Before choosing an itinerary builder for travel agents and tour operators, it is important to consider the following factors to ensure that the software meets your business needs.
1. Features
Ensure that the software provides all of the features necessary for your company. This will help you streamline your operations and provide your customers with a comprehensive travel experience. Also consider if the software provides additional features such as CRM, invoicing, booking management and so on.
2. Pricing
Price might not be an issue for big companies or companies from rich countries, but for others – it is one of the first things you have to check while visiting a software web page. Almost all companies nowadays offer a monthly subscription for a SAAS model (software as a service). But some software providers can also charge you 1% or more from your revenue in addition to subscription fee. Compare pricing options, and consider if the cost is justified by the features and benefits offered.
3. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI-driven software can help travel agents create personalized, tailored itineraries several times faster. By analyzing large datasets that include client preferences, past behaviors, and available travel options, AI can quickly generate the most suitable travel plans. Additionally, AI can predict potential issues, such as weather disruptions or travel delays, and suggest alternative plans, ensuring a seamless travel experience.
4. Mobile accessibility
Many travelers prefer to study offered itineraries and quotations through mobile devices. During the trip your clients will also need to use an itinerary with tickets, reservation numbers and other info. The would need a mobile-friendly online-itinerary or an app for this. Ensure that the software you choose has a mobile-friendly interface and provides a seamless mobile experience.
5. Flexibility
Flexible software allows travel companies to customize and adjust the software to meet their unique needs and requirements. Flexible software can be adjusted to accommodate changes in business size and growth, allowing travel companies to expand and grow without having to replace their software.
6. Info packages
Itinerary builder should have a possibility for adding information about booking and cancellation conditions, insurance, things to pack for the trip, emergency information, places of interest, recommended restaurants and bars, customs and rules of the visited country, traditional souvenirs and other travel tips. Info package should also contain detailed information about booked activities, like meeting place linked to the Google map, reservation number, attached ticket of voucher, name and phone number of the company providing the activity, suitable clothes and so on. As all this information takes a lot of space, it should be presented in itinerary in separate tab or section.
7. Upselling possibilities
Some itinerary builder software solutions offer the possibility of upselling extra activities to clients during the booking process. This can be a great way to increase revenue and offer a more comprehensive travel experience to your clients. Check if it’s possible to book extras inside the itinerary.
8. Filtering
This feature allows you to easily search for itineraries, activities, suppliers, offers, and booked trips using specific criteria like responsible manager, location, type, and custom tags.
9. Auto save
Auto save automatically saves any changes made in the itinerary and quotation, reducing the risk of data loss in the event of a power outage, internet connection failure or other interruption. It eliminates the need for manual saves, freeing up time to focus on other tasks and improving overall efficiency.
10. Agent integration
If you are a tour operator, the software should provide possibilities to send an itinerary and quotation to your agents in a way, that they could resend it to their clients under their own branding and with own markup. Sometimes agents need to make some changes in the offered itinerary or expend it adding other activities and destinations. It would be best if software could offer possibilities of cooperation between companies in creating itineraries and quotations.
11. Software integration
The ideal itinerary building software should integrate seamlessly with your existing systems, such as your CRM or website. This integration saves you significant time by eliminating manual data entry and reducing the risk of errors.
Some itinerary builders allow you to embed itineraries directly on your webpage with just a few clicks. Any changes made within the software are instantly reflected on your webpage, saving you valuable time managing your website content. Ensure that these embedded itineraries load quickly without slowing down your site.
High-quality published itineraries offer a double benefit: they not only provide a valuable resource for your visitors but can also improve your search engine ranking on Google. Faster loading times are a key factor in search engine optimization (SEO), and well-written, informative itineraries can attract more qualified leads and ultimately bring you more clients.
12. Data Security
By controlling access permissions, travel agents can ensure that sensitive information — such as client and trip details, income, and general analytics — is only accessible to authorized personnel. This minimizes the risk of data breaches and ensures compliance with data protection regulations
13. Customer support
Reliable customer support is crucial for any software you choose. Make sure the software provider offers round-the-clock support, and consider if they offer additional support services such as training and onboarding, which can be free, for extra cost or just for most expensive price plan.
14. New features
Regular development of new features is essential for travel professionals to stay competitive, improve efficiency, and provide a better experience to clients. This helps address the changing needs and demands of clients, allowing travel companies to adapt and stay ahead of the competition in the rapidly changing travel industry.
15. Tailored solution
Custom features can be developed to meet the specific needs and requirements of the travel company, providing a tailored solution that is designed to meet their unique needs. But only few travel software providers would agree to develop custom features for the price affordable to your company. If you feel, that some crucial feature is missing in the software, you can ask about possibility of developing it and the cost of such service during your demo or trial period.
Written by: Ihor Kucher, CEO of Travel Tree