Travel Portal Development A Round-Trip Journey

1. Travel Portal Development: A Round-TripJourney If there’s one sector which is resilient, it’s the travel industry. We can be certain that they will be back in full swing. The trick in the current situation is to reposition yourself and think creatively about what you can do to attract, convert, and retain customers. It can be about bringing health and wellness to the forefront with no-touch technologies like the one found at Chengdu Shuangliu AirportinChina.Theyhavekiosksthatusefacialrecognition tohelptravelerschecktheirflightstatusandfindtheirgate. sales@crmjetty.com

2. Or, you can streamline your marketing and operational processes with travel portal development. It will help you streamline operations, reevaluate customer service, demonstrate empathy, earn customer trust, and improve inventory andproducts. • All you have to do is reposition yourself, understand customer needs, and develop a customer-centric portal. This article will guide you through the entire process of travelportaldevelopment–coveringwhat,why,andhow. • Introducing the TravelPortal • Why Travel Portal over Travel Website orAgents • Approach to Travel PortalDevelopment • How CRMJetty Can HelpYou • 1. Introducing the TravelPortal • Inlayman’sterms,atravelportalisanonlineenginethatlets your customers come together and interact forinformation, bookings, services, and sharing experience. They can book flights, hotels, packages, and other related services, compareprices,seekhelp,anddoalotmore. • Travel portal development is the process of developing that solutionforyourcustomers.Itincludesresearchingfeatures and technologies, designing prototypes, developingthe sales@crmjetty.com

3. software, integrating tools, testing the compatibility, and displaying services in users’ preferredway. Travel agents are adopting this sustainable way. Let us find outwhyinthebelowsection: 2. Why Travel Portal over Travel Website orAgents Customer convenience, satisfaction, and retention are the reasons you should go for a travel portal. While your agents can offload some of your customers’ tasks, the options they will be able to provide are limited. Besides, your customers have to visit in-person or call you for their bookings, which they can do anytime with a portal. Plus, they can browse through multiple options and manage their bookings and statusthemselvesanytimewithjustafewclicks. Your customers can book through your travel website. However, it is more about the information of your company, packages, and services you offer. A travel portal is customer-centric. It facilitates user experience and demands. The features are built from the customers’ point of view. Take the knowledge base, for example. It provides your customers information about bookings and other information related to it. They can even solve their queries themselves. If I want to know more about the ‘work from home package’, well, I don’t have to contact thecustomer sales@crmjetty.com

4. support. Articles and FAQs related to the topic would be enough. Around the ClockSupport You may have customers from different countries and time zones. You and your support team can’t be available all the time. A portal acts as an online support rep that attends your customers 24*7 without a break. It helps them in away they like, i.e., self serve. They can book anytime and even cancel their trips instantly without reaching out to you. If there’s an urgency, the portal provides them with relevant information and featureslike chatbot. Most importantly, travelers can collect the relevant data for theiritinerariesfromanywhereintheworldandanytime. CustomersInsights sales@crmjetty.com

5. Managing and tracking a large number of clients with antiquated ways is challenging. Portal offers a centralized solution where you canmanage all thecustomers’ information, interests, itineraries, and booking history. It also helps gather customers’ data across all the digital touchpoints, which you can use to understand their needs andpreferences.Thedatahelpsyouprovidecustomerswith thepackagestheyarelikelytogoforwardwith. Reduces OperationalCost Asavirtualplatform,travelportalhelpsyoutosavetimeand money spent on training, marketing flyers, brochures, and hiring the right people. It automates most of the tasks, taking off the burden from your support team. Next, self-service encourages your customers to help themselves. They can immediately find answers, which leads to higher satisfaction rate and reduction in the total number of tickets. BrandBuilding Building your identity is important for your business. With a portal,youcantargetmillionsofcustomersatonetime.You can provide them with answers and services in the most convenient way. This is how you can draw the attentionof sales@crmjetty.com

