyable and fun thing.
The stats go to prove that Traveltech has become an integral part of the travel industry. 41% of business bookings and 60% of travel reservations (accommodations, tours, activities) are made online, says the Adobe research.
Traveltech solutions come in all shapes and sizes depending on the purpose they were built for.
Here are some of the most disruptive domains of Traveltech:
Hospitality Property Management
This type of software manages booking services, including web-based and onsite solutions. The key features of this solution usually include:
- marketing tools,
- booking,
- billing.
Such solutions can be split into two types:
- hotel property management
- privately held vacation rentals
Booking.com and Airbnb are probably the most famous examples for this category.
Management Solutions for Tour Operators
These solutions automate the business processes of travel agencies and other travel service providers.
Companies in the tourism industry benefit from using travel management software for the purposes of:
- travel arrangements,
- travel expenses reports,
- ticketing,
- itineraries,
- customer service etc.
There are multiple solutions available. To name just a few: TravelPerk, Lemax, Rezdy, PHPTRAVELS, Tourwriter, etc.
The TravelPerk, for example, is a comprehensive tool for business travel management, including flight and hotel booking, AirBnB, payment processing reporting and invoicing.
Customer Engagement & Relationship Management
As with any business, to win the hearts of your customers, you need to engage with them in any way possible, respond to their feedback, and resolve their pains. The travel-focused CRMs equip travel agencies with possibilities for:
- customer interaction,
- support and relationship management,
- financial operations etc.
Examples: TravelCEO, StoutWeb, NetHunt, GPSolutions, SmallBizzCRM.
TravelCeo will get you covered on more effective lead management and conversion.
Expense Management
These solutions help travelers to keep track of trip expenses. For example, Trippeo automates the expense report of the business trip. The advantages of such services are pretty obvious: you do not forget or lose any of your receipts and can generate reports much faster.
Other similar solutions include: Rydoo, Travel Perk, Sap Concur, Certify.
Flight Booking Services
These services are mostly used by those who prefer to take care of their trips themselves. Online flight and hotel booking tools allow you to make travel arrangements by yourself and be completely in charge of your own itinerary.
Some of the most popular services are: Skyscanner, Expedia, I want that fly, Skidoo, Kiwi, Vayama, CheapOAir.
Travel Planner Apps
These resources empower you to be your own travel agent. The variety of available apps range from packing, booking a flight, hotel, and restaurant, or preparing a walking tour to even meeting other travelers.
Examples are multiple: Hopper, Roadtrippers, TripHobo, TripCase, Packing Pro, etc.
There are even solutions for travelling solo. The app will set you up with some interesting people on your way.
The travel industry also benefits from the revolutionary tech trends, like IoT, AR, VR, and Robotics. The IoT solutions, for example, include smart hotel rooms, offering a much improved control over your hotel environment. The AR/VR technology enables travelseekers to remotely view and experience their destination hotel or restaurant. Thanks to AR/VR, the service provider is now equipped with excellent marketing tools to showcase their premises well before the traveler arrives. Robotics in Traveltech offers another surreal experience, and should attract the most demanding and tech-savvy travelers.
For companies operating in the travel industry, it’s an absolute must to keep up with the latest Traveltech innovations. Understanding and adopting the trends outlined above will allow you to provide a better customer experience and can also help service providers to optimize revenue management and overall business performance.
At Bitcom Systems we have developed some exciting apps within Traveltech. They include end-to-end solutions for travel agency expense management and a passport scanner for precise filling of forms when booking trips. Our developers also contributed to the implementation of a large-scale hospitality property management platform.
Having travel-related software ideas? We’ll be excited to share our Traveltech knowledge and help boost your business.