From vetting supplier partners to choosing the right host agency or consortium, wading through the near-endless options for training and education, understanding your legal liabilities, developing your business and so much more, let's face it ... there's a lot to figure out.
So we've put together a starting list of 9 key tools and resources that all travel agents need to succeed! This naturally, not the only thing you'll need to get started, but it's our mission to provide an ongoing series of articles that help you navigate the competitive world of travel agent-ing.
So, make sure to bookmark this page and check our Resources Pages regularly for more useful guidance and advice as your start, or refresh, your travel agent journey.
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While it’s undoubtedly true that there are many tools and resources that a travel agent needs to succeed, it’s also true that no travel agent can operate effectively without a reliable travel booking platform! This is, after all, where the money happens.
Having an effective booking and payment platform allows you to expand your business, reach more customers by providing a positive service for those and encouraging word of mouth marketing, and, most obviously, sell your travel portfolio.
Of course, this essential piece of travel agent software does more than just processes your clients’ payments and store their booking information for later reference. It is an essential and impactful part of your clients’ journey with you as a provider – if the booking process is not simple, then the client may be discouraged from returning their custom.
This is where the Bedsonline Booking Engine comes in.
A powerful and intuitive booking platform for travel agents will afford you the flexibility to curate the travel experiences that your clients want. Luckily, the Bedsonline Booking Engine ticks all these boxes:
and much more!
Get introduced to the Bedsonline Booking Engine here:
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Travel management comes in many different stages but investing in a good customer relationship management system (CRM) will save you time, help you work more efficiently, and therefore earn more revenue!
On a CRM, all your clients’ information – including bookings, commission levels – will be stored in one place, allowing for easier management of these important details. By collating this crucial data, you’ll be able to keep track of your payments for each client, current and upcoming trips at a glance, set up automatic reminders, and quickly access an overview of your earnings which are left to be paid.
Therefore, customer relationship management tools are essential for any travel agent or travel agency on a day-to-day basis, both as part of an effective way of working but also to help improve customer experience. A good CRM will allow you to store unique client data for you to refer back to, such as their contact details, travel preferences, booking history and more.
Having this data at your fingertips gives you useful insights into each of your customers’ travel habits, interests and trip preferences, which in turn allows you to deliver more bespoke customer experience, the more history they build up with you as a traveller. This is a great incentive to boost customer loyalty!
While you’ve got your travel booking platform sorted (with Bedsonline’s Booking Engine, of course), having an additional itinerary management tool in your arsenal of daily tools is also an option for more in-depth travel management.
A dedicated itinerary management tool lets you collate your travel planning, with simple itinerary management for your clients, automated quotes, proposals and more.
Of course, the Bedsonline Booking Engine is also the go-to booking platform for thousands of our agent partners all over the world when it comes to curating and delivering simple or complex itineraries!
With its seamless cross-selling features, it’s easy for agents to combine accommodation with in-destination activities and experiences, or even transfers to make their journey smoother, and car hire if travellers want to get out and about while in their destination of choice.
Combining this integrated cross-selling ability with the use of personalised recommendations through Insights, our search and recommendation tool designed specifically for travel agents, means that each proposal can be tailored to your clients’ unique needs, and beneficial for your growth as an agent.
From curating multi-stop, bespoke itineraries with numerous hotels and activities along the way, to a simpler itinerary in one destination, Bedsonline has you covered.
Accepting bookings is critical, naturally, but so is organisation! Regardless of whether you’re working as an independent agent, or for a large-size business with many colleagues, you as an individual need to be as organised as possible.
An online calendar-based tool allows you to more easily schedule and manage your appointments, including calls, consultations or demos.
Going it alone in the travel industry can be overwhelming at times – even for long-standing businesses when it comes to ensuring that the services provided are in line with changing needs and demands.
So why take the risk?
Working with a travel partner that has experience in providing tools, resources and dedicated support to:
Is surely a travel partner worth working with, right? Well, look no further than Bedsonline. Your B2B travel marketplace:
Not to mention exclusive campaigns with incentivising deals to help you capitalise on traveller demands and trends throughout the year, as well as key early booking opportunities, travel agent promotions to reward agents for their hard work, and more!
As your travel partner, we also offer dedicated support when you need it through our Help Desk, specifically for our registered partners with on-the-ground experts on hand to provide feedback, assistance and advice.
Discover more about why travel agents need a travel partner like Bedsonline here!
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For many independent travel agents – and established agencies of any size – the accounting software used is one of the most important tools. Travel is still a business, and it needs to be seamless, profitable, and streamlined for maximum sustainable growth.
Using dependable accounting software makes the process seamless and allows you to spend time on what matters – your clients.
Accounting software for travel agencies should be easy to use, helps you keep track of your expenses, manage your finances, alongside submitting and filing your tax returns!
