online travel distributors

Travel and Booking APIs for Online Travel and Tourism Service Providers

• 36 min read
• Engineering ,   Travel
• Last updated: 13 Jan, 2023
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Back in 2017, TripAdvisor and comScore suggested that travelers make 10 to 34 website visits on average to book their trips. While this seems like a lot for booking hotels, for instance, travelers visit only 4.4 unique websites, according to the study by Fuel and Flip.to . People prefer to make their reservations through ‘all-in-one-place’ platforms. They’ve reshaped user experience unifying and eventually simplifying it for average travelers. One of the reasons is that travel industry players have become a lot more open to sharing data with each other. A good example of this is Uber which in 2014 allowed third parties to incorporate Ride Requests functionality in their applications. Today, your local sightseeing app can let users commute from one landmark to another without switching apps.

Travel APIs: main types and how they work

In tech terminology, the key to this growing connectivity is an API . An application programming interface allows for sharing data streams and functionalities between different systems. APIs work as control panels for developers to link software components without dealing with source code.

API principles explained.

What does this mean for the travel industry? If you run a hotel business, you can let your customers rent a car straight from your website by integrating your booking website with available local car rental services. This may put a car-rental commission in your pocket or just spare your customers the trouble of browsing the web to rent a car. So, let’s talk about the most important types of APIs used to unify travel industry features and information. Warning, it’s going to be a long read, so you may hop to one of the 13 sections that seem interesting by navigating the menu to the right if you’re on a desktop:

• Flight search and booking by GDSs and OTAs

NDC integration for merchandising and rich content

• Flight data, schedules, and fares

Direct hotel booking with PMSs and channel managers

• Hotel booking with aggregators: GDSs, connectivity providers, and switches
• Wholesale hotel booking with bed banks
• Partner hotel booking with OTAs
• Hotel mapping
• Car rental booking
• Business travel management and expense tracking
• Reviews and ratings
• Tours, attractions, and experiences
• Public transportation

Flight search and booking APIs by GDSs and OTAs

Main users: OTAs, TMCs, travel application providers Read more here: Flight and air booking APIs , GDSs compared , Low-cost booking APIs There are generally two main types of players that can help you with travel search, availability, and booking. The first one includes global distribution systems (GDSs), the main aggregators in the industry. They go together with “aggregators of aggregators,” the systems that are built on top of GDSs to merge their offers. The second group consists of online travel agencies that have affiliate programs to help smaller players enter the market. To learn more about flight distribution, check our video:

Flight distribution in a nutshell (by the way, subscribe to our channel. We’ll be releasing more such explainer videos)

GDS market shares differ across regions

Amadeus flight APIs

Amadeus is one of the major GDSs and originates from Europe. In November 2018, the company launched a new portal Amadeus for Developers with sets of air, hotel, and other travel APIs. (We use the word “sets” because there’s no single API for all data services available.) In this section, we’ll focus on flight APIs. Fran Romero, Head of Open Innovation Programs at Amadeus, made comments to AltexSoft about the platform: “ The Amadeus for Developers is designed to speed up innovation and to inspire new ideas by empowering those at the forefront of travel, offering quick and easy access to travel APIs, and fostering collaboration across the community of developers. Through the portal, developers can take advantage of Amadeus APIs alongside the tools, resources, and support they need to build and launch their applications quickly.” Currently, Amadeus APIs are shipped in two flavors. Self-Service APIs meet the needs of startups and travel businesses with no IATA or ARC certification. These APIs use JSON format for data exchange and modern REST architecture which makes them easy to integrate. As Alvaro Navarro, a Developer Advocate at Amadeus, notes, “The Self-Service APIs are designed to be used not only for prototyping, but also for commercial purposes, and the access to production is fully automated with self-service processes.” The suite allows you to

• search and compare flights and fares (including lowest fares, most booked destinations, cheapest dates, and so on);
• book flights; and
• analyze flight prices, predict arrival and departure delays, and more (AI-based services)

However, ticketing can only be done through consolidators, and you don’t get access to negotiated or corporate fares. Self-service APIs support only public fares. Enterprise APIs target mature businesses building large travel applications. The Enterprise subscription connects you to nearly 200 APIs, including

• new REST APIs from the Self-Service suite; and
• older SOAP APIs that rely on the XML data format and provide broader functionality. For example, only this catalog gives you access to flights operated by low-cost airlines.

Learn more about the subject from our Practice Guide to Amadeus API Integration .

Sabre flight APIs

Sabre is another major GDS and the pioneer in the world of automated booking. There are literally hundreds of Sabre APIs in REST and SOAP formats that cover pretty much the same set of functions that Amadeus provides. In terms of flight distribution, Sabre offers:

• flight search, including alternate dates or airports, basic fares, rules, etc.;
• flight booking and ticketing;
• payments and pricing;
• reservation management (itineraries, PNRs , etc.)
• seat maps; and
• reporting and data analytics (e.g., top destinations, low fare history, and others)

If you’re considering Sabre API integration, you can contact us. In September 2020, AltexSoft became Sabre’s authorized development partner after we had completed a number of integrations for agencies and other businesses. Read our article Sabre API Integration: Hands-On Experience with a Leading GDS to dive deeper into details.

Travelport flight APIs

Travelport unites three GDS systems: Apollo, Worldspan, and Galileo. Unlike Amadeus and Sabre, it provides a single point of access to the inventory of the three GDSs that preserve their brand names. Travelport Universal API uses SOAP/XML formats and embraces

• air shopping and booking;
• fares and ancillaries;
• air content and merchandising; and

Travelport also offers RESTful JSON API  collections that generally overlap with the Universal API, but are more lightweight, faster, and optimized for mobile search and booking. In terms of flight services, they cover

• air search and booking,
• ticketing, and
• payment support.

If you want to dive deeper into the difference between GDSs, read our dedicated GDS article . Besides GDSs, you can try working with other aggregators.

Travelfusion API

Travelfusion is a flight and accommodation aggregator that works with over 400 low-cost carriers and scheduled airlines. The company offers

• Direct Connect XML API that ensures real-time availability and a fully automated booking process; and
• Fast API , a new and lightweight product for rapid integration with any platform and creating a wide range of solutions, including widgets and mobile services.

Flight search and booking functionality can be also provided in JSON format. Besides that, Travelfusion actively supports the IATA NDC initiative.

Kiwi.com is a Czech OTA known for its powerful flight search engine that connects to about 750 airlines, including over 250 low-cost carriers . The platform also provides virtual interlining services — in other words, it combines separate flights into seamless itineraries. After registration, you can use their set of APIs to

• find carrier IDs and logos;
• acquire data on locations (cities, airports, and more);
• search for itineraries — one-way and return flights, multiple city trips, and the cheapest routes possible (NOMAD feature);
• book flights and order baggage; and
• confirm payments and process refunds.

Besides that, KIwi.com APIs allow you to connect air and ground routes making train and bus transfers to and from an airport a part of the itinerary.

FlightsLogic Flight API

FlightsLogic Flight API provides flight data, seat availability, fares, and payment features. It connects travel agencies, tour operators, B2B travel platforms, and other businesses to over 200 low-cost carriers and over 700 GDS airlines. The API can be integrated with Android and iOS apps and websites.

Main users: OTAs aiming at distributing rich content, larger OTAs, innovative travel application providers Read more here: NDC connections and APIs Besides traditional flight booking, there’s a growing trend of flight merchandising advanced by airlines and IATA . New Distribution Capability (NDC) standard based on XML allows carriers to offer rich content (images, reviews, seat maps, etc.), a broader set of ancillaries, and personalization — things that were limited in GDS-centered distribution. Initially, NDC was considered the way to bypass GDSs entirely and build carriers’ own APIs to directly connect to OTAs and TMCs ( travel management companies ). But things have changed and today there are three main ways to use NDC, including connections implemented by GDSs. GDSs NDC. Unsurprisingly, global distribution systems aren’t excited about losing their market. While it’s hard to find actual NDC API documentation, you may directly contact Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport for NDC connection purposes. In most cases, NDC capabilities aimed at travel agencies and other resellers are in development, while GDSs focus more on helping airlines build NDC pipelines on their sides. We elaborate on how to implement NDC technology for airlines in our dedicated article. NDC by tech providers. A number of the industry's leading technology companies like ATPCO, SITA, and Farelogix which we’ll talk about below have worked with airlines to build NDC APIs for them. NDC by airlines. Many airlines embarked on offering NDC APIs themselves. These include Lufthansa , British Airways , Flydubai , Air France-KLM , Singapore Airlines , and others. Now, let’s reference some key APIs you can try for NDC.

Amadeus NDC

Amadeus provides NDC capabilities in their Enterprise subscription, via XML/SOAP APIs. Upon establishing this integration, you’ll be able to:

• search for NDC flight offers and combine them with non-NDC content;
• get prices and enable users to customize flights;
• create bookings (orders) and generate booking references (PNRs); and
• handle payments and ticket issuance.

Currently, you can search for and book rich content from American Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Air France-KLM, and Qantas (the last is still in piloting mode.) More carriers are to be added soon — including British Airways, Iberia, United Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, and Cathay Pacific. Note that some carriers require separate seller agreements to deliver NDC offers.

Sabre provides NDC connectivity via Offer and Order APIs. Yet, to use them you need special credentials, so contact your Sabre Account Representative for assistance. Once you gain access to NDC-enabled APIs, you’ll be able to

• shop for airline NDC and non-NDC air offers (including LCC flights), hotels, and car rentals;
• validate prices;
• create, view, change, fulfill and cancel orders (the API doesn’t support ancillaries though); and
• refund tickets where fare rules allow for this.

Depending on a specific airline, you can get rich content and personalized bundles. While carriers push their offers in XML – which is what NDC requires – Sabre provides the REST/JSON interface for using them. Keep in mind that NDC-enabled APIs are in development and as of this writing they only work with rich content from Avianca Group , Qatar Airways , Qantas, Singapore Airlines, and United Airlines. The NDC connection with American Airlines is expected to go live in April 2023.