6. potentialcustomers,and retentionrate. Travelportalmakesyour increaseyourvisibilityand customers’lifeeasierby eliminating the time wasted on browsing the web. Besides, the latest trends like AI, AR and VR are shaping the customers’ approach towards travel. That is why mostof the travelcompanieslookforwardtotravelportaldevelopment. If you’re in the travel industry, developing a portal will be fruitful. And you can learn how to develop a feature-rich customer-centricsolutioninthebelowsection. If you need a quick answer and want to go ahead with the custom development, we can help you. Our team of experts will guide you in choosing the solution best suited for your businessneeds. Get FreeConsultation Approach to Travel PortalDevelopment Self-service features integrated with latest technologies like AI, AR and VR are shaping the customer experience. So, while undergoing the development process, the first step is tochoosethetypeofportalyouwanttodevelop. A. Types of Travel PortalDevelopment sales@crmjetty.com

7. In practice, there are 5 popular types of developing travel portals for tours and travel industries including DMCs, and TMCs. White LabelSolution This is a pre-developed portal solution with all the features and services integrated in it. You can just rebrand it as per your company’s name, logo, and other highlights. In simple terms, it’s a readily available solution that you can claim to beyours. Extranet sales@crmjetty.com

8. Extranets are a kind of CMS where you can manage content and inventories. You can use it for different services like hotels,flights,tours,buses,andmore. GDS/APIIntegration GDS is a global distribution system that provides bookers and suppliers with all the required information like live rates, flights, room availability, etc. Integrating it allows you and your customers to access all the information from a single point of contact. Apart from GDS, you can also go for third-party API integrations like payment gateway integration and social mediaintegration. Meta SearchEngine If your purpose is to provide customers with information from all the available sites, then a meta search engine is the solution. It combines data of various search engines and givesappropriatedatabasedonit. CustomDevelopment A custom portal development is the combination of all the abovedevelopmenttypeswithyouruniquesetoffeatures. Insider Tip: Go for custom development as you can include everything in one pack – whether it’sprompt service, automation, advanced search, or third-partyintegration. sales@crmjetty.com

9. B. Decide theFeatures Whether you’re going for a custom solution or extranet, there are some essential features that your portal should have. ResponsiveDesign Whether your customers access the portal on laptop or mobile, it should be easy to navigate. Ensure that thedesign is compatible with all the platforms and devices. In fact, you can customize a few things as per the device. For example, makeCTAsandbuttonseasilyvisibleonamobilephone. Ease of Search andSelection It’s necessary to include search options with filters in your portal. It helps customers in matching their requirements and finding relevant information quickly. For that, you need to include various parameters related to traveling like country, estimated budget, number of days, flights, and more. Now-a-days, predictive search has taken over manual search. With the use of AI, the system can automatically detect what customers are searching for and provide relevant information based on the one or two lettersthat sales@crmjetty.com

10. users enter. So, make sure that you include predictive searchinyourtravelportal.It’salotmorehelpful. Support for Third-PartyIntegrations Ensure that your portal allows integrating third-party tools like payment gateways and maps. This way, you can provide extra functionalities to your customers. Multiple payment gateways will make transactions easier and faster. Likewise, map integration will allow travelers to explore nearbyplaces within theportal. Easy VerificationProcedures Yourportalshouldprovideonlineverificationforcustomers, helping them to complete their verification process quickly duringcheck-ins.Itshouldalsohavesimilarfunctionalityfor agents. They should be able to upload documents and get it verifieddigitally. WorkflowAutomation Include all the features that self-service portal offers like knowledge base, community support, ticket management, case deflection, etc. and make simple tasks efficient. Define the flow of the tasks. For instance, when a ticket is generated, auto-assign it to the relevant rep. Update the ticketstatusandnotifythecustomersaboutit,andsoon. sales@crmjetty.com

11. Here are some of the additional features that you should considerwhiledevelopingatravelportal. • Role-basedaccess • Multiple Sales Channels (Helpdesk,Frontdesk) • BookingManagement • DocumentManagement • CustomizedDashboard • Reports andAnalytics • HaveSomeUniqueFeaturesinMind?ShareItWithUs • C. Look for Trends Shaping Travel Industry PostCovid • After 2 years of lockdown and restrictions, people arefinally optimistic about travel. However, their preferences in booking and traveling are likely to differ from pre-pandemic era. So, let’s see what has changed since the pandemic and how you canadapt. • Tech AdoptionAccelerates • In the past 2 years, the world has undergone a massive transformation. Technology and digital services have taken the front seat – whether it’s shopping for groceries, clothes, or essentials. Even the work has shifted to remote. Andnow the fact is, it has become a habit. People have become used to doing everything online. This will apply to thetravel sales@crmjetty.com

