Booking Engine Customization & Mobile Readiness Becoming Critical

[Glenn Dean]

Flexibility in how an online travel booking engine can be customized as well as where and how it is made available have become important factors when selecting a technology partner for your travel business. “Out of the box” online booking engines may work for some travel agencies, but more and more are looking to tailor their customer experience and branding with custom online booking engines.

An XML booking engine can be an ideal solution for those in the online travel business looking to customize the layout and flow of their booking engine without taking on the complex development of live connectivity with travel suppliers or the multifaceted business rules engine most need. Many of today's Air XML booking engines can provide a travel business owner much more than a simple “live” connection to check pricing & availability or to book a flight. These innovative products can provide any size travel business the ability to take full advantage of the powerful business logic and processing capabilities of an established booking engine while customizing the User Interface to their own specifications, at their own convenience. Customers can host all User Interfaces on their own servers while using the Air XML for business logic as well as live pricing, availability & booking capability. An XML booking engine can take full advantage of the powerful features an established booking engine provides such as the ability to easily adjust a products selling price easy price and robust reporting capabilities.

For those looking to service those customers who are always on the go, a mobile booking engine is an option you may want to consider for your travel business. All signs indicate that the general population will increasingly use their smart phones as more and more people become constantly connected to social media. As a result, mobile technology is becoming increasingly important for any business looking to reach them. People are not only using today's mobile devices to interact with each other, they are also using these devices to make a significant number of purchases online.

Some consumers may use various different devices as they research and eventually purchase products online. For instance, many consumers may start their initial research using their smart phone, but switch to a Laptop to complete the purchase. Others will choose to use their handheld device exclusively and access a mobile booking engine via a website or dedicated mobile App that they have downloaded on their device. Either way, your business needs to be ready to serve these customers on the device they choose to use.

Today's state of the art mobile booking engine can take full advantage of the easy access to content and powerful features that an online booking engine offers combined with the ease and mobility of using a smart phone. Finding an online booking solution with the right combination of options for your business can be a critical decision. Finding a technology partner that will help you reach today's consumer where and how they shop for travel can be just as important.

In this article author writes about Odysseus Solutions. An advanced online Travel Booking Engine will allow for you to make price adjustments and extend special offers that target a specific sales channel such as B2B or B2C.