Travelport NDC

Travelport made NDC content accessible via their Air APIs, in addition to standard GDS offers. Currently, only four carriers have NDC integrations with the GDS — namely, American Airlines, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, and United Airlines. To shop and book NDC offers, you have to negotiate this type of connection with both Travelport and the airline itself. The NDC will empower you to

• shop for different air products including branded fares (net fares are accessible via GDS connection only) and ancillaries (paid bags, carbon offset , etc.);
• confirm pricing for air search results (required for LCCs and some NDC carriers);
• retrieve frequent flyer details (available for Qantas only),
• reserve paid seats during the initial booking session;
• create reservations and issue tickets during the initial booking session;
• modify a passenger name (for American Airlines only) and itinerary; and
• void, cancel, exchange, and refund tickets.

NDC APIs here support both XML and JSON formats being also RESTful .

ATPCO Routehappy content and NDC

Routehappy APIs offer content for sales channels. These JSON APIs provide information about amenities and distribute product and ticket attributes from 300 airlines. Some of this data comes via NDC channels. All Routehappy content can be divided into three groups:

• UPAs (Universal Product Attributes) -- images, cabin descriptions, seat infographics, language translations, etc.;
• Amenities -- food and beverages, Wi-Fi, seatback videos, power outlets, etc.; and
• UTAs (Universal Ticket Attributes) -- all ticket rules, including consolation allowances, upgrades, priority check-in, etc.

tfFlight API by TravelFusion

tfFlight API is a one-stop solution for booking flights and ancillaries from LCCs, full-service carriers, and consolidators. It claims access to all low-cost airlines currently existing. The API supports NDC, sourcing rich content from 42 carriers.

Duffel Flights API

Duffel is a London-based startup that links travel distributors to over 300 carriers via a unified Flights API. It maintains direct connections with nearly 30 carriers, while all others are accessible through Travelport GDS. The company promises the easiest and fastest integration process possible, with almost instant access to functionality needed for selling flights. Besides search and booking, the API enables you to

• add extra and post-booking baggage,
• pick seats (yet, this function is available not for all airlines),
• change and cancel orders,
• collect card payments,
• add loyalty program accounts, and
• request private fares.

The API works with LCCs, GDS, and NDC content. Yet, some features are still under development and not available for all airlines. The API maintains direct connections with 30 carriers, while all others are accessible through Travelport GDS.

Verteil API

Verteil is an NDC aggregator dedicated to replacing legacy airline distribution scenarios with direct bookings. Its unified API connects travel agencies to rich content from 33 airlines. Though capabilities may differ from carrier to carrier depending on their NDC readiness, the standard set of available features includes:

• shopping for flights, branded fares, and ancillaries (seats, meals, baggage, and more);
• support for frequent flyer programs,
• multi-payment options (credit cards, Verteil wallet, PayPal, and so on);
• Book Now, Pay Later scenario;
• automated itinerary modification, ticket re-issuance and cancellation, and void and refund workflow.

Note that travel agencies will automatically get access to inventory from all new airlines onboarded.

HitchHiker Flight API

The HitchHiker API distributes flight fares and ancillaries from 6 GDSs and 20 NDC airlines and connects directly to 120 airlines, including low-cost carriers. Besides ancillaries and fares, it allows for flight booking, reservation management, and payment. The API is also available as a SaaS solution.

Accelya (ex-Farelogix) NDC

Accelya is a leading provider of financial and analytics services in the airline sector. For example, it developed and maintains BSP link , the interface that allows travel agencies and carriers to access the IATA billing system — Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP.) In 2020, the company expanded its portfolio through the acquisition of Farelogix — a tech company pioneering NDC. Their FLX NDC API serves as a single gateway enabling airlines to distribute rich content across different sales channels. Currently, the API fuels the FLX Passenger Platform that spans the entire cycle of air merchandising and attracts over 25 percent of the world’s NDC traffic. It serves about 20 NDC-powered airlines — including Lufthansa Group, United Airlines, American Airlines, Emirates, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, LATAM, WestJet, Air Canada, Olympic Air, and Aegean Airlines. Travel agents and other businesses can tap into NDC content via an interface called SPRK as well as an API connection for distributors .

Flight data, schedules, and fares APIs

Main users: OTAs, TMCs, data science, and analytics groups working in the travel industry Read more here: Flight and air booking APIs Some OTAs and travel application providers strive to help travelers after the booking is completed. For instance, the in-flight support app that we developed for Fareboom helps travelers with timely notifications before a departure, tracks flight status, and alerts about delays. Others attract customers with additional features such as flight price predictors . To deliver such services, you have to retrieve in-depth details about schedules, connections, fares, weather, and more. So, the final group of air travel-related APIs embraces connectivity options that help gather technical and specific flight data. For instance, Cirium (now owns Innovata and FlightStats) and OAG are global sources of flight scheduling data. And ATPCO is the main provider of fares, as airlines submit them directly to ATPCO, which in turn offers this data to GDSs and OTAs. Most of this information comes from the key technical players on the market. But let’s also mention one fare aggregator (or metasearch engine) — Skyscanner.

Skyscanner APIs

GDSs send general flight data, while Skyscanner provides more precise fare returns for a lower cost. To use Skyscanner API you need to enroll in an affiliate program. If you pass the vetting process, you get access to a set of APIs for free. Once you reach a certain revenue threshold, the service allows you to negotiate a commission based on your traffic and market proportion. While Skyscanner also provides car rental and hotel APIs, its strong point is its flight fare search. It comes in two main versions. Browse Flight Prices. This set ships the cheapest quotes from cached prices for an aggregated variety of origin-destination and time-frame queries, meaning that you can set up a flex search. The drawback is the cache doesn’t update frequently for less popular route and date combinations. If the prices change, sometimes your users won’t be able to see fresh info. Live Flight Prices. The live pricing API, on the other hand, returns exact fares for any given moment. But you must query the exact time and route to retrieve prices. This feature comes in handy whenever you need to compare prices for specific dates and routes. The default response format in both cases is XML, but you can switch to JSON.

Cirium and FlightStats APIs

Another popular API in this segment is provided by FlightStats, a global flight tracker and travel applications provider owned by Cirium. FlightStats APIs combine two main products. FlightStats Flex APIs. This suite allows you to get actual and precise flight data in English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Arabic, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese. The set includes

• Flight Status and Track API providing detailed information on a flight’s schedule, delays, gates and terminals, real-time position, speed, and more;
• Historical Flight Status API delivering historical data on departure/arrival times, delay calculations, equipment type, etc.;
• Schedules API with information on upcoming flights;
• Connections API returning direct and connecting flights between two airports;
• Airlines API for important details about carriers — such as IATA/ICAO codes and current status;
• Airports API for IATA/ICAO codes, addresses, locations, time zones, and other data on airports;
• Equipment API enabling you to search for information on aircraft equipment;
• Alerts API to send notifications triggered by flight status and other changes;
• Delay Index API reporting on the current delay level in a specific airport;
• Ratings API to define which flights are more likely to be on-time between given airports;
• Weather API focusing on current weather conditions; and
• FIDS API returning data necessary for flight information display system (FIDS) located in airport terminals, hotel lobbies, and other places.

APIs follow the REST design, supporting JSON, JSONP, and XML formats as well as SOAP protocol. FlightStats Trips APIs . This set focuses on the ability of travel providers to improve the itinerary experience of their customers by keeping them informed about their trips. These include alerts about important changes, especially delays, cancellations, and other travel disruptions to enable proactive reactions to these events. FlightStats APIs are known in the development community as well-documented and coherent. They allow for deep customization to tailor travel software to specific business and UX needs.

OAG is another major player in the flight schedules market. It currently has four REST APIs:

• Flight Info returns schedules and granular status data showing all changes during the flight;
• Schedules enable near real-time access to data on schedules;
• Flight Info Alerts provides near real-time scheduling changes; and
• Flight Info Connections returns weekly updates on passenger and cargo flight connections.

OAG content covers 97 percent of flights worldwide, and its APIs power such innovative products as Uber Reserve (a tool for pre-booking a ride up to 30 days in advance), Air Black Box (a virtual interlining engine), and Global Pilot Source (a recruitment platform connecting pilots and airlines.)

SITA is one of the major flight market technology providers that offers a decent set of APIs that mostly revolve around airport, baggage, and boarding information. Via SITA APIs, you can get timely information on

• airports (location, IATA/ICAO codes),
• flights (including real-time data),
• weather at a particular airport; and
• the average waiting time in a specific area of the airport (customs queue or security line).

SITA Flex APIs allow you to create mobile apps interacting with Self Baggage Drop Devices, Self Boarding Gates, scanners, and other airport technologies . Boarding Pass API streamlines the creation and distribution of mobile boarding passes. And Bagjourney API facilitates baggage tracking using a bag tag number or passenger surname. Yet, this functionality is available only if you have an agreement with a particular airline.

Main users: Larger OTAs, metasearch engines, niche OTAs, travel application providers Read more here: Best Hotel Booking APIs , Channel management in hotels APIs If you’re new to the world of hotel room distribution, spend five minutes to understand how the ecosystem works before diving deep into the APIs. We’ve made a video for that. If you know the basics, just skip our explainer.

How hospitality booking works (if you haven’t subscribed after the first video, now's a great time to do it)

With that out of the way, let’s begin the next section, the name of which may sound a bit misleading because direct hotel booking is possible only if you connect to the  hotel's central reservation system . But the next step on the journey to being direct is channel management. Direct connection via property management (PMS) and central reservation systems (CRS). A PMS is the main software environment for hotels. It usually includes reservation capabilities (CRS) and other modules that don’t work with distribution but help with internal hotel operations, like point-of-sale systems or front desk . As you may have guessed, direct connectivity via PMSs requires quite a lot of investment, because there are dozens of PMSs on the market and you may need integration with several of them if you want to have a large inventory.

More on how PMSs work

If you’re considering direct integration with hotels, check our article on  Opera by Oracle PMS integration . It’s one of the largest PMS providers out there. Connection via channel managers. Channel managers are systems that integrate with PMSs on one side and with online travel agencies or other distributors on the other. The main purpose of a channel manager is to allow hotels to distribute their properties across several channels (OTAs, TMCs, etc.), hence the name. As a travel distributor, you can connect with channel managers given that certain hotels want to distribute with you and advocate your integration. The largest channel managers may feature thousands of hotels. Considering the nature of these connections, it’s still almost direct integration as channel managers just pass the information without adding their commissions for bookings. We won’t describe any direct integrations with PMSs, but let’s have a look at a couple of notable channel managers.

