When it comes to booking travel, there are a ton of different options and resources available. But as a travel agent, you need to find the best ones that will help you save time and money for your clients. To help you out, we’ve put together a list of essential tools for travel agents.
The right software is one of the most essential travel agent tools for any business, especially travel agencies. It helps agents manage their business more efficiently and provides a variety of features to help with things like bookings, client management, and marketing.
When it comes to choosing software for your agency, there are a few key things to keep in mind such as ease of use, pricing, and the underlying customer support offered to you.
The following are the best software options available for travel agencies broken down by marketing, CRM, online booking software, and accounting software.
But first;
Why Use Travel Agency Software?
There are a few reasons why you should be using travel agency software. First, they can help you save time when booking travel.
With so many different options available, it can be difficult to compare prices and find the best deals. But with the right software, you can easily find the cheapest flights and accommodations.
Second, travel agency software can help you save money. By using the right resources, you can get access to exclusive discounts and deals that you can pass on to your clients. This can help you earn more commission and grow your business.
Lastly, using travel agency software can help you provide a better service to your clients. With the right software, you can find the best deals and offer a more comprehensive service. This can help you attract new clients and retain existing ones.
Marketing Tools
As a travel agent, you know that marketing is key to success. You can reach more potential clients and sell more trips with the right marketing software.
Marketing software can help you accomplish all of this and more. With powerful features like email marketing, social media management, and lead tracking, marketing software can help you grow your business quickly and efficiently.
1. Jasper.ai
With Jasper.ai, you can write a social media plan in minutes and write all of your social media posts at once.
The best thing about this tool is that it uses artificial intelligence to generate content for you—which means it’s always up-to-date, always on brand, and never repeats itself. And since the AI is constantly learning, over time it will create even better content than ever before.
If you think this sounds too good to be true…well…it kind of is. We’re not going to lie: Jasper’s AI is still pretty new—so don’t expect perfect results out of the gate. But if you’re willing to put in some work (and maybe hire an actual human editor) [Editorial Note; you’re welcome], then, by all means, give it a go.
2. SurferSEO
If you want to know what people are searching for and how to optimize your content for search engines, then SurferSEO is the tool for you.
It allows you to find the most popular keywords for your website, as well as which ones best describe it.
It also allows you to see what people are searching for on Google so that you can better tailor your content accordingly. Additionally, SurferSEO allows agents to see what keyword phrases are used in their niche and where they rank at any given time—so that they can see if there’s room for improvement or if they’re already doing great.
We love SurferSEO. As it happens, this very article was researched, written, and edited all in SurferSEO. Thanks, Surfer!
See Related: Practical Tips for Working While Traveling
3. ClickUp – Best for Project Management
One of the best ways to manage your projects and tasks is by using a project management tool. ClickUp is a cloud-based software that allows teams to collaborate, organize, and track their work in one place.
You can assign tasks, create milestones or due dates, add comments and attachments, as well as have discussions within each task.
This highly customizable, powerful tool is perfect for travel agencies because it makes planning out all of your upcoming trips easier than ever before.
See Related: Proven Travel Agency Marketing Ideas to Grow Your Business
4. Bluehost – Best for Website Hosting
As a travel agency, you need to have a strong online presence. And one of the best ways to do that is by having your own travel agency website.
With Bluehost, you can get your very own domain name and professional email address for a low monthly price. You’ll also get access to powerful website-building software and 24/7 customer support.
It will only take 5 minutes or even less to start your website for your travel agency and will help take your marketing, reputation, and direct selling efforts to another level.
See Related: Pros and Cons of Being a Travel Agent: Is It Stressful?
5. ConvertKit
ConvertKit is an email marketing platform that lets you send automated emails, create beautiful email newsletters, and track your results. With ConvertKit, you can stay in touch with your clients and prospects easily and efficiently.
6. Canva
Canva is a free online design platform that makes it easy to create beautiful visuals and brand colors for your website, social media, and marketing materials. With over 1 million templates available, and varying levels of complexity, you can draw up any kind of design you need to create social media images.
Destination marketing professionals know that imagery is everything for your social media channels in today’s age, so make sure you’re using Canva to make your posts pop.
See Related: Using a Travel Agent vs Booking Online: What’s Better for Vacations
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems
CRM systems are essential for managing your client relationships. With a good CRM system, you can keep track of your client’s contact information, travel preferences, and booking history. This can help you provide a better service and grow your business.