When it comes to which travel agent tools for accounting you should choose, focus on tools that offer: detailed reports, easy-to-implement templates for better financial management, and ideally, software that integrates with your booking and payment platforms.
A few great accounting software providers include:
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A must for any business, a travel marketing plan is critical for ensuring that you give your company the best foundation possible from the get-go.
A marketing plan helps you to define the expectations for your business, understand your competitors, which is essential in a competitive industry, keep up with industry trends, reach the right customers at the right time, plan for growth, and much more!
There is a never-ending list of benefits to setting up a travel marketing plan at any stage of a businesses’ life cycle, whether you’re just starting out and want to better understand your position in the market, or are refreshing your business after a period of reduced growth, or simply want to better understand where your sharpest competition is.
Discover our marketing plan for travel agencies: initial steps guide here for some key insights into the first stages of creating a marketing plan for your travel agency!
Try to find a marketing suite that will integrate with your strategy tools, especially your CRM, to help you streamline your marketing campaigns.
A few good comprehensive marketing tool providers include:
Of course, working with a dedicated travel provider like Bedsonline enables you to benefit from timely, seasonal campaigns on a regular basis – all you need to do is communicate these offers to your clients.
And when it comes to creating social media posts that generate awareness and engagement, there is naturally no ‘one-size-fits-all' recommendation – but taking a look through our guide on travel social media posts for engagement is a great place to start!
Being a travel agent is a multi-layered role. You’re an expert in building travel experiences for clients, but alongside that, you work with people. Therefore, understanding and developing your interpersonal skills is essential to be a successful agent!
After all, being a travel agent is based in customer service as much as it is part entrepreneurial skills for homeworkers, as well as offer consultancy services to your clients, developing B2B business relationships with suppliers, and management responsibilities for agents who look after teams.
It’s a multi-faceted role, but from communicating with your clients effectively to understanding the shifting needs of travellers in new eras of travel to keep up to date with what today’s travellers want, making sure you level up your basic skills is key.
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Whether you’re a homeworking agent or part of an established agency, you’ll work with suppliers and vendors to book your clients’ trips and experiences. As a consequence, your individual relationship with these businesses will influence your day-to-day working, from the deals that you’re able to secure – if you’re working individually – to the numbers of suppliers you can trust to help you meet your clients’ needs.
Taking the time to properly find and quality your suppliers and vendors is one thing, understanding how to use their products and services, and ensuring these can cater to your specific niche, should you have one, is another.
Make sure to engage with initial and ongoing training to learn how to use their systems, and properly take advantage of their benefits. Be sure you choose to work with entities that offer exceptional customer care and tech support – as well as training for any new services or updates that come out!
When you work with a trusted travel partner – like Bedsonline – however, half of the work is done for you. We’re of course not suggesting that the hard work of developing and maintaining supplier relationships is easy, or taken care of simply by working with us, that essential step lies with you.
But we do provide you with a global portfolio of 18,000+ in-destination activities and experiences, all offered by qualified providers.
Unfortunately, sometimes trips and experiences don’t go as planned. However, a crucial resource that all travel agents should have is Errors and Omissions Insurance.
This type of insurance offers legal protection for you as a travel agent should something go wrong for your client while they’re away. This legal protection can serve you well!
Officially described as ‘professional liability insurance’, E&O insurance protects a company, its staff and other professionals against claims relating to ‘inadequate work or negligent actions’, for example. Events covered are usually those ‘will never happen’ incidents or situations, but it’s better to be protected for any occasion.
E&O insurance is recommended for anyone providing a service to others, and since travel agents provide travel accommodations and in-destination experiences for set fees, this is highly recommended.
Of course, there’s always a benefit to maintaining your training and understanding of the travel industry, no matter what level of experience you have as an agent. Not only does it mean you have better standing against your competitors when clients are weighing up your services against others in your market, but it means that you’re more likely to meet the needs of your clients, and have a more fulfilling career!
For example, an International Air Transport Association (IATA) card means that you’re affiliated with some of the world’s top airlines, and is an industry-standard credential that sets travel professionals apart. Having this card can also mean savings for clients who do choose your services, which is a unique selling point.
If you’re not registered with a host agency, this is a key qualification to have! And if you’re looking to register for a host agency, then make sure to evaluate what credentials they have to pick the right host travel agency for you.
Quite often, working with a travel partner also opens opportunities to further your education and gain qualifications!
Of course, this is not an exhaustive list by any means, but it’s certainly a place to begin for newer travel agents looking to make the most of this complex and rewarding industry.
Keep an eye on our Resources Page for more articles and resources of our own, designed to decode the travel industry and offer helpful advice for agents at all stages in their journey!
Discover our Booking Engine today and see how it offers every tool you need as an agent in one platform!
And much more!
