4 minute read
With cruise becoming one of the fastest growing travel services globally, if you’ve not taken the time to review how your business handles cruise bookings, or if you’re looking to dip your toes into the cruise industry, then it’s worth understanding what you should be looking for in a cruise booking engine to ensure you’re making the most of the boom in demand. In this article, we talk through five features which you should be looking for in your cruise software solution.
Online Presence
More and more travel agents and consumers are using online tools to research and confirm their cruise holidays. The features, functionality and content which agents and consumers now expect to see online has evolved tremendously over the past two decades. It’s important that the cruise booking engine you choose is able to present your full cruise portfolio clearly and comprehensively online to capitalise on the emerging digital disposition of the modern world.
Mobile Responsiveness
It’s no secret that today’s consumer is often found attached to a mobile device and, in many cases, it’s the first thing someone grabs when looking for information or to make a purchase. Researching and shopping for travel is no different. It’s now possible to extend the reach of your online cruise booking solution to be accessible via just about any type of device. It’s important that any cruise booking engine you use is adapted to suit a variety of screen sizes so that a consumer can begin their research and complete their booking however and whenever they choose.
Real-Time Pricing and Availability
With a robust cruise booking engine, you should be able to offer consumers and agents live pricing and availability via API connections with cruise lines connected to the platform.
Another area to consider is your ability to control the selling price customers see and to promote special offers that the cruise lines may be offering for certain sailings. Your cruise booking engine should allow you to control selling prices, including the ability to easily mark-up or discount the selling price as and when you wish.
Information Rich Content
Modern software solutions now allow for a cruise booking engine to integrate a vast amount cruise line, cruise ship and cabin descriptions linked to media files & rich content. This can include cabin photos, ship images and deck plans to assist in the shopping process. Users can view pictures of a particular ship, including sample guest cabins and public areas. Content is king and is hugely important in the researching and booking process.
Variety
It’s important to choose a booking engine with a wide variety of cruise lines integrated into the system. Modern booking platforms can allow your business to have access to numerous cruise lines and therefore it’s important to find one that is well connected. Additionally, if you want to take your cruise booking to a new level and package up multiple travel services like flights and hotels, it’s crucial to choose an engine which is optimised for dynamic packaging to give you the flexibility you need to remain at the forefront of the competition.
Choosing a cruise booking engine with the right combination of options for your business can be a critical decision. Traveltek’s iSell booking solution combines all of the above features and many more. Having been recognised as the World’s Leading Dynamic Packaging Solutions Provider for the last 5 years, we’re specialists in the field and will ensure you get it right first time. Get in touch today to find out more.