7. Zoho’s Travel Agency CRM: A comprehensive tool from an industry leader
Zoho is one of the leading CRM providers and offers travel CRM features that make sales more profitable. Zoho’s lead capture software can be downloaded directly to CRM for any query you have on your website and can be transferred between agents.
You can create quota templates sent back to customers as per the requirements you need.
Zoho likewise helps you simplify passengers’ handling and classify them based on role. Zoho Travel Agency CRM is an essential tool for streamlining your business processes and making your agency more efficient.
8. LeadSquared Travel CRM: Comprehensive marketing software
LeadSquared is a CRM software for travel agents that automates all marketing sales activities and manages the lead management and supports detailed reports, custom dashboards, and sales distribution according to trip location.
LeadSquared offers a full-service travel marketing solution that includes an integrated CRM and marketing system specifically geared towards travel brands.
Travel products are split into three parts: automating all marketing sales activities, managing lead management, and building detailed reports and analytics.
See Related: How to Book the Cheapest One-Way International Fights
9. Kapture Travel CRM: Automatic itineraries and travel sales tunnels
Kapture is a cutting-edge CRM software for travel agents that semi-automatically creates itineraries in the system. It also includes a sales funnel so you can monitor your customers’ progress from initial interest in travel all the way to booking.
Kapture also enables travelers to securely and easily store their passport tickets and visa documents.
This way, you can be assured that all your documents are in one place and easily accessible when you need them. With Kapture, developing itineraries has never been easier.
Accounting Software
Accounting software is an important tool for any business, and travel agents are no exception. Good accounting software can help you keep track of your expenses, manage your finances, and make tax time a breeze.
The following accounting software is recommended for small travel agency businesses:
10. QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online is one of the best accounting software options available for travel agents. QuickBooks is easy to use and has all the features you need to run your business smoothly. QuickBooks also offers a variety of reports that can help you keep track of your business finances.
QuickBooks Online is a great option for travel agents who want to avoid the hassle of managing their finances manually.
QuickBooks Online also offers a free trial so you can try it out before you commit to using it. QuickBooks Online is a great option for travel agents who want easy-to-use accounting software that has all the features they need to run their business smoothly.
See Related: Free Printable Travel Planner
11. Xero: Secure and feature-rich
Xero is cloud-based accounting software that offers a variety of features and interfaces for users. Xero is an ideal travel tool for hotels or hostels.
It integrates with many tourism applications and supports almost 150 foreign currency pairs. Xero provides a variety of interfaces for developers and users.
Xero is constantly innovating and expanding its features. Xero is a great choice for accounting software for travel agents. Xero’s innovative features and interfaces make it the perfect tool for managing your finances while on the go.
See Related: Best Travel Agency Blogs: Ideas to Build Your Business
12. TravelWorks: BSP-ARC support and group planning
TravelWorks is a software program that makes things easier for both Travel Agents and Accounting Managers. TravelWorks simplifies commission management by organizing it all in one place – even when commissions are shared among different agents.
The program is also used to streamline group planning through templates.
This makes TravelWorks an essential tool for anyone in the travel industry. TravelWorks is also useful for US agencies who must qualify for airline reporting and bill settlement plan accreditation.
The software automatically identifies errors, making TravelWorks a valuable resource for managing commissions and keeping on top of accreditation requirements.
See Related: How to Build a Travel Website (And Make Money)
Booking and Reservation Software
This software helps agents keep track of their online bookings and reservations. It’s also a great way to manage client information.
13. Amadeus Travel Agent Desktop
Amadeus Travel Agent Desktop is software that helps travel agents and travel agencies book flights, hotels, and car rentals. It also provides a variety of other features, such as fare comparisons, seat maps, and itinerary management.
This software is used by many travel agents and is a great tool to have in your arsenal. It’s especially useful if you book a ton of flights, book business trips, or if you need to manage multiple itineraries at once.
See Related: Best Travel Agent Jobs: Remote & Top Agencies
14. Lemax: Offers much more than hotels and flights
Lemax is a software that enables you to book Lemax products easily and quickly. It also allows Lemax customers to manage their bookings, view invoices, and access their account information. The Lemax API is also available to use, so you can add Lemax products to your own website or app.
Lemax integrates with Travelport GDS and Hotelbeds, so you can add not only flights, hotels, and rental properties but also excursions, vessels, and trips.
The advantage of using the Lemax API is flexibility and general availability. It’s easily used by most travelers, from conferences to groups of tour operators.