SiteConnect API by SiteMinder Channel Manager

SiteMinder is one of the largest channel management providers for hotels. It allows hoteliers to connect their properties to the leading OTAs and GDSs via the cloud interface, increase direct bookings , and analyze performance. While their packages can be extremely useful for hotels that strive for market visibility, SiteMinder also has SiteConnect API that mostly addresses OTAs and other end-user providers.

Cloudbeds API

Cloudbeds is another large player in the channel management market with about 20,000 hotels in its portfolio. Cloudbeds has a REST API that exchanges data on guests, reservations, and so on in JSON. Besides, CloubBeds gives access to their APIs to application developers who integrate Cloudbeds software with third-party services.

Hotel booking APIs by aggregators: GDSs, connectivity providers, and switches

Main users: OTAs, metasearch engines, travel application providers Read more here: Best Hotel Booking APIs The second group of suppliers can be called aggregators. They collect data from many sources, including hotels, wholesalers (that we discuss below), and aggregators which can be generally broken down into two major groups. Global Distribution Systems. While GDSs are more focused on air travel, they feature quite a lot of hotels since corporate travel management companies (TMCs) tend to stick with GDSs and it was a sound move to include hotel inventory as well. While GDSs generally have large hotel inventories, they may miss some segments that are of little interest to corporate travelers. Another drawback is that GDSs tend to have poor content, low-res images, and incomplete descriptions and amenity lists. Connectivity providers and switches. Another major group of suppliers covers different types of aggregators that get data on hotel reservations, room availability, and other content across many different sources. Sometimes aggregators work directly with hotels; sometimes they connect to other middlemen. But usually, they have both. Going to aggregators is a smart move if you need a large inventory. One of the subtypes of these aggregators is switches, the systems that in many ways are similar to channel managers. They connect to the hotel's central reservation systems and reroute data from suppliers to distributors, allowing both to have a single point of contact, a switch. The main difference is that channel managers require you to agree to integration with a hotel directly, while switches can negotiate with you not involving hotels. Sometimes, the terms switch, aggregator, and connectivity provider are used interchangeably.

Hotel Aggregator API by MakCorps

MakCorps has been collecting information about hotel prices of different vendors since 2010. . Its Hotel API covers not only current rates but also reviews, ratings, and other data from over 200 OTAs including Booking.com, Agoda, Expedia, and Hotels.com. Besides that, MakCorps offers historical hotel pricing data which enables travel agencies, hotel chains, and other clients to understand buying patterns and other trends and adjust rates to secure a competitive advantage. . All data is received in XML format but MakCorps transfers it into JSON for customer convenience.

RateGain and Dhisco Switch

DHISCO Switch by RateGain is a global switch that enables the one-to-many distribution of hotel rooms connecting main OTAs, travel agencies, metasearch engines, and GDSs with hotel chains. Currently, the service has access to 125,000 properties from over 1,000 channels.

DerbySoft: connectivity APIs for booking and content

DerbySoft is a connectivity provider that acts as a single point of contact both for hotels and travel sellers. It maintains a network of 750 partners including

• large hotel groups (Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Accor, and more), PMSs like Oracle Opera or TravelClick,
• destination management companies ,
• online travel agencies, and
• other distributors.

To initiate the connection process, choose businesses you want to link and complete the online form.

Wholesale hotel booking: APIs by bed banks

Main users: OTAs, metasearch engines, travel application providers Read more here: Bed Banks Compared , Best Hotel Booking APIs Bed banks (or wholesalers) are among the main sources to access hotel booking and content. Wholesalers purchase inventories in bulk and then resell them to distributors. This allows hotels to efficiently manage their revenues and fill up rooms, while bed banks get access to inventory at lower rates.

Hotelbeds APIs

Hotelbeds is one of the largest accommodation, transfers, and activities distributors. Its API Suite covers more than 120 markets globally operating in about 185 countries. There are three main hotel-related APIs that Hotelbeds suggests, connecting to about 300,000 hotels worldwide. Hotel Content API . This API returns both static and dynamic information. Static info includes hotel descriptions, pictures, addresses, etc. The dynamic part retrieves data that can be changed at any moment: availability details, prices, fees, etc. Hotel Booking API . The API works in combination with the previous one enabling all aspects of the booking procedure, from requesting room availability to receiving booking lists and making cancellations. Hotel Cache API . This API is aimed at providing massive amounts of data for travel packages or flex room searches. Thus, the API returns a specific snapshot of data captured at a given moment.

WebBeds API: JacTravel, Destinations of the World, and others

WebBeds is the second largest bed bank, boasting a portfolio of 430,000 hotels in over 16,000 destinations, not to mention thousands of transfer services, excursions, and attractions. It owns several smaller wholesalers including  Lots of Hotels (LOH) , FIT Ruums , Sunhotels , and Destination of the World (DOTW)   as well as two niche brands:

• JacTravel DMC specializes in the UK, France, and key mainland European destinations; and
• UmrahHolidays International organizes religious travel to Saudi Arabia.

OTAs, tour operators, and other travel providers can tap into WebBeds inventory through their branded booking websites or API connectivity (contact them directly via an online form for more details.) Sunhotel has a separate XML API connecting to 368,000 properties in 120 countries.

Bonotel API

Bonotel is a niche wholesale distributor that is solely targeted at luxury and boutique hotel rooms. Currently, Bonotel API accesses more than 2,600 travel suppliers globally that operate within the luxury segment and offer access to hotel content and data. To explore the API that Bonotel suggests, you should contact the supplier directly.

Travco XML API

Travco , one of the oldest hotel wholesalers, focuses on the European market and provides accommodation and ancillary bookings from over 12,000 hotels at over 1000 destinations. Their XML API gives access to hotel properties (including hotels, resorts, and retreats) and travel ancillaries (like transfers, tours, and restaurants). Also, this API allows for displaying content in nine languages.

HPro Travel (HotelsPro)

HPro Travel (formerly HotelsPro) is a bed bank with a focus on tour operators and travel agencies, selling properties of different sizes and types, including resorts and luxury hotels. You can also source travel ancillaries. It provides access to over 1,000,000 hotels across 70,000 destinations. Other available inventory types include car rentals, transfers, tours, attractions, and events. The bed bank offers hotel APIs that support REST and JSON. Coral API allows you to get up-to-date inventory and hotel information, cache results, check availability, book rooms, and cancel reservations. Cosmos API returns hotel static data — information on properties and locations, images, room, and meal types, and more. You’ll find a detailed description of these wholesalers in our dedicated article.

Partner rooms reservations: APIs by Expedia and Booking.com

Main users: small OTAs, non-hospitality travel providers, channel managers, property management systems Read more here: Expedia Partner Solutions , Booking.com Partnership The final option to connect to multiple hotels is to partner with big OTAs and use their inventory . Yet, you need to have a significant volume of bookings to be vetted by large players since they are typically not interested in integrations with startups and small businesses. There are two main players dictating the rules of the OTA market: Booking Holdings (Booking.com, Kayak, Momondo, etc.) and Expedia (Expedia.com, Hotel.com, Trivago, etc.) If you mostly look at hotel booking, it’s worth working with both. Not all APIs are publicly available and you’ll have to become their partner to fully leverage their capacities. The two giants have their partnership networks. Expedia Partner Central is aimed at hotels and Expedia Partner Solutions at online travel agencies and other travel software providers. Booking.com supports APIs for smaller travel agencies and channel managers.

Expedia Partner Central

Expedia APIs are built with the idea of streamlining property updates both for hotels and ultimately Expedia end users. Availability and Rates API . This set of APIs helps hotels automate booking by instantly updating property rates on all Expedia points, changing availability, and sending notifications as soon as someone reserves a room through the Expedia network. Note that it can’t be used alone: You must also integrate either the Booking Notification API or Booking Retrieval/Confirmation set of APIs to automatically send updates to your CRS or PMS. All other APIs can’t be integrated without Availability and Rate API and Booking Notification or the Booking Retrieval/Confirmation APIs in place. This rule applies to

• Product API that allows you to retrieve property-level information, read, edit, and create room types, rate plans, and amenities;
• Deposit API for reading, creating, updating, and removing a property’s deposit policy;
• Image API for adding and deleting property images as well as editing metadata; and
• Property API to add and update content about property attributes, policies, and fees.

There is also a standalone Compliance API that supplies data about regulations in the region where properties are listed.

Expedia Rapid API

The Expedia Partner Solutions API named Rapid is created for online travel agencies that want to incorporate hotel booking support into their products. The Rapid API will allow for:

• receiving geographic definitions and property mappings for over 600,000 regions;
• retrieving property IDs and content;
• getting live rates and availability for over 700,000 properties globally; and
• booking and booking management (changing and canceling reservations).

You can also access the Vrbo (formerly HomeAway) inventory, which is an alternative travel OTA that connects travelers with homeowners in about 190 countries. Over 600,000 Vrbo single-room vacation rentals are exposed via Rapid API. (Not to be outdone, another leading player in the vacation rental market, Airbnb, provides an API for owners of single properties who want to employ Airbnb booking capacities.) Additionally, there’s an affiliate program at Orbitz , which is a travel metasearch and aggregator belonging to Expedia. Their engine allows for sourcing about 260,000 bookable properties and over 400 airlines.

Booking.com APIs

Booking.com provides two sets of services - for their affiliate partners and for channel managers. Currently, Booking.API for affiliates allows for retrieving and booking hotel rooms from the Booking inventory. You may use only accommodation data without booking capabilities, sending visitors to Booking.com. If you want to process bookings on your side, you must be PCI-compliant . Booking Connectivity APIs are an entirely different beast. This set of APIs is created for channel managers and property management system providers. You may meet them in the video above. Basically, if you build channel manager software, these APIs are a must... given that you want to connect your clients to Booking.com. You may check their documentation . In brief, Connectivity supports

• rates and availability,
• reservations,
• promotions, and
• problem reporting.

You can read more about Booking, com APIs and other partnership solutions in our dedicated article. Another OTA owned by Booking Holdings is Agoda . It’s worth contacting the Agoda team separately to understand how their supply differs from what Booking already offers.