12. industry as well. A lot of people already booked trips online before the pandemic. Now, this trend is going to be more pervasive and travelers would expect an end-to-end digital experience.Oneexampleisroomservicerobots. What you should do is – bring in a travel portal. It will make it easier for you and your staff to manage thebackend sales@crmjetty.com

13. operations. Your customers can take care of their own activitiesthemselves. ii. Hygiene and Safety arePriority Since the outbreak of COVID-19, safety and hygiene have become paramount. A Booking.com surveyfound that 46 percent of travelers are afraid of contracting viruses during local transportation. There are a number of trends like increased cleaning, social distancing, availability of desired locations and destinations, providing sanitizer, enforcing masks, and vaccination certificates. While choosing a destination,customersarelikelytoconsiderthesetrends. So, keep your customers informed about the latest travel newsand guidelinesthroughsocialmediaandblogposts.Be sales@crmjetty.com

14. clear with your safety policies as this is a vital marketing strategy now. Customers are concerned about their health and safety. These trends will give them an idea about what measuresyouaretakingtokeepthemsafe. iii. Shift from International to LocalTrips People are desperate to get out of their homes. They just need a break. Initially, they are likely to take road trips to nearby places. They might be reluctant about flights, especially those withinfants. sales@crmjetty.com

15. Hence, promote local hotels and accommodations. Write articles on weekend getaway trips covering lesser-known places and accommodations. You can even partner with locals and let your customers book private tours and travels with locals just like WithLocalsoffers. iv. Need for Flexible BookingPolicies sales@crmjetty.com

16. Even if travel starts in full swing, customers will be uncertain about their bookings. What if there is another wave? What if the destination country bans the people originating from the source country? What if they have to cancel their trips because someone got infected? Trips may get cancelled orupdated. But you have to ensure that it’s easy for your customers to cancel or reschedule their booking. Provide options likefree cancellations/modifications, fully refundable/partial refundable, and pay later. Also, offer good travel insurance policies. Together these trends will create a dynamic relationship between you and your customers. Hence, include these in your travel portal development. Add safety and flexibility related features. Accelerate digitalization by incorporating technologies like AI, AR and VR, Voice Search,etc. D. Partner with a DevelopmentCompany Finding theright partner is challenging as every developmentcompanyhastheiruniqueofferings.Somemay offer services at affordable pricing while another may have better experience. Hence, here are a few factors you can consider while choosing the travel portal development company. sales@crmjetty.com

17. Portfolio: Look at their portfolios, technologies they have worked on, and products they have developed. Also, check out the case studies, it will give you an overviewofhowtheyhandlecustomizations,ifasked for. • Customer Reviews: Check out the testimonials and other ratings and reviews. This way, you can learn abouttheirprosandconseasily.After all, customers don’tlie. • Experience:Knowabouttheirtotalworkexperience. This helps you sort if they have experience with technologies andfeatures you’re asking for. • Project Communication: Share your requirementswith them and take their inputs. An experienced team will give you an honest opinion and even help you with additional features as per the market trends and your requirements. Also, it should be easy to communicate withthem. • Information: Read their blog and other resource materials. This will give you a perspective about their thought process and development approach. An experienced, goal-oriented team will providevaluable information to theirclients. • Budget:Themorecomplexyourfeaturesare,themore youwillhavetopay.Therefore,clarifythedevelopment sales@crmjetty.com

18. costbeforefinalizingthem.Requestquotesandknow abouttheirpaymentpoliciessothatyoudon’tendup payingforthepostlaunchsupportbecauseyoudidn’t clarify if it’sfree. You also have to consider the factors that affect the travel portal development cost – features, type of business model, platform type, booking engine, integrations, technologies, and team’s expertise. Location of the development company and the total development hours also affect the expense of developing a travelportal. 4. How CRMJetty can HelpYou We can develop a custom travel portal for you considering all the technologies and the latest trends. We have years of experience in developing solutions for SMEs and large enterprises from various industries. Whether you need a B2B, B2C, and other niche specific custom solution, our team canhelp you with services that meetyour requirements. Last but not least, we follow agile methodologies. So, you’re alwaysapartofthedevelopmentprocess. sales@crmjetty.com

19. Source: https:/ www.crmjetty.com/blog/travel-portal-developme nt-a-round-trip-journey/ sales@crmjetty.com