Stay ahead of competition by choosing the relevant Technology platform for Travel agency management
Every travel agency is unique hence there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Matching software capabilities against your agency’s business requirements can help identify the best IT solution. Below is a well-researched study that will guide you in selecting the best.
Although the pandemic has changed the face of travel business, the future still shines bright for the travel and tourism industry. According to the World Tourism Organization, by 2030, globally, there will be about 1.8 billion tourists per year, which is a huge number of people looking for super-personalised, online and hassle-free booking, travel fulfillment and related post sale billing service experiences.
This makes the role of travel agencies / Travel Management Companies more challenging and competitive like never before. Every travel business is unique. Even when located next to each other, they offer varying services, target unrelated sets of customers, staff distinctively and manage differently. In short, they are two separate businesses.
The success of a travel agency lies in aligning its software capabilities against its business needs in a most suitable manner. The backbone of any travel business is its front/mid/back office system that runs its business. It not only serves as the major contributing factor towards growth, but also turns out to be the competitive advantage.
How do you choose the right software needed for your business ?
The software that you select has the power to make or break your business. Accordingly, it has to be ensured that you pick the software intelligently. The natural tendency is to go for the cheapest option available, which could be one of the biggest MISTAKEs made by a travel agency, thus leading to bigger losses. It is always advised to choose a vendor with a fairly good geographic presence, proven track record, presence in the market for at least 5 to 10 years and its platform being used by at least 100+ customers. Bottom-line is whether you invest 1$ or 1M $, it is to be made sure that you are investing on the right system.
How do you assess the product/product features?
Do not fall prey to fancy presentations/ brochures! Ensure you SEE/USE the product, get a live demo and review the alignment of each and every feature with your product requirements. Identify the different business scenarios that your company faces. Discuss them in detail with the vendor to test the product capabilities with a view to meet the respective requirements. If there are certain missing features, reach an agreement with the vendor to make modifications to the product so as to fill the GAPS.
How should you evaluate the after sales support of the product before you select the product?
If the vendor has a local support, then it is very good! If that is not the case, ensure the vendor has sufficient infrastructure / experience in providing timely online support. Get a demo of the online support that the vendor provides and obtain multiple views on the online support system from your stakeholders, employees and business partners.
After detailed research and analysis, Nucore subject matter experts have put together an Assessment Tool in the form of an easy-to-use, downloadable Microsoft Office Excel workbook that can be leveraged to identify the software that best fits your agency’s unique requirements. The tool is not intended to be a decision matrix but rather a guide to help the path to a final decision to be made more intelligently and in less time than would otherwise be required. The main objective is to narrow down your agency alternatives for a more detailed review as fast and accurately as possible.
Read our detailed guideline on Selecting the Right Mid-Back Office System for your Travel Agency.
