Operating a traditional travel agency is a tedious task to me on a daily basis. I would like to know if I could modify my business to an online travel agency business model.

Online booking or online reservation system is one of the most clever business ideas as, with the popularity of online reservations, everyone hates standing in queues. But as more and more people surfed online, the traffic on the online reservation sites also increased, hence increasing the number of online sites. However, if you are planning to build an online reservation engine from scratch, there must be many questions in your mind, and one of them you have asked above, so let’s answer that question first and then move ahead with our conversation.

These are the requirements, if you are trying to build a basic online reservation engine:

  • Real-time booking
  • User-friendly interface
  • Customer support
  • Integrations with an email marketing software
  • Cloud-based
  • Inventory system
  • Maximum Payment options (debit card, credit card, PayPal, deferred payment processing, cash)

These were some basic requirements of an online reservation engine, but looking at the competition, just fulfilling these requirements won’t be much beneficial for your business, and you will get lost somewhere in the crowd. Hence, if you want to have a different appearance from the crowd following are some tips that would take your engine to an advanced level:

  • Detailed sales reports
  • Voucher and promo code management
  • Resource management
  • Email and SMS automation
  • Currency and language settings
  • Customization of Emails
  • Integration with third-party software
  • Distribution channel management

However, it is always recommended to keep your website updated and also keep up with the trend as everything online is experiencing drastic changes in a very short period of time.

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