Priceline API

Priceline focuses on OTAs and tech suppliers that help their customers find travel-related data. Currently, the Priceline Partner Solutions API allows for retrieving and booking:

• cars for rent,
• vacation packages, and
• travel insurance plans.

Owned by Booking Holdings, Priceline leverages a separate collection of travel deals which includes 980,000 properties and exclusive discounts. Learn more about how to start building an API connection on their website.

Hotel and room mapping APIs: GIATA and Gimmonix

Main users: OTAs and TMCs receiving hotel data from multiple sources Read more here: Hotel Mapping Tools Explained If you’re sourcing hotel data from multiple suppliers — for instance from two bed banks, or from a bed bank and a couple of aggregators — inevitably, some of the properties will duplicate as most suppliers have intersecting inventories. The problem is, different suppliers may have different naming conventions for hotel IDs and room types. And you don’t want your users to see the same property with slightly different room naming and prices in search results. You have to solve the mapping problem, i.e. map and remove duplicates of the same hotels, rooms, and content coming from different sources. There are APIs and systems that can help you with this task.

GIATA is a hotel content management provider. Their solution to the mapping problem is creating so-called MultiCodes. GIATA has universal IDs that are mapped to different codes, geocodes, and addresses from over 500 suppliers, including bed banks, OTAs, operators, etc. MultiCodes data is available via XML API . They also have room-level mapping API that addresses descriptions and other hotel content.

Gimmonix Mapping.Works APIs

Mapping.Works is a set of APIs that help both property owners and OTAs map their inventories. Unlike GIATA, the provider employs ML-based text analysis to extract meaning from various inventory descriptions and also operates on two levels of mapping: hotel mapping and room mapping.

Car rental APIs: Rentalcars.com and CarTrawler

Main users: OTAs, travel applications providers, hotels, airlines Read more here: Car Rental APIs As you’ve noticed, multiple players on the market are bundling their services with car rentals. GDS systems and main OTAs already support car rentals.

Rentalcars API

Rentalcars.com owned by Booking Holdings is currently the largest provider in the sphere. If you look at embedding car rental support only into your website, it’s worth considering their services as Rentalcars works across about 60,000 locations in 163 countries. Rentalcars offers two main options:

• put a customizable banner on your website, or
• become a Rentalcars Connect partner and then leverage available technology through the API.

The first option obviously isn’t an API and eventually, your users will be landing on Rentalcars.com to complete their reservation. The second option, on the other hand, isn’t limited to a single API. The connect partners can utilize full-blown Rentalcars product integration and services including dynamic widgets, search panels, etc.

CarTrawler API

CarTrawler is a fully B2B service that connects over 2,000 travel agents, travel retailers (OTAs), and international airlines with local car rental suppliers. Currently, the company operates in 43,500 locations in 190 countries. You can learn about integration options by applying for a partnership agreement . Also, there are car rental APIs by tech service providers , which you can study in more detail in the linked article.

Business travel management and planning APIs from SAP Concur

Main users: applications providers that target business travelers, OTAs Read more: Corporate Travel Management Software , Corporate Travel Management Companies The main player in the business travel market is SAP Concur. The company offers a cloud-based travel management platform that helps enterprises manage trips, track travel expenses, book flight seats and hotel rooms, and rent cars.

SAP Concur API

Concur integration into the Uber app. Image credit: Uber

All apps with SAP Concur API integration are featured in the dedicated App Center .

Tripit is a product by SAP Concur which doesn’t limit its target audience to business travelers only and aims at all types of users. The system consolidates a user’s travel data like hotel, flight, and restaurant confirmations and turns it into a neatly organized itinerary. Also, they provide weather data and points program information. Tripit API works pretty much the same as the main SAP Concur API. For instance, it allows for embedding an “Add to Tripit” link on the travel booking confirmation page of your website or adding Tripit travel plans to a website or application, enabling users to configure itineraries through Tripit without leaving your platform.

Reviews and ratings: TripAdvisor Content API for social proof

Main users: OTAs, hotels, travel applications providers We’ve covered the best UX practices in booking and reservations websites . One of the main points is that 70 percent of people look at about 20 reviews before they book travel or accommodation services online. This social proof is hard to achieve with your own reviews system if you are a hotel, for instance, or another property provider. But TripAdvisor is a trusted source containing over a billion reviews and opinions. Tripadvisor's Content API allows businesses to incorporate reviews, opinions, and other data that the service collects from its users. The platform works with accommodations, restaurants, and attractions providing the following types of content about different locations (hotels, restaurants, attractions, and points of interest) through their API:

• location details (name, address, and rating),
• location photos (up to 5 high-quality images),
• location reviews (up to 5 most recent reviews),
• location search (up to 10 locations found by the given query), and
• nearby location search (up to 10 locations found near the given latitude/longitude).

TripAdvisor supports 29 languages and covers over 8 million locations globally.

Things-to-do APIs: tours, attractions, experiences, and restaurants

Main users: OTAs, local travel providers, travel applications providers Read more here: Tours and Attractions APIs , Restaurant Reservation APIs Like hotels, tours-and attractions (T&A) supply is broad. There are OTAs and niche companies that specialize in connecting travel agents with suppliers, suggesting interfaces, APIs, or both options to configure and source tours. On top of that, these services let you configure custom travel packages that include T&A, accommodation, and even car rentals. To get more information on tours and attractions APIs , check out our comprehensive article on the topic. There are two main sources for finding attractions and things to do for your customers. These are

• local services like London Theatre API , and
• larger vendors that aggregate and share data combined with ticket purchasing support.

Watch our video about the tours and attraction market

Bókun is a tourism reseller platform that partly operates as a marketplace where local travel providers and property owners connect with OTAs and agents. In addition, it provides channel management services. Bókun API allows travel agencies to

• get a list of activities;
• check availability, capacity, and pricing for an activity;
• book activities;
• edit booking details; and
• cancel bookings.

This set of features enables configuring custom travel packages via the API interface.

TrekkSoft API

TrekkSoft focuses solely on tours and activities. The company provides graphical interfaces for local T&A companies and tourism offices. TrekkSoft API can be configured to supply resellers with all available T&A, including booking capacities.

Rezdy is another T&A service for channel management that connects suppliers with travel agents and travel agencies. It offers three REST APIs . Agent API allows OTAs and other resellers to query products by tour operators, check their availability and pricing, and make bookings and cancellations. Supplier API is designed for tour operators who sell their products via the Rezdy platform. It lets them manage their inventory and booking capabilities. RezdyConnect API serves external suppliers who have their own booking platforms. The API facilitates reselling their products via Rezdy channels. It pulls availability and pricing from a supplier’s system and returns bookings and cancellations.

While Rezgo may look like a common T&A channel management solution, it provides an open-source frontend booking engine fueled by Rezgo API . It supports both XML and JSON formats and is dedicated to building T&A booking solutions that don’t exceed 4,000 requests per hour.

Ticketmaster APIs

Ticketmaster is the largest events booking provider in the market. It covers concerts, festivals, plays, and sports across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, other European countries, and more. The service claims to reach about 230,000 events worldwide. Back in 2016, it released multiple APIs to let third parties embed the Ticketmaster events search and booking support into their products. There are two main Ticketmaster APIs. Discovery API is aimed solely at an information search. You will be able to source events, filter them by location, and type, and retrieve images. There’s also International Discovery API for European events. It doesn’t work for the UK, Ireland, the US, and Canada. Partner API allows your customers to directly book and buy tickets from your resource. But unlike Discovery API, it’s not open: You have to enroll in the Ticketmaster affiliate program to use it.

Ingresso TicketSwitch API

Ingresso platform provides information on events and seating availability from over 60 global distributors and supports ticket booking and purchasing. Ingresso sources data and sends reservations directly through venue ticketing systems, which ensures real-time updates. Its API is used by Amazon Tickets.

Viator APIs

Viator is a T&A agency acquired by Tripadvisor in 2014. The OTA accesses over 300,000 experiences around the world, including unconventional ones (e.g. “real Prague, a 3-hour tour to see the reverse side of the city”). Its Affiliate API allows you to merchandise Viator inventory, complementing your offerings with tours and activities. However, Viator will handle customer service and transactions. If you want to preserve more control over the booking process, opt for their Merchant API (the implementation takes up to 3 months while Affiliate API can be integrated within 1-4 weeks).

GetYourGuide API

GetYourGuide is another T&A OTA that accesses about 33,000 activities in more than 2,500 destinations. GetYourGuide’s power side is linking specific attractions and activities with locally related ones. For instance, Manhattan cruises will be connected with Empire State Building visits. If you’re a local travel provider, the service requires you to have live-streaming T&A availability. GetYourGuide API is available to partners only.

Klook is a T&A provider that mostly focuses on Asian tours with destinations ranging from China and Shanghai to Japan and Singapore. The company suggests OTAs enroll in an affiliate program and get access to the T&A database via either a SaaS solution or an API.

Musement API

Musement is a wide-range T&A platform that combines attractions, tours, nightlife activities, local food and wine places, sports, and music events. The company’s partners can integrate with a REST API to sell products from the Musement catalog containing more than 5 thousand deals in 300 cities in 60 countries around the world.

Tiqets is an agency that focuses on the digital distribution of museum and attraction tickets. It offers OTAs, travel site owners, and other travel distributors two types of REST/JSON APIs for accessing and booking 4,500 products and 2,500 venues in 250 popular destinations across 50 countries. The Tiqets API enables distributors to become mediators between end customers and ticket sellers. The Partner API is for those who want people to buy tickets right on their own platforms. After integration, you can retrieve general information on activities, events, and destinations, check availability, and book and cancel tickets.

OpenTable API

OpenTable maintains access to over 50,000 restaurants worldwide. The main option for those who want to add table bookings to their services is to become OpenTable partners and use their API . It will allow you to source all OpenTable options, but users will still book through OpenTable.com. Once you reach over 100 monthly reservations as an affiliate, you will be able to leverage revenue-sharing opportunities. However, not all applicants are becoming partners. That’s why there’s an unofficial OpenTable API. It supports the same set of data and doesn’t require contacting OpenTable directly. If the restaurant industry is your primary interest, check out our article on restaurant reservation APIs .

