Advancements in AI and technology are opening new doors across industries of which the global travel industry is not an exception. Owing to COVID-19, there is a massive cultural shift from offline bookings to online travel arrangements. The online travel booking market is expected to touch the ceiling of $711.23 billion in 2024, as per a report submitted by Research and Markets. The projection is expected only to grow year-by-year, reaching $1,873.23 billion in 2030. So, what makes AI-powered online B2B travel portals so popular, and how to leverage them to increase sales of your travel businesses?
What is a B2B travel portal?
Travel portals or booking engines are specialized online tools maintaining a large database of suppliers (flights, hotels, car rentals, cruise, travel insurance, etc.) to facilitate swift and accurate booking decisions for travel buyers (travel agents, trip consultants, etc.). These platforms, if utilized correctly, can fetch you fortunes. Travel agents can customize the itinerary of their customers with ease, effectively manage multiple bookings, set commissions on each booking, fetch the best deals, and much more, all the while providing 24×7 support pre-, during, and post-trip. Let us explore the top ways to increase your online booking sales with a B2B travel portal.
Top ways B2B travel portal enhances the booking process to drive increased revenues
1. Extensive options at competitive rates
The cost of the service (travel package, flight and hotel fares, & car rental prices) is among the top determining factors for its purchase. Traditionally, travel bookers have to connect individually with different travel suppliers for their rates, inflating the delivery time of the service. However, the problem was solved with the help of GDSs (Global Distribution Software) and NDCs (New Distribution Capability).
These tools help travel agents find the real-time pricing and availability of flights. For most of the years, GDSs were sold as standalone platforms and were hard to understand due to tech complexity and outdated interface. Advanced booking engines offered the cookie-cutter solution by integrating GDSs and NDCs in a user-friendly interface to provide a comprehensive range of options to their users. Post which, finding the most suitable flights as per the requirements of the customers has become a matter of a few minutes and clicks. Travel agents can easily create filters just like any other online software application and eliminate redundant options to offer the best fit.
2. Data driven optimizations
Travel is a dynamic sentiment sensitive to client’s fickle preferences, tourism market conditions, international affairs, climatic conditions, and many such variables. Booking engines are equipped with AI capabilities to understand these variables and analyze them as per the priorities of the customer to offer the most suitable packages and booking assets. These engines can easily stream through a large set of data such as travel dates, probability of getting confirmed tickets, passenger information and preferences, payment details, global travel trends, future predictions, etc. Travel agents can leverage these data and optimize the customer’s experience as per their budget, requirements, and likeability. Only a small tweak in the filters and booking features can secure high profits for the travel company.
3. Mobile accessibility
Mobile booking has taken the travel market by storm resulting in a size of $228.40 billion in 2021, and expected to reach $612.5 billion by 2031 (Allied Market Research). Travel agents can expect calls from their customers at any time of the day. Therefore, it becomes essential for travel agents to access the booking engine conveniently from anywhere, at any given time. Mobile accessibility through iOS and Android applications is the same. It offers exclusive features that are hard to find on web applications. The payment also becomes easy in the light of various online transaction mobile applications making the booking process all the more convenient and swift. Additionally, a single account provides access to multiple users, increasing the productivity of the booking made through mobile similar to the web application.
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4. Special deals and promotions
Travel booking tools record every booking made by the travel agency resulting in a positive signal to the most preferred or booked supplier. To establish strong partnerships and promising future aspects, suppliers may offer special deals and discounts to the concerned travel agents. The software is capable of filtering out these discounts run by travel suppliers providing travel agents with a room to increase their commission on each booking. Travel agents can also include promo codes and deals acquired from direct negotiations with the suppliers within the platform to avail the benefits of travel agent loyalty programs.
5. Cross and upselling opportunities
Travel agents can create bundled packages of flights, hotels, and activities at a discounted rate to cross-sell their products and services. This entices customers to spend more while offering a perceived value increase. During the booking process, the software can display relevant add-on options based on the chosen itinerary. By utilizing customer data (past bookings & travel preferences), the software can upsell the services providing add-ons to personalize packages for specific needs. For example, a family booking a beach vacation might see options for children’s activities or beachfront cabana rentals. The software can highlight upgrade options for flights (business class) or rooms (ocean view) during the booking flow.
Running a travel agency is a challenging task; however, having the right tools and information at your disposal can save you valuable time and resources. Further, expert usage of online booking tools will result in increased booking values and sales of travel packages as evident from the points mentioned above. Before choosing the right booking engine, please read the blog to make an informed decision. (link blog on the information to choose the right travel booking solutions.)
Pratyush Kumar Srivastava is a seasoned expert in B2B travel writing with years of experience in the industry. With a deep understanding of the intricacies of travel technology, supplier relationships, and market trends, Pratyush offers valuable insights to help businesses optimize their travel booking strategies. Passionate about innovation and efficiency, he is dedicated to guiding travel agencies through the complexities of modern distribution channels to achieve growth and success.