See Related: How to Start a Ticketing Business: Online & Home-Based
15. PHPTravels: A general-purpose and open-source booking engine
PHPTravels is a booking software for travel agencies that offers good module support. You can easily add additional modules to your existing solutions by using them individually. The software is also fully free of charge and can employ software developers for customization if necessary.
Aside from providing code for your mobile app, PHPTravels also has a demo site that’s compatible with Travelport GDS, hotelbeds, bedbank, Expedia, and other tier-one vendor websites.
See Related: How to Become a Home-Based Travel Agent
16. Bookinglayer: A great adventure travel booking engine
Bookinglayer is a booking software for travel agencies focused on trekking, mountain biking, surfing, and other adventure travel. The engine is not fully integrated with a supplier’s system.
This application is designed for deploying quickly on the most common CMS platforms (Squarespace, WiX, WordPress, etc), and already includes a payment module with integrated gateways and other features such as a customized surcharge.
Bookinglayer offers a 7-day free trial period so that you can determine whether their software is the right fit for your agency.
After the trial period, Bookinglayer offers three different subscription plans to choose from so that you can find the perfect one for your business needs.
See Related: Best Travel Accessories: Save Time and Money
17. Rezdy: A tours and activities marketplace and booking engine
Rezdy is a great option if you’re looking for booking software for travel and tourism agencies. Rezdy can connect directly to major tour aggregation sites like TripAdvisor, Klook, and other companies.
Rezdy also offers a variety of payment gateway options, including Stripe, PayPal, Square, and Stripe. Rezdy is a great choice for travel agencies looking for booking software that is easy to use and offers a variety of payment options.
See Related: Best Gifts for Travel Agents in 2022
Tour and Itinerary Building Software
Travel agent tour and itinerary building software can help you save time when creating travel plans for your clients. With these best tools, you can easily find and book tours and activities, as well as create custom itineraries.
18. Tripcreator: Tour planning with built-in inventories and booking engine
Tripcreator is a web-based tool that helps tour operators design custom trips for their clients. Tripcreator provides a hotel list, attractions, and offline stock, as well as the ability to search for activities by date, open hours, and distance.
Tripcreator also offers booking tools and customized white label features for a recurring fee. Tripdesign is performed by Tripcreator, which validated the date, open hours, and distance.
The dynamic tours can be created and the manual activities can be combined. For recurring fees, the user gets booking software and customized white label features
See Related: How to Find Cheap Flights [An Actual Step-by-Step Guide]
19. Tourwriter: An itinerary builder with booking engine and CRM
Tourwriter is a tool that enables you to create and embed itineraries into websites with an easy designer-level option. As an expert-level customer who pays more, you can use Tourwriter’s automated booking engine with booking confirmations, commission management, and CRM.
Tourwriter makes it easy for you to tailor the travel experience to the user by providing an easy-to-use interface and powerful features.
With Tourwriter, you can easily create custom itineraries for your website visitors, making it easy for them to book travel arrangements and get the most out of their trip.
See Related: Using a Travel Agent vs Booking Online: What’s Better for Vacations?
What to look for in Travel Software
When choosing a travel agent software, there are a few key features to look for:
Ease of use
The software should be easy to use and understand. It should have a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to find the information you need.
Functionality
The software should have all the features you need to run your business effectively. Make sure the software has a CRM system, booking engine, and tour and itinerary builder.
Customer support
The software should have good customer support in case you run into any problems. The company should offer live chat, phone, and email support. It’s important to get help when you need it – this is your own business on the line!
Pricing
The software should be affordable and offer a free trial so you can try it before you buy it. The software can be expensive over time but the best software is usually priceless. Don’t fall for a sales gimmick when someone is trying to sell you something that is way overpriced.
See Related: Best Travel Resources: Tools to Travel More for Less
Final Thoughts
Now that you know about the best travel agency software, it’s time to put them to use! By utilizing these tools, you’ll be able to streamline your workflow and make booking trips a breeze.
FAQs
What system do travel agents use?
Travel agents use a variety of systems, programs, and tools to help them plan vacations for their clients. Some popular tools used by travel agents include:
– Sabre: A global distribution system used by travel agents to book airfare, hotels, and other travel arrangements
– Apollo: A reservation system used by many hotels and airlines to book rooms and flights
– GDS: A Global Distribution System that allows users to search for fares from different airlines around the world
– Travelport: A system used by travel agents to book airfare, hotels, and other travel arrangements
What software do travel agents use?
Travel agents use a variety of software programs to help them plan vacations for their clients. Some popular software programs used by travel agents include CRM software, accounting software, and project management tools.
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