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- Existing connections to partners around the globe including GDS and non-GDS providers.
- A single entry point for each product type.
- Based on the CTF (Common Travel Framework) data schema.
- A single administration system to manage all connections.
- Manage the credentials used to connect to each partner.
- Configurable through our TravelSwitch administration system.
- Self Hosted, ASP and hybrid hosting options available.
- Each additional partner added to the network requires NO integration.
- Geographic regioning system to apply supplier content to particular search criteria only.
- Access to full XML message chains.
- Web service driven shopping cart for fast checkout.
- ClearContent integration with hotel partners to override property information returned from providers with custom hotel content.
- 3 step booking flow, search and select, add to cart with traveler information and checkout.
3/10/2010 1:31 PM
The benefit of distributing low cost and charter airline content
Most of us have at one point traveled on a low cost no frills airline. The majority of them offer cheaper fares, regular service and the option to fly into a wider range of airports. But how can low cost airline content benefit your business?
A quick evaluation of the marketplace shows that more and more people are starting to grasp on to the idea of hooking into aggregators of low cost and charter fares. The main idea it seems, is to supplement their existing published / consolidator rate inventory with your EasyJet, Ryan Air and Southwest fares.
1. Lower barrier to entry.
Traditionally to be able to sell airfare you would need agency accreditation, IATAN registration, ARC, GDS commercials, the whole shabang! This all costs a lot of money not to mention becomes extremely time consuming. Most aggregators of low cost airline content do not have the extortionate fees in place like the GDS's impose. Generally they will not commit you to death by hanging if you do not hit a minimum booking level, and overall are much nicer to play ball with. It seems as if these new kids on the block actually give a damn about your business model and do not force you to mold to theirs.
2. Route diversification
Low cost airlines have opened up airports that were not typically that popular among your average traveler. New routes such as London Stansted to Granada (Spain) has created the opportunity for travelers to avoid making ridiculously long connections 500 miles in the opposite direction of where you are supposed to be heading. Low cost airline content means new routes which mean your potential audience widens, which should equal more sales.
3. Cheaper fares
This one is surely a self explanatory benefit. The most common complaint I hear from travelers regarding low cost no frill airlines is that they generally fly to airports that are way outside the city center of your destination which is why the fares are much cheaper. This in fact is a valid complaint. The argument is always that it costs more in ground travel expense to get to where you are going than the cost of the flight itself. I hope the average human being would be smart enough to evaluate these costs before making the decision to purchase. A quick calculation will immediately alert you to the fact that it might be better to fly from a major airport.
We, however, fail to acknowledge the people that might not be heading for the city centers. There are plenty of people that are grateful for low cost airlines that have started servicing their small cities.
4. Minimal fulfillment and after sales support
Since the aggregation of low cost airline content is still fairly fresh, the technology used for such activities is typically search and book only. Very few if any aggregators will have cancellation and modification functionality available through an API. Is that a good thing? It is, when you look at the money you can save in overhead when running an after sales operation.
If the only sure fire way of cancelling or amending a booking is via the airline's own customer service desk, then that is where you point them to. Some would argue that this is not good practice. The quick reply is that you have created a USP (Unique selling point). Only a few online travel sites have low cost carrier content (Excluding the airline web sites themselves), you can be part of the all new and trendy cool crowd. Another thing to bear in mind is that most of the low cost airline support desks run 24 hour operations and usually speak a handful of languages. These guys have already invested the millions of dollars getting all that in place so why should you? (Att : Luxury travel business owners. Please refrain from commenting what I know you are all thinking. You guys should not be selling low cost airfare anyway :-))
5. More vacation destinations.
Low cost / charter airlines have opened an additional door for your average holidaymaker by allowing them to jump on a direct flight rather than connect somewhere first. Let us take Dalaman (Turkey) as an example. Dalaman is the gateway to the Turkish riviera and has become a very popular destination for European holidaymakers for many reasons. People looking to vacation in Bodrum, Marmaris or Fethiye will most likely fly into Dalaman airport. Currently, there are only a handful of airlines offering direct service to Dalaman from the UK and all of them are low cost or charter airlines. [SkyScanners report of airlines that fly to Dalaman]
The airport itself is getting a $150,000,000 cash injection and it is reported that passenger volume increased by an astounding 82% in 2009. Integrating low cost airline content will allow you to service markets such as Dalaman with direct flights.
3/8/2010 6:24 PM
The ever growing importance of social networking
It seems one cannot go a day without hearing or seeing some reference to how imperative it is for everyone to jump on the social networking bandwagon. There is no doubt that social networking sites are gaining more traction than ever, but how do you make it work for your own business?
I sincerely believe that the majority of small to medium sized businesses have enough trouble establishing an online presence and online reservation functionality so the words social marketing remain appropriately scary to most folks.
Is social marketing scary? The quick answer we have all heard before is : "It's not scary if you have the technical resources, industry know how and budget to support it all.". The truth is that the majority of small to medium sized businesses do NOT have the necessary technical resources, do NOT have sufficient know how in social marketing and with capital letters and an exclamation mark, DO NOT have the necessary budget to launch a full scale social networking campaign.
So how can i utilize social marketing for my small to medium sized business?
A successful social marketing campaign in the majority of cases does NOT involve purchasing a $100,000 social networking platform that allows you to share every tid bit of information between users. It involves targeted and usually quite simple means of promoting your products and services through various social outlets. Not forgetting to make all your social user driven content appeasing to the search engines.
Ask yourself how you can make your existing infrastructure more socially friendly rather than what you need to change to comply with social marketing concepts. The majority of businesses will have already invested significant technology dollars into their existing setup. Approaching it from the latter angle will only lead to significant development which utlimately costs more money. This era of user driven content systems are intended to generate traffic organically, not cost an arm and a leg.
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3/8/2010 6:03 PM
Welcome to the new Travelisense blog application!
Greetings to all,
Thank you for visiting our new blog application. Through this portal we intend to keep all those interested, current with the latest and greatest technology offerings and industry news. If you have not already done so, we recommend that you browse our product pages.
Stay tuned,
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