8 Key Things to Look for in Your Tour Operator Itinerary Software

Either you’re about to kickstart a new travel business, would like to finally move away from Word and Excel to design travel itineraries, or simply looking to update your existing software, this article is made to help you think in the right direction while choosing a new solution.

Choosing from a myriad of options available for itinerary builder software for tour operators can be quite daunting and complicated. So, rather than being overwhelmed by the endless choices, it is a good plan to pinpoint and focus on the key features that make itinerary building software valuable for tour operator performance and overall success.

Ensure your itinerary software will grow with you

It might be quite annoying to spend hours testing and installing what you believed was the ideal online travel itinerary builder for your business, only to discover that it goes obsolete in a year. The online itinerary tools you choose should have features that match your current and future needs, whether it is managing bookings, handling more sophisticated items, pricing or anything else.

A useful tip is to list your medium- to long-term business objectives. How do you see your company in 1 to 5 years? How many employees are you planning to have? What kind of itineraries will you create? Considering this information while searching for your travel itinerary builder will increase the chances of picking a solution that truly works and provides sufficient scalability and productivity.

Make it work well with your website

Your corporate website is your digital storefront. It’s the primary entry point through which prospects can find your business and get inspired by the travel experiences offered. And there’s hardly a better way to benefit from this fact than by demonstrating a collection of sample itinerary options on your website.

When you search for your new itinerary builder software, it is important to pay attention to the marketing potential of your online itineraries. It can eaither be a shareable itinerary link added through your website or a complete integration with your website provider; there are numerous benefits of itinerary builder software when it comes to attracting new customers.

Choose user-friendly and intuitive solutions

A study shows that increased stress leads to more absenteeism, decreased engagement and lower productivity. Building and maintaining an environment where your employees have fun at work without too many things pressing on them will improve employee well-being and increase productivity. For this reason, an online itinerary builder for tour operators must help optimize the daily business routine in an efficient way. This will in the end lead to building an energetic and optimistic team having all the functionality needed to sell more customised travel.

Also it’s common knowledge that tour operators need to run lots of itinerary creation activity, travel supplier interaction and customer communication (amongst a number of other tasks, of course). And as such, your software can either make your day smooth and pleasant or complicated and annoying. Thus, choosing a solution with an intuitive design comprehended and enjoyed by your team is crucial.

Make sure your software fully supports the brand

The travel industry is developing rapidly, with more and more tour operators and travel agencies popping up every year. They are catering to the growing demand of travellers who want to go out and explore the world, especially in view of the massive delayed demand for travel in the post-COVID times.

Having a strong brand presence is essential in this crowded market. Tour operators who lack identity will surely struggle to win over customers, earn trust, increase value and attract sufficient talent for dynamic growth.

That’s why using itinerary builder software that enables you and your team to create high-quality proposals is a smart move. It will enhance the experience your customers get from the first touchpoint with your business.

A travel brand is not just about the visual looks of a company, such as the logo, colour palette or the fonts used. It’s also about your company’s overall perception by the target customers. Do you offer affordable medium-budget or premium tours? Both have their own audience, so you need to make sure your brand identity is appealing to the right people in order to boost sales.

Consider what you want your customers to think of when they hear your brand name. If it’s efficient communication, pick a solution focused on upkeeping communication with your travellers. If it’s simplicity, choose software that makes it easy for travellers to enjoy the itinerary creation and management process while talking to their travel designer.

Ensure mobile-optimized functionality

Paper-based MW itineraries are already outdated and inadequate. The modern traveller deserves muh better – contemporary mobile-friendly and interactive itineraries which enhance the experience from both interacting with you as a company and also the journey that is being planned. And it’s not an optional feature, but rather a ‘must-have’ one nowadays.

Satisfied customers are your best advocates; they are much more likely to recommend you to others and book from you further on a regular basis. In addition, the customers comming to you from referrals have a 37% higher chance of staying loyal, which makes them truly invaluable.

Make sure proper industry expertise is duly accounted for

A top-notch travel itinerary solution for business is not just a superb piece of technology. It enables you to create itineraries with ease and brings along years of valuable travel industry experience.

Cooperating with a software provider having direct experience interacting with businesses like yours means they are apt to grasp the subtleties of custom-made itinerary management and travel in general. The tools and resources designed with due understanding of the travel business specifics are likely to offer tremendous experiences going far beyond the basic tech support.

Give priority to customer-centric solutions

Before setting off, travellers can go through tens of different travel engines prior to making a booking request. Some of them may prefer to sit back and let your employees plan everything for them. But others might want to have their say in the itinerary designing process.

In this case an itinerary builder that fosters cooperation between your staff and customers is essential for crafting the perfect itinerary and facilitating easy-going communication.

Make sure it works well for B2B

Creating tailor-made itineraries is not just a solitary activity for tour operators. It’s a creative process requiring collaboration between many people. Besides the principal travel designer, there are other employees on the team, Destination Management Companies (DMC’s), specialized suppliers, ground handlers, concierges and so on who contribute to the final unique itinerary concepts.

Setting up cooperation with 3rd-party businesses can be a hassle sometimes, involving endless emails and multiple revisions when dates are altered, along with a sense of complete disorder until the work is finalised. Therefore, every tour operator needs its online itinerary building solution to simplify the often cumbersome process of B2B collaboration. In the itinerary builder, travel designers can ask other contributors to join them in working on the entire itinerary or its parts. Solutions of this kind not only make the travel design process quicker, but also foster communication and improve the relationship between employees and business partners.

Choosing the right itinerary builder software for your business may seem a daunting process, but it doesn’t always have to be like that. Once you’ve determined what you need, following the basic suggestions above will help you make a decision with more awareness and achieve sustained success with your software of choice.