Will 2017 be a growth year for the travel and hospitality industry? As per the latest reports from Deloitte's,  companies who have eye towards innovation could turn some of the challenges into opportunities. The travel industry will grow faster than the global economy this year only if they reach out to customers, offer innovative solutions and win loyalty/meeting client expectation.

Having worked with clients working in the Travel and hospitality domain, below is the list of some of key areas that we believe any new travel startup should focus on:

User mindsets

Understanding customer requirements is vital to any business as they are driven by customer demands. As more options are available for users, preferences, and expectations are changing, they have begun to expect a personalized experience which match their needs. This change in user expectations force travel businesses to share innovative solutions as it can enhance the efficiency and help business to drive-in more revenue.

Technology:

Earlier, travel-related bookings were manual. It required a direct visit to the travel agents' place or sending an email to the travel agent were the strategies followed for making flight reservations or hotel booking. But from last few years people are demanding and they opt for customized travel solutions and hence the challenges faced by any travel company are high. Key features which any travel travel company should address to become a leading player in this domain are:

1) Information Access: More than just receiving the booking confirmation emails and promotional emails, one always wishes to know more about the travel experience, offers, deals and activities that interest them. So, it's important for Travel companies to share relevant content as per the customer needs.

2) Speed:  Speed of service is utmost important, with information age it's not only important but expected. Instant booking, Instant real time data, instant answer customer expect all these information within flew clicks.

3) Data: Platforms (open sales and distribution systems) and the API (application programming interface) are driving the next phase of growth in the travel industry.  Global Distribution System (GDS) enables Travel agencies or clients to access travel data, compare and book. One can access these systems through paid API and can search for the best available travel and accommodations and rates for their clients. They can make airline and hotel reservations (in real time) for clients, and they will complete their research and bookings within minutes. Though using GDS might be costly for small- middle level business operators, there are other API's which offer Hotel/flight/transportation details such Booking.com/Expedia. In-fact if as a travel operator you are looking to target local customers or specific location, you can search for local operators who offer data. Integrate the same and show the relevant information to your customers.

"Travel companies must envision the customer experience they want to deliver. Then, they can explore the technology options best suited to support their goals"

Mobile Application

Today more than 85% people use Mobile phones and its evident that mobile application have been better able to reach out to customers and in building your loyalty. If you are in a tourism business or planning to invest into one, it's imperative that you should make this technology investment. Mobile apps that integrate user friendliness and other rich functionalities are more likely to attract the crowd than the travel agencies that wok through just a single brick and mortar shop

In last few years we had the opportunity to build some awesome Travel web as well mobile Native Applications. We would love to provide a detailed walk through of our expertise but to provide a glimpse, here are some features:

1) Social Media: Apart from integrating social media API's such as Facebook, Twitter,Google + we have implemented features where users can share their travel experiences such as posts, images or current location or  sharing travel itinerary with your friends.

2) Online Booking: Smooth booking interface which allow users to book hotel's,flights, transportation etc.

3) Implementing 3rd Part API's: As of today, experience in integrating 3rd API such as GDS (Amadeus/Sabre) or Hotels.com/Expedia is huge and we have integrated these API and can easily cater customer needs.

4) Message: This is very rare feature to be found in Mobile APPS, our Mobile Native team have successfully implemented messaging system which allows user to contact their friends or other users.

5) Online Payment: Implemented payment gateways in web application and in mobile applications as well. So, if you are looking to for travel mobile app with online payments, we can easily assist you.

6) GUI: Convenient user interface is main features for any successful application. Hard to achieve but its key to retain your customers. We ensure smooth interface is provided so that clients can perform each action with ease.

7) Push Notification: This is one of the core features for any mobile application. Push Notification is a way for an app to send message or notify without opening an app. They are easier to send comparing to an email.

8) Comparison:  As most users love to compare prices with other websites, from my personal experience it's a big pain juggling between sites...so to avoid that hassle we have implemented comparison feature which allow users to compare under one platform.

Though our expertise is not limited to above features, the way Travel Industry is growing, we as software development company, have been gearing up as well. So, if you are looking for a solution in travel industry domain connect with us and we can help you get a quality solution in quick time.  

Hope this article provides an overview of how travel industry is changing. We would love to hear back from you and answer to your questions/requirements. Get in touch with us for free consultancy or demo @ [email protected]