Public transportation: APIs to support the get-around experience

Main users: global and local travel application providers Read more here: Public Transport APIs Not all travelers rent cars. And with the recent trend of making cities more pedestrian-friendly, especially in Europe, the use of public transport is a big part of the travel experience. As we mentioned, Uber has its own API to incorporate the “request the ride” function into third-party applications. Today the API is used in such familiar products as Google Maps, Transit App, and TripAdvisor. What about public transport APIs ? (Check the link for more detail.) There are multiple options to consider.

Google APIs

Embedding Google Maps is quite common today. The Google APIs are open, well-documented, and widely used across industries. However, Google also provides APIs for tracking public transport routes and schedules. General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) . The API is used by both application providers and – very importantly – transit agencies that share public transport data to let users instantly configure their get-around experience. This API sends static-only data, which means users can see schedules and routes, but can’t track disruptions. GTFS Realtime . As the name clearly states, this extension to the main service aims at providing real-time data coming from transit agencies about delays and schedule changes. While this sounds great, you can’t expect it to work in the lion’s share of locations around the world. So, it's worth considering local alternatives if you build apps and want to deliver extra value with real-time public transport updates.

Local APIs from owners and consortiums

You can expect to find decent APIs from companies operating in your target regions. While the quality and standards alignment of these APIs vary, they can provide real-time updates and even additional information like the availability of car sharing or bikes near a railway station. Some examples of these are APIs from Dutch Railways and French National Railways , which update information about disruptions and engineering work in real time. Sometimes the APIs are born as a result of a consortium of data owners and reusers. One such example is OpenTripPlanner , the API providing an in-depth understanding of city transportation.

How to choose the right travel API

We’ve covered just the tip of the available travel API iceberg to provide you with basic information on the integration capabilities that the travel community shares. So, regardless of whether you use one of the products mentioned above or look for something specific, there are general recommendations for choosing a suitable API for your travel business. Look at popularity. ProgrammableWeb suggests looking at Google Trends to understand how popular the product is. Popularity isn’t only a proof of quality but also the foundation for a community that builds around a product. The more developers use the API, the more pitfalls your team will be able to resolve through communication with fellow engineers. Another good sign is a dedicated forum letting developers discuss issues there. Check API marketplaces. The travel API market is already a large one, and there are dedicated marketplaces emerging. For instance, Yappes , one such platform, provides an interface to search for and evaluate popular APIs. Currently, it has around 60 travel APIs, both public and private. According to Rajagopal Somasundaram, CTO and co-founder at Yappes, the platform has the potential to become “ the largest aggregator of the Travel APIs and a platform which provides seamless Discovery and Distribution of Travel related APIs. This will be achieved by providing API Discovery, API Creation & Hosting, API Distribution, and Deal Rooms (License/Price/Terms&Conditions Negotiations) ”. Evaluate documentation. Look for elaborate documentation with FAQs. Some providers don’t showcase the documentation upfront, requiring additional contracts. If the documentation is not public, make sure that you’ll be able to play with a demo. Expedia, for instance, allows you to try its public APIs right in the documentation section. Check for standards compliance. Even though an API may provide a great feature list and functionality, ensure that your developers have checked the main REST and SOAP standards compliance. Consider customization. How customizable is the API or a set of them? Must you use the entire bundle or you can choose specific data records that you want to retrieve? FlightStats, Sabre, and Amadeus APIs are well-recognized for their customization potential. Notice limitations. These may be regional, language, or partnership-related limitations. Most owners provide this information, asking you to contact their support teams or describing what kinds of limitations are there. As the world and the travel industry grow more connected application programming interfaces appear. The right approach to working with them defines whether you source the right data and eventually deliver enough value to your customers. Interested in travel APIs? Check our other pieces on the topic: Flight and air booking APIs Airport transfers APIs and solutions NDC connections and APIs Low-cost booking APIs Hotel APIs Bed banks (wholesalers) Hotel mapping providers Rail booking APIs Car rental APIs Tours and attractions APIs Channel management in hotels APIs Custom channel management in hotels APIs Public transportation APIs Restaurant and table reservation APIs

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An introduction to the travel distribution system

• Smart tools
• business improvement , distribution

The travel distribution system is an evolving beast, there are always new players, consolidations, new technologies and devices. So how do you as a tourism operator keep pace? The first step is to understand the landscape and who are the main players in online travel distribution.

Online bookings continue to grow

If you like statistics there here are some interesting facts and figures. Did you know that currently 57% of all travel bookings made online. This highlights the importance of having a great online booking system.  The average growth in online bookings has been 12.8% for the last 5 years and the projected growth for the next 5 is 8.5%.

So what does this mean to you as a business operator? Well if you don’t already, now is the time to get your head around the travel distribution system.

Online travel agency brands are consolidating into less companies.

This is good news, there are take overs, mergers, consolidations and start ups, but you are probably aware of the major players like:

• TripAdvisor
• Booking.com

and then there are the aggregators that seem to advertise on TV all the time!

• Hotelscombined

Try this simple exercise, go to Google and search on your own business.

Does your own website feature highly in the results? If not, we suggest that you look into your SEO ( Search engine optimisation ) it sounds complicated but it just means that the search engines like Google can easily find your website when a consumer enters a relevant keyword.

If your business is showing up on the big players websites, congratulations, your booking engine is working well and you should be receiving bookings through these channels. You may like to visit this Hub  and select “tutorials” to learn more and refine your strategy.

So what do you do if this is not the case? You need to learn how about the distribution system and develop a channel strategy.

What is a Channel Strategy?

A Channel Strategy is a plan that identifies the best websites, social networks and apps on which to market your business to move the consumer to purchase with you. It’s about ensuring your product can be found in the places your customers are looking.

The simplest approach is the direct channel

A direct channel means that you bring the customer direct to your own booking engine on your website, thus reducing commissions and fees. Your own website is an important place for customers to book online as you have reduced costs and usually money direct into your bank account. But, given the millions of websites, even with effective SEO you’d be wise to work with the larger players.

We recommend the you develop a balanced portfolio of distribution channels to build sustainability

So, if you found your own website in the Google search then your SEO is fine but if you’re not appearing on the big players websites you need to do the following;

The first step is to see where your current bookings are coming from and what commissions you are paying just so you understand your current state of play.

The second step is to ensure your booking system enables your product to reach the third parties you have identified as important. You can do this by checking on their websites, usually under “distribution partners” most will already be technically connected.

Price your product correctly and remember consumers search on average 7-13 websites before they make a booking and websites like hotelscombined and trivago compare prices for consumers!

Tip – Don’t promise every distribution partner the best rate and don’t advertise you’ll get the best rates direct with us or you may be in breach of distribution agreements.

Once your rates are correct on your website approach your booking system to enable distribution that matches your strategy.

Most booking systems have reports that enable you to see where your bookings are coming from and the cost per booking, review these reports to ensure you understand whats going on and adjust your strategy if necessary.

If the reverse is the case and your appearing on the “big players” websites and your own website is buried then you need to work on your SEO, quick smart. Click here for more information

• Know where your business is currently coming from and what it is costing you
• Research your own business online and understand your personal priorities
• Develop your own strategy which has a balanced portfolio of both direct and indirect bookings
• Focus your efforts on the best return on investment
• Review and refine

Where to from here?

• Get started with our Freebies
• Check out our upcoming live training events
• Get an overview of our services

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Travel Distribution

Travel distributors facilitate you to broaden your customer base horizon beyond the promotion and marketing budget., clients and partners.

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At Tripfro, we believe that Latest technology strengthens all successful, modern travel agencies. Traditional approach of people resources and quality does not work any longer. Tripfro is here to Digitally Transform your Business. Travel Agencies now increasingly expect technology to be the agent of change and expect us to devise strategies that are driven by ideas. Every one of our customer’s portal is built on a strong, dynamic and innovative technology stack ensuring that our clients receive excellent service around the clock.

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We’ll help you bring more vibrant Travel Products and colorful digital marketing. Hire Tripfro to Transform your Business to make Digital Real for your Customers .

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Our service never stops with the sales of our softwares or API Solutions. It goes on in the form of after-sales service since we understand that our products are designed to satisfy your requirements for many years to come.We’ve an established and efficient system in place to deal with all of your after sale support needs.

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Every project we take on starts with the aim of being our 'best yet', so you can be assured that our attention to detail and high quality work is present in every job we craft. We want our customers to be as excited and proud of the end product as we are, and we strive towards that goal every day.

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Travel Distribution - Powerful, Highly Available And Scalable Solution

Travel distribution system covers all the channels through which an global traveler can buy your product..

What Is Travel Distribution?

The travel distribution system is an evolving creature, there are always new players, consolidations, new technologies, and devices. So how do you as a tourism operator keep pace? The first step is to understand the landscape and who are the initial players in online travel distribution.

However, large-scale distribution remains a challenge, particularly for companies that sell multiple products, have contracts with multiple suppliers and work with hundreds and thousands of agents.

How Does The Travel Distribution System Work?

The travel distribution system has customarily been very structured with clearly defined functions for a single role in the chain. However, online technology and company mergers have transformed the tourism industry , with an increasing amount of crossover in the roles and functions of different sectors of the distribution system. Businesses are engaging a mix of distribution partners to ensure the most impressive way of reaching their target consumers. 

As this distribution system continues to evolve, it is essential to understand the structure of the companies that you work with and their relationships with other organizations. With the growth of the internet, many traditional travel distributors such as wholesalers and travel agents are taking an online approach as well as providing their services from a retail shop front. There has also been a development in online travel agencies (OTAs) that operate solely in the online environment.

Both online and traditional distribution partners have the opportunity to work with each other and directly with products and customers. Therefore, it is vital to understand each partner’s role and how your product can advantage of its part in the distribution network.

Why Work With Travel Distributors?

Travel distributors allow you to develop your customer base far beyond the reach of your own limited marketing budget. They are essential to the inbound tourism industry as overseas consumers still rely heavily on the advice of local travel experts when planning and booking their holidays, particularly in long-haul and emerging markets. 

