Having a web presence for any business isn’t enough in today’s technology-infused age. A website is the first and foremost requirement to make a dent in this digital world. But a website is no longer the only way to stay afloat in the era of fast-evolving digital technology.
There is much more than you require in terms of technology that you should equip your business with. And the online travel business is no exception. If you are an online travel business owner, it is time to upgrade it. And how would you do that? By adopting some innovative and futuristic ways. And online travel portal development is one of those ways. A travel portal solution is a way to modernize your online travel business and cater to your customers’ demands better.
Unlike a travel website that provides vast information on different things, a travel portal contains more specific information. Further, a travel portal requires users to log in to it, unlike a website that anyone can access freely.
If you are an online travel business owner looking to enhance your business, here’s a post for you. This post explores travel portal development’s primary advantages and elaborates on the features to consider while considering a travel portal solution or developing it.
Online travel portal development has several benefits for your online travel business as below.
- Low operational costs
- Real-time access to tour package details, hotels, rental services, flights, etc.
- 24*7 customer support
- Improved transparency and convenience
- Variety of options for customers
If you are excited to build a travel portal for your travel company – that’s good. However, it’s not as easy as it seems as there is something you must consider. A travel portal enhances customer experience and manages travel agents and customers better. If you fail to build it correctly, it can prove to be a white elephant.
Nevertheless, there are some essential features that you can consider while building or integrating a turnkey travel portal solution.
Features to Look for in a Travel Portal Solution
1. Responsive Web Design
No matter whichever website or portal you develop, a responsive web design is indispensable. The portal should be easily navigable whether your customers search for something on a laptop, computer, tab, or mobile device.
To improve your customers’ navigation experience, ensure that your travel portal solution offers some design-specific customizations for mobile users. For instance, CTAs should be easily noticeable and clickable for mobile users.
A responsive Website Design is suitable for not only SEO but also for increased reach to mobile customers.
2. Ease of Search, Selection, and Viewing of History
Your portal travel solution should allow your customers to search for the required information. They should be able to enter their origin, destination, date of travel, and other information like tour package details, hotels, and more. The portal should also let them view their booking history, details of a trip, and cancel a booking on the go.
Nowadays, predictive search has taken the place of a manual search. It is a step towards the growing AI and automation. Predictive search is where your customer doesn’t need to type the full name of the origin country, destination country, hotel’s name, etc. Rather when they enter just the first one or two letters of the required information, all the related names show up. This way, it helps reduce the search and selection time for customers and enhances their experience.
So, make sure that your travel portal solution should offer the feature of predictive AI-based search.
3. Google Maps Integration
Customers today are fast-paced and want automation and speed. If they have to search for nearby areas every time on a separate map application, they may find it cumbersome. If you integrate Google Maps within your portal during travel portal development, it can be a great idea to engage them.
If a traveler searches for nearby areas like hotels, restaurants, or other areas of interest when they reach their destination, Google Maps integration can come in handy. All they need to do is turn on GPS and simply click and explore details of nearby places they want from within the portal.
4. Support for Multiple Payment Gateways
Ensure to integrate multiple payment options for your customers to pick from. Your travel portal solution should also enable your customers to save and update their payment methods like card details for further bookings. This not only helps make transactions easier but also faster. Also, when customers don’t need to enter their payment details every time, they find it more convenient and engaging.
5. Easy Verification Procedure for Customers and Agents
Your portal development should offer a built-in process for your customers’ online identification. This helps them save the customers from the hassle of manual identity verification during check-ins. In the same way, there should be an easy verification process for online travel agents who register on your travel portal. They should get to upload all the required documents for online verification and sign the required documents digitally.
6. 24X7 Customer Support
Customer support is the cornerstone of virtually every organization. No matter how small or big your organization is, customer support must be foolproof. During your online travel portal development, see that your final travel portal solution should provide customer support day in and day out.
Customer support doesn’t mean hiring an extensive support team that works 24 hours a day in shifts. This is because the portal aims to make the customer experience better and helps them solve their problems themselves.
Rather, if you need an extensive support team to handle all the customer queries manually throughout the day, the very purpose of the portal can fall flat. This is because a portal also should help reduce the load on the support team and streamline your travel business management.
For this, consider a rich knowledge base that you should integrate into your travel portal. Your knowledge base should contain answers to common queries regarding payment, booking, travel rules, etc. Besides that, they should also get a wide variety of means of communication, including phone, email, support ticket, etc.
7. Easy Management of Operations for Admin and Agents
The portal should provide you and your agents with convenience as well. Your travel portal solution should let your agents create tour packages, edit their details, view reservations, etc. Moreover, you or your admin should get the ease of managing all your customers’ booking details centrally, edit and update hotels, add or remove them, and more. In short, your travel portal solution should help you make your travel business management seamless.
Build an Online Travel Portal – Make Your Travel Business Future-Proof
Now that you know how travel portal development benefits your business, it’s time you built an online travel portal. If you are looking for an affordable launch-ready travel portal solution for your business, our travel portal solution can be the right fit for you. Our online travel portal has got all the next-gen features for the admin, agents, and customers to boost your travel management.
All product and company names are trademarks™, registered® or copyright© trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them.
