Rule Flexibility Key ForBooking Cruises Online

[Glenn Dean]

Today's online cruise booking engine has to consider countless variables to take full advantage of all the special deals that cruise lines are offering today. Managing the complex business rules associated special cruise promotions and negotiated fares can be overwhelming. With so many cruise lines offering so many different deals, keeping track of price adjustments and promoting special offers can be a full time job for many travel website owners.

Using online travel booking solutions to book a cruise is different from booking an airline ticket. With an airline ticket, as long as the flight gets you there and back, the lowest price is often the deciding factor for many. But with a cruise, there are so many other variables to consider. An individual's previous cruise history, cruise line preference or itinerary as well as all the special promotions a specific cruise line may be offering all need to be considered. Simply choosing one cruise verses another solely based on price is usually not a good idea.

A professional travel agent understands the different promotions that a particular cruise line is offering and are experts at matching travelers with the right cruise deals. For instance, paying a bit higher fare might allow a passenger to take advantage of a promotion that has a higher value than the lower cruise fare price. Perks such as onboard credits, free drinks, free prepaid gratuities and other valuable benefits may be worth more than the discounted cruise fare itself.

To keep up with all the different offers, it is critical that today's online cruise booking engine has the ability to define business rules that promote and take advantage of all these special offers. In addition to the basic functions such as markup and discount, cruise booking software rules need to incorporate various value add items such as free drinks on board, variable shipboard credits, complimentary cabin upgrades and more.

Odysseus Solutions has simplified the process with a newly enhanced Business Rule feature. This new feature allows Client's using the Odysseus cruise booking engine to easily define their markup, discount and value add offers as well as custom rule types such as dynamic shipboard credit calculator, agent commission share calculation, rewards points calculation and more. Clients can even define a Rule based on the type of booking and offer specific discounts or value add offers for B-C bookings only to encourage customers to use their website.

Odysseus Solutions is a Miami based travel technology company providing some of the most comprehensive and innovative online booking solutions available in the market today. Odysseus helps automate processes and increase revenues for customers in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe as well as Australia and is ready to provide you the right online booking engine for your business. Visit www.corp.odysseussolutions.com to learn more.