Travel distributors can also offer market intelligence, insights, and advice on a specific market. The travel distribution system covers all the channels through which an international traveler can buy your product. Other than approaching you directly, international travelers may book your product.

IT Solutions for Travel Distribution:

  The travel industry is empowering consumers to book online using dynamic channel distribution methods. As the market is highly competitive and intuitive in response to the fares, consumers rely on comparing provides to get the best deals. Thus, there lies an incredible opportunity for travel agencies to provide attractive deals with a focus on consumer choices.

The Travel distribution system covers all the channels through which travel is bought and sold. Distribution channels and consumer purchasing behavior varies from market to market and one requires understanding the structure of the distribution system specific to one’s target markets.

When considering how best to distribute your product to international consumers, it is necessary to understand each channel and the relationships between companies within the distribution channel.

Suppliers and wholesalers with their own inventory of flights , hotels, and other products rely heavily on b2b channels, as it’s difficult for them to physically serve end customers in various markets.

The two main b2b channels for such companies are OTAs and independent local agents. In this post, we will see the role of the local agents in the distribution chain and how travel companies can use technology to get the most out of distributors.

Key Entities In The Travel Distribution:

Suppliers such as hotels, airlines, car rental companies, and other owners of inventory

Aggregators/wholesalers (GDSs, Bedbanks, Consolidators, etc)

Inbound tour operators that work through a network of b2b agents

Local travel agents/distributors that handle a small region and sell products on behalf of tour operators or suppliers

Online Travel Agencies, or OTAs – which sell through travel portals and internet booking engines (Expedia, Booking.com, etc)

Metasearch engines & Price Comparison sites.

Essentials of Independent Agents/Distributors In The Travel Value Chain:

The Tourism industry consists of an informal global network of independent businesses or travel distributors which form a necessary part of the ‘travel distribution chain’. This network enables both domestic and global consumers to explore reserves and pay for travel products.

Travel distributors are typically SME agencies that don’t essentially have travel inventory of their own and work with host companies to serve local demand by distributing the host inventory to end consumers.

Travel distributors are an essential link between suppliers and larger players, such as host agencies and wholesalers, allowing them to broaden their business horizons way beyond their marketing budgets and geography.

Travel distributors are particularly necessary to the inbound tourism industry as overseas customers still rely a lot on the advice of local travel experts when planning their holiday, particularly in emerging markets.

Travel distributors can also offer insights and recommendations on the marketing mix to match the demand in the local markets. Additionally, since they have personal connections with local consumers, they often provide flexible payment options and credit lines to their clients, something that larger firms and OTAs don’t typically offer.

So clearly these agents are highly important in the distribution chain, particularly in the vacations segment. However, managing a large network of distributors can be extremely challenging for suppliers and travel providers operating in the b2b space, particularly for companies still relying on manual processes or outdated tools.

Top Challenges In Managing Distributors:

Communication hassles – your team spends hours exchanging countless phone calls and emails with agents for rates and availability.

Long sales cycles – lack of real-time pricing with agents means a lot of back-and-forth communication, resulting in severe delays in responding to customer booking inquiries which can eventually drive consumers away to OTAs/other faster sources.

Managing markups and commissions – when you are working with hundreds of distributors in multiple geographies and multiple currencies, managing their markups and commissions owed to them can become a nightmare. Using disparate tools for reservations, agent management and accounting leave a lot of room for costly accounting errors.

How TripFro Simplifies Distribution?

TripFro with its Distribution and ERP capabilities enables large travel providers to aggregate content from multiple third-party suppliers, combine it with their direct contracts, dynamically apply pre-configured business rules and redistribute the inventory through a unified API across all their marketing channels.

Our distribution engine is an SOA (Services Oriented Architecture) based solution that allows companies to scale quickly while providing them the flexibility to integrate their existing technology.

Within the travel technology market, there are solution providers that offer solutions to various types of travel businesses under one roof, but also vendors that focus on a specific segment within the industry, e.g., leisure travel agencies, or DMCs, or TMCs the best fit is for you.

Using our unique web-services-based architecture, they can pull and push data from their existing systems, be it their CRM, Accounting system, or their PMS/CRS through APIs. A centralized system makes it easy for large companies to manage and control their distribution channels. 

Another important thing to note here is that the extensive supplier integration experience that travel technology companies possess allows them to recommend the right suppliers in each region to get the best possible inventory for their B2C and B2B customers. Plus, they have ready connections for all major XML suppliers and can integrate their APIs into your website in a matter of days.

Following Are Just Some of the Ways TripFro Facilitates:

This helps companies minimize their development time and cost and helps them launch their travel products quickly. They retain full control over their front ends, allowing them to customize and package their products the way they want to fit different markets and brands. 

Ability to manage multiple company portals and their individual policies from a single admin system each portal can be configured in its own language, currency, content allowing large companies to localize content and effectively target specific markets.

Ability to aggregate multiple third-party supplier feeds for flights, hotels, and ground services through a single API and redistribute the entire inventory along with their own direct contracts across multiple channels such as B2C, B2B, B2B2C.

Configuration of third-party API suppliers and supplier-specific business rules and policies.

Ability to integrate multiple payment gateways and real-time currency conversion to enable clients to search and make online reservations across various regions in local currencies.

Ideal integration with third-party systems such as Accounting and CRM Systems, Channel Managers, and PMS using Single Sign-on (SSO) to protect existing investments.

Management of direct contracts and negotiated rates for hotels, ground transportation, activities, catering, etc.

Centralized Management of operators and agents and configuration of particular business rules for them.

Unique ‘SaaS out-of-the-box capability that enables companies to provide their downline agents and affiliates with co-branded cloud-based portals with admin interfaces and aggregated feeds.

Some Of The Top Benefits Provided By This Solution Are:

Multi-channel Aggregation and Distribution

Centralized management of own as well as third-party inventory 

Extensive markup and revenue management for b2b channels

Complete co-branding for all your distributors (b2b2c)

Multi-level hierarchy (your distributors can also create members under them and so forth)

Superior Connectivity

Support for local currencies and languages

Incorporation into existing systems to protect investments

Chosen Display of Inventory (according to region, supplier, channel, etc)

Increased Efficiency And Productivity through automation

Get your travel business online

If there is one thing you do today, get your travel business online. everyone are talking of going online. provide yourself and your agents with their own b2b/b2c booking engine. tripfro platform consist of many components assembled to get your one stop travel software and travel technology, to automate travel business process and configured in many ways to meet your business goals. here's what you'll get (its affordable, easy and profitable)..

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A look at the Travel Distribution Chain and the Importance of Independent Agents

by TravelCarma · Published · Updated

The Travel distribution system covers all the channels through which travel is bought and sold. Distribution channels and consumer purchasing behavior varies from market to market and one needs to understand the structure of the distribution system specific to one’s target markets.

When considering how best to distribute your product to international consumers, it is important to understand each channel and the relationships between companies within the distribution channel.

Key entities in the travel distribution chain

• Suppliers such as hotels, airlines, car rental companies and other owners of inventory
• Aggregators/wholesalers (GDSs, Bedbanks, Consolidators etc)
• Inbound tour operators that work with a network of b2b agents
• Local travel agents/distributors that cover a small region and sell products on behalf of tour operators or suppliers
• Online Travel Agencies, or OTAs – which sell through travel portals and internet booking engines (Expedia, Booking.com, Makemytrip etc)
• Metasearch engines & Price Comparison sites (eg. Kayak, Skyscanner, Wego etc)

Suppliers and wholesalers with their own inventory of flights, hotels and other products rely heavily on b2b channels, as it’s difficult for them to physically serve end customers in different markets.

The two main b2b channels for such companies are OTAs and independent local agents. In this post we will look at the role of the local agents in the distribution chain and how travel companies can use technology to get the most out of distributors.

Importance of Independent Agents/Distributors in the Travel Value Chain

The Tourism industry consists of an informal global network of independent businesses, or travel distributors which form an important part of the ‘travel distribution chain’. This network allows both domestic and global consumers to explore, reserve and pay for travel products.

Travel distributors are typically SME agencies that don’t necessarily have travel inventory of their own, and work with host companies to serve local demand by distributing the host inventory to end consumers.

They are an important link between suppliers and larger players, such as host agencies and wholesalers, allowing them to broaden their business horizons way beyond their marketing budgets and geography.

They are particularly important to the Inbound tourism industry as overseas customers still rely a lot on the advice of local travel experts when planning their holiday, particularly in emerging markets.

Travel distributors can also provide insights and recommendations on the marketing mix to match the demand in the local markets. Additionally, since they have personal connections with local consumers, they often provide flexible payment options and credit lines to their clients, something that larger firms and OTAs don’t typically offer.

So clearly these agents are extremely important in the distribution chain, particularly in the vacations segment. However, managing a large network of distributors can be extremely challenging for suppliers and travel providers operating in the b2b space, particularly for companies still relying on manual processes or outdated tools.

Top challenges in managing distributors

• Communication hassles – your team spends hours exchanging countless phone calls and emails with agents for rates and availability.
• Long sales cycles – lack of real time pricing with agents means a lot of back-and-forth communication, resulting in severe delays in responding to customer booking inquiries which can eventually drive consumers away to OTAs/other faster sources.
• Managing markups and commissions – when you are working with hundreds of distributors in multiple geographies and multiple currencies, managing their markups and commissions owed to them can become a nightmare. Using disparate tools for reservations, agent management and accounting, leaves a lot of room for costly accounting errors.

How TravelCarma’s B2B Solution addresses these challenges and simplifies distribution

TravelCarma provides b2b companies a powerful solution to help them distribute their inventory across a large network efficiently. Its proven expertise in API Management and integration with GDSs and other distribution systems has helped many b2b companies scale up operations and expand into various geographies.

Some of the top benefits offered by this solution are:

• Centralized management of own as well as third-party inventory
• Multi-channel Aggregation and Distribution
• Extensive markup and revenue management for b2b channels
• Complete co-branding for all your distributors (b2b2c)
• Multi-level hierarchy (your distributors can also create members under them and so forth)
• Superior Connectivity
• Support for local currencies and languages
• Incorporation into existing systems to protect investments
• Selected Display of Inventory (according to region, supplier, channel etc)
• Increased Efficiency And Productivity through automation

For more information, please contact us on [email protected]

About the Author

Chintan is the senior marketing manager at TravelCarma. He is a data-driven inbound marketing specialist with strong experience and a proven track record in strategizing and executing omni-channel marketing campaigns. He enjoys traveling and exploring off-the-beaten-tracks.

Tags: b2b b2b booking engine independent agents online travel travel distribution travel erp travel industry travel technology travel value chain travel wholesalers

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How TravelCarma’s Online Booking Software benefits Tour Operators

 by TravelCarma · Published

How Travel Agents can Woo Millennial Travelers – The Segment that is Reshaping the Industry

Introducing the TravelCarma Partner Program

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Last Updated: 06 Oct, 2020

Tours and attractions distribution: enrich the connection between tour and attraction suppliers and distributors, reading time:.

For activities and attractions, any third party that can help you sell more tickets and bookings is a distributor: ticket wholesalers and brokers, aggregators, resellers, traditional and online travel agents and websites, tour operators, affiliate partners, travel and other leading groups, and any other large corporation.   

What is “Distribution” in the Tours, Attractions and Activities Sector?

'Distributor' is the industry concept, however, you might consider your distributors 'channels,' 'resellers,' 'partners,' or even 'clients.' Since you are in the tourism sector, your distributors might be global rather than local, and along with those other factors to be considered for your distribution strategy.

Whether your corporation is a brand-new tourist attraction built from the ground up or an established tour or activity that has been around for years, if you want to thrive in the digital age, you need to know how to build a distribution strategy.

The Travel Distribution System covers all platforms through which travel is acquired and delivered. Distribution networks and personalized customer experiences differ from market to market and one needs to understand the structure of the distribution system relevant to one's target markets.

When considering how best to distribute your product to international consumers, it is crucial to understand each channel and the relationship between companies within the distribution channel.

Key entities of the Travel distribution process:

• Suppliers such as hotels, airlines, car rental companies, and other inventory operators
• Aggregators/wholesalers (GDS, Bedbanks, Consolidators, etc.)
• Inbound tour operators operating with a network of b2b agents 
• Local travel agents/distributors who cover a small section and offer products on behalf of tour operators or suppliers
• Online travel agencies or OTAs - which sell through travel portals and internet booking engines (Expedia, Booking.com, Makemytrip, etc.)
• Metasearch engines & price comparison sites (e.g. Kayak, Skyscanner, Wego, etc.)

Why is online travel distribution a mandate for B2B, B2C & Corporate Travel Companies?

The travel and tourism industry is one of the largest sectors, well known for its diverse operations and this ensures that tourism companies can survive based on the quality of their marketing efforts.

As the industry is becoming more competitive on a daily basis, every travel company is required to adapt to the latest technology in order to retain its edge in the industry.

Tour operators are a fascinating part of the travel market. They are elusively difficult to capture in a single definition because they form a diverse constellation of products and services, all of which represent various ideologies and geographies.

In many ways, these operators are also the heartbeat of the travel industry, offering what all these travelers want; a unique travel experience in distant destinations and diverse cultures.

Most of these travelers have neither the time nor the willingness to incorporate the many parts of credible travel experience; destinations; points of interest and special activities. 

Instead, they rely on operators to use their years of experience, skills, and specific selection of local suppliers to bring imaginative journeys to life.

It is therefore difficult for travel agencies to imagine their presence without a web-based travel distribution network.

Ultimately, in the travel industry, the distribution determines success! So, if you have a distribution line, you'll get more visibility and, in turn, more brand awareness, which will eventually lead to success!

The online travel agency or OTA approach and the robust travel distribution platform have influenced tour operator companies around the world. B2B, B2C platforms, and corporate modules enable travel agencies to meet the needs of their clients with the support of the travel distribution system.

Travel Distribution Software is a tool that allows travel agents to book travel products or services online. B2B platforms can allow travel services to make system bookings. Top travel technologies such as Travelopro develop a reliable and effective travel distribution platform with key features.

With the help of a reliable travel distribution network, you can display your promotional special deals in a system that allows your travel partners to make use of them. In this way, you will be able to generate demand and boost revenue.

To capture even more of the market share for your niche business, explore the distribution channels, and ensure that more users can easily find you online and offline.  

Technology: a smarter way to sell your tours and activities, as well as manage your business!

Technology has changed the travel and tourism industry. From online reservations to consumer contact, the introduction of technological trends to the tourism industry has changed the perceptions of travelers and helped companies have a more immersive experience for their visitors.

Travelopro is a leading travel technology company that provides tour operator software that significantly enhances business tours and activities by allowing better digital customer experience, removing operational headaches, and helping customers increase revenue and the number of sales channels through advanced features such as channel and yield management.

Travelopro provides major tour operators and DMCs with a booking and distribution platform. Our application provides you with an easy-to-use and intuitive interface for managing your bookings, payments, deposits, tracking your sales with reports and analytics and, most importantly, designing and managing your tours and itineraries.

Also, you can build your own distribution network with the distribution feature. This means that you can incorporate agents, resellers, and affiliates and manage them.  

How Travelopro Simplifies Distribution for Large Travel Firms

Travelopro offers a powerful solution for travel companies to help them effectively manage their inventory across a wide network. Many companies have been supported by our proven expertise in API management and integration with GDSs and other distribution systems to scale up operations and grow into various regions.

Travelopro offers you the technology and content you need to build differentiated packages, accelerate your operations, and sell through more profitable channels.

Travelopro, with its Distribution and ERP capabilities , enables major travel providers to aggregate content from multiple third-party suppliers, combine it with their direct contracts, dynamically apply pre-configured business rules and redistribute inventory across all their marketing channels through a unified API.

Our distribution platform is a SOA (Services Oriented Architecture) based solution that enables businesses to scale quickly while offering flexibility to incorporate their existing technology.

Using our unique web-based architecture, they can extract and retrieve data from their existing systems, be it their CRM, accounting system or their PMS / CRS via APIs. A centralised structure allows it easier for large corporations to manage and control their distribution networks.

Today’s leisure travelers want new experiences. They want more personalized choices. And they want technology to improve every step of searching, buying, enjoying, and sharing their trips.

That's what we help tour operators deliver, with solutions to enhance every part of the leisure packaging value chain.

Create unique, profitable packages

Integrate content from any source, build fixed or dynamic packages effortlessly, and apply business rules to drive more profitable sales.

Grow your distribution reach

Build your B2B distribution, enhance direct sales, and improve traffic acquisition with Travelopro’ cloud-based products and travel software solutions.

Automate and optimize processes

Automate processes, improve business intelligence, and uncover opportunities to generate new revenues and reduce costs.  

How to strengthen the interaction between tour and attraction suppliers and distributors?

The effectiveness of the travel business depends on the supplier network and the overall customer experience on your website. Business strategies must be a win-win for all: travelers, suppliers, and distributors. A diverse list of tours and attractions will draw visitors to different stages, with various interests, profits, and leisure desires. 

Irrespective of the specialized software, there are two ways to making it work: establishing a relationship with end-users or using the inventory of other aggregators. The former requires lots of expenditure, resources, and effort, but could give a great return on investment over resources if done correctly.

When it comes to third-party digital sales of tour and attraction services, it's very quick. Although hotels and airlines have been selling to customers through online distributors partners for more than a decade now, tour and attraction suppliers too have recently adopted this distribution platform.

If suppliers are looking for offline or online distribution partners – like online travel agents or online travel agencies – they can be a great way for tours and attractions to expand their marketing reach and sales potential.

However, when partnering with distributors, suppliers also need to start from a strong position, armed with valuable details, so that they can enter into negotiations. Smart suppliers know how to acquire, but also manage, powerful and effective relationships with their distributor partners.

To discuss your specific travel technology requirements, get in touch with us today.  

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Further Reading

How do travel and tourism distribution channels work?

By Kevin Tjoe — 29 Nov 2021

tourism distribution channels

Updated January 2023 – A tourism distribution channel refers to the stakeholders and methods involved in taking a tourism product from the supplier to the consumer. Typically, the chain of distribution in tourism refers to the businesses and platforms involved in selling, distributing, and bundling tourism products. However, more components are involved across the entire distribution chain, including suppliers, wholesalers, resellers, and consumers.

By aligning your business with existing distribution channels, you connect with important stakeholders in the industry. This creates more efficiency in your marketing efforts and ultimately grows your tourism and activity business.

What is a distribution channel?

Tourism distribution channels are the avenues tourism products and services are made accessible to consumers. Typically, tourism products are sold directly by the primary provider or through a series of intermediaries. If brokers or travel wholesalers are involved, this is called indirect distribution. Consumers can access these products via various mediums, including traditional channels such as travel agents, government bodies such as information centers, and even other tour and activity operators .

How it works

While direct bookings may still account for a large part of business, branching out through additional distribution channels can help you to maximize your brand exposure, reduce risk and ultimately boost your bookings. Many distribution channels will have access to much larger marketing spend or broader customer bases. This can provide you with access to more exposure and quality bookings.

Typically speaking you’ll provide your availabilities to them, and they’ll, in turn, bring in bookings at a pre-agreed commission rate.

The chain of distribution

The chain of distribution in tourism refers to the businesses and platforms involved in selling, distributing, and bundling tourism products. This process begins with the primary tour and activity provider all the way to the end consumers experiencing it.

Generally, there are four steps to the distribution chain:

1. Suppliers/principals

2. Wholesales

3. Resellers

4. End consumers

The distribution chain for a particular product can go through all of the steps depending on its distribution channel. For example, direct distribution won’t require wholesalers or resellers, as suppliers sell their products directly to consumers, whereas indirect distribution requires intermediaries.

Suppliers or principals include the primary providers across accommodation, transportation and car hire companies, attractions, and experiences. Examples include hotels, Airbnb hosts, airlines, and the attractions such as the Empire State Building.  

Wholesalers

Wholesalers develop packages of travel products for retailers to sell on, though in some cases they may actually sell directly to the consumer. These packages or itineraries might include tours, activities, accommodation, transport, and/or travel insurance.

Wholesalers can include: 

• Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) or inbound tour operators, such as government tourism boards or tourism authorities
• Global Distribution Systems (GDSs), are used by retailers such as OTAs to easily see an inventory of availability from tourism operators.

Resellers purchase and bundle experiences to be sold directly to the consumer. A common example includes traditional travel agents, which create personalized travel packages. However, online travel agents (OTAs) such as Expedia and Tripadvisor are more commonly used these days. They provide accessibility to a range of tourism products such as airline tickets, hotel bookings, tours and activities, and more.

Consumers are the most critical component of the distribution chain. That is because they are the end user of the product. The choices and decisions consumers make have a huge impact on the rest of the distribution chain. Trends in consumer behavior, or individual decisions all influence how tourism products are marketed and sold.

Advantages of tourism distribution channels

Broadening your distribution channels involve heaps of advantages. Here are the top five:

Connectivity

By aligning your tour and activity business with the broader industry, you can connect with important stakeholders across every step of the tourism distribution chain. Forming strategic partnerships with resellers and tourism platforms enables you to access a broader customer base. This provides you with a greater opportunity to increase your sales. 

Generating 100% of your revenue via direct marketing requires a great deal of investment in time and money. Existing distribution channels generally have larger marketing budgets that they can spend to attract more customers.

Typically, as the supplier, you’d only pay a fee when a booking has been made via their channel – making your marketing and sales costs predictable. This means you gain additional resources to expend on other areas of your business, such as improving your customer experience.

Flexibility

Given the wide array of potential partners, you have the freedom and flexibility to test and experiment with different methods of promoting your business. Plus, it’s more convenient for your customers to book your services through an array of trusted partners. This helps to increase customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Transparency

Utilizing existing distribution channels can make the entire booking process more transparent for both you and the end consumer. On the tour operator side, it provides you with a clearer understanding of your customer behavior and adjusts your marketing strategies for better outcomes. And on the customer side, information such as reviews displayed on your profile allows them to create informed decisions before choosing to book your services.

Accessibility

Promoting your tourism products via numerous distribution channels means that your customers can book your services where they like; when they like. Furthermore, your products and services will be found across multiple avenues – enabling a wider array of customers to book with you. In fact, operators are using an average of 14 distribution channels according to Arival’s Operator Insights 2021-2022 report.

What are the main types of tourism distribution channels?

There are many ways to get in front of customers, even more so since the rise of digital channels. From travel agents to mobile apps, tourism suppliers have never had more choices regarding promoting their products and services. There are four main distribution channel types. These include:

Traditional channels

Traditional distribution channels often refer to real-world marketing channels separate from online and mobile experiences. Indirect traditional distribution channels can include travel distribution services such as travel agents, tourism information centers, flyers and print/ digital brochures , promotional marketing services, and tour operators . Depending on your products and services, wholesalers can also make up part of your business’ traditional distribution channel. 

Online channels

In recent years, online travel agencies (OTAs) have dominated the tourism industry. These online experiences allow users to plan, book, and pay for personalized travel plans through an easy-to-use centralized platform. Often flights, hotel bookings, car hire , and local experiences can be bundled and purchased through a single site, making the process convenient and intuitive. These platforms can also be cheaper due to the relatively low cost of maintaining a website over a brick-and-mortar travel agency. 

Mobile channels

Like online channels, mobile distribution channels rely on digital platforms, such as apps, to promote and sell tourism products. Many popular mobile apps which centralize the tourism buying experience have cropped up in recent years. In addition, airlines, hotels, and other major suppliers have begun developing apps to improve customer loyalty and engagement. Other forms of mobile marketing can include SMS marketing, mobile advertising, and cold calling.

Direct channels

Direct marketing and sales channels include anything your business has direct control over and does not involve an intermediary. This type of marketing can occur through traditional, online, and mobile mediums. For example, direct online channels can include your website, direct bookings via a booking system, online chat assistance, and your social media accounts.

While direct marketing efforts via mobile can consist of sending promotional text messages to previous customers, cold calling potential customers, and sending personalized email marketing messages . More traditional measures may include brochures and flyers, a storefront, and salespeople.

Choosing the right tourism distribution channels

As a tour company, it’s essential to understand which distribution channels will achieve the most significant results for your business. While trial and error can bring results over the long run, understanding what makes a channel right for your business can accelerate your path to success. 

Identify target market

To understand whether online or offline marketing, direct or indirect distribution, or mobile versus online platforms are best for your business, you need to understand your customers.

Demographics such as age, country of origin, the number of travelers in a party, and the number of children arriving can greatly impact how you communicate and effectively sell your services. For example, an older demographic may be more likely to use traditional channels such as a travel agent, while a young family might be found via online and social media . First, check over your previous customers and try to pull out any obvious trends amongst your clientele, then research which channels best suit your audience.

Research channels

It’s important to research which channels are available to promote your services. But also, it’s essential to understand the reputation of your potential strategic partners. When engaging in indirect marketing, you are aligning your brand with your distributors, so choosing platforms and businesses which align with your values is important. It’s also essential to understand the costs and benefits of each channel and make informed decisions based on what will work for your business. 

Evaluate costs and benefits

Each platform and distribution channel will have different pricing models. Some may charge a flat fee for promotional services, others may purchase and resell your services, while others may charge a fee when you receive a booking. It’s essential to understand what level of return you can expect. If you are starting out, finding performance-based pricing options will allow you to pay as you go. Alternatively, flat fee services can sometimes provide a higher return as your budget can go directly to marketing spend.

Track performance

Once you choose one or more channels to distribute your services, ensure you track the performance versus how much it costs to attain them. By understanding the performance of your partnership, it enables you to eliminate ineffective channels and double down on your marketing efforts, thus, cutting you costs.

How can you manage all distribution channels easily?

It can take a lot of time to form and manage strategic partnerships with multiple resellers. Luckily, technology is here to help. A channel manager such as Rezdy Channel Manager can be accessed regardless of your booking system or size of business, and makes it simple to negotiate agreements, manage inventory, rates and manage commissions with a vast range of resellers, from local visitor centers to the big-name OTAs. Live availability of your tours, activities or attractions are visible from one dashboard, dropping the risk of pesky double bookings as well.

You can access the broadest reach of resellers in the industry, connect with desired resellers and easily distribute rates and availability in real-time. Rezdy is integrated with a number of alternative reservation systems and is continuously adding more, providing suppliers access to channel management tools, directly from their existing system. Suppliers with a custom built booking system can connect with Rezdy Channel Manager as well. For Rezdy booking software customers, channel management is included. 

Find out more about how Rezdy’s channel management platform can support your business .

Ready to  join the thousands of Rezdy customers that managed to grow their bookings by over 25% in 2022? Book a free channel manager demo with a product specialist to see how our products can fit the needs of your tour business. If you are interested in Rezdy’s booking software that includes channel management, you can start a free 21-day trail trial.

If you enjoyed this article, be sure to sign up to receive the  Rezdy newsletter , a valuable resource for those who want to stay up-to-date on the latest industry happenings.

Want to know more about reseller commission rates? Read our guide to industry standard commission rates

Broaden your distribution channels with Rezdy

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Distribution

eBook: Guide to growing your tourism business through distribution & channel management tools

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Related Expertise: Transportation and Logistics , Customer Journey , Travel and Tourism

Travel Distributors Must Deliver a Seamless Customer Experience

July 07, 2020  By  Pablo Martínez ,  Hans Clement ,  Christopher Bergman ,  Candace Evilsizor , and  Helena Mateu

As painful economically as the COVID-19 pandemic has been, it can provide a critical reset for travel distributors to address persistent challenges in their offerings when it comes to customer experience . Most travelers find the process of researching and booking a trip particularly unpleasant. Fragmentation across the travel industry means customers must research each component (flight, rental car, hotel, tours) individually, and in the end they often base purchases on price.

As the industry begins recovering, travel will likely be significantly altered, with new preferred destinations, types of travel, booking processes, and other changes.

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That’s a problem—but also an opportunity. Moreover, as the industry begins recovering, travel will likely be significantly altered, with new preferred destinations, types of travel, booking processes, and other changes. (See the sidebar “The Implications of COVID-19 on the Travel and Tourism Industry.”) Travel distributors will need to understand those shifts and adapt to them in order to capitalize on the eventual recovery.

THE IMPLICATIONS OF COVID-19 ON THE TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY

The coronavirus pandemic has shut down virtually every industry, but its long-term implications may be greatest on the travel and tourism industry. Even after the crisis ends and travel resumes, consumers’ booking and travel preferences will likely be dramatically different, and many of those changes could be permanent. As a result, some travel distributors and operators may think this isn’t a good time to make investments to improve the customer experience. We disagree. Once travel resumes, most organizations—and most travelers—will operate in an environment in which understanding and delighting the customer is key. Personalization and tailored customer insights will be more important than ever.

Already, we’ve seen that although many travel organizations are cutting costs, they are keeping their high-caliber employees in areas such as data science, software development, and user experience design. The out-of-pocket investment required for change, therefore, might be smaller than expected. In fact, today’s decline in travel is a chance to build the groundwork for a more customer-centric approach, so that organizations are ready once travel picks up again.

To that end, travel distributors should keep several aspects of consumer behavior in mind:

• Travelers are going to be very fearful of traveling again post-pandemic. Distributors need to reassure them that they have done all the worrying and vetting to ensure that their offerings are safe. In part, that requires showcasing in-depth knowledge of local, on-the-ground circumstances in target destinations.
• Distributors will also need to show sensitivity by not resorting to aggressive sales pitches, but rather supporting customers in ascertaining if they are ready to travel and, if so, then helping find the right travel destination specifically for them. This kind of sensitive communication applies to all channels: digital marketing via the web or app, in-person at physical locations, and call center interactions.
• Agents and algorithms must be up-to-date with the latest statistics and travel restrictions so that destinations still considered (potentially) “risky” are not proposed to customers.
• Cancellation and refund policies will need to be completely transparent and fair, so that customers understand the impact of canceled or delayed travel. Some distributors may opt to waive change fees or include travel insurance coverage at no cost to customers.
• Perhaps most important, distributors should show that they can win back the loyalty of existing customers and acquire new customers through personalization—truly understanding the needs and concerns of customers and tailoring solutions individually for them.

We believe success comes down to three critical steps: knowing customers at each stage in their personal travel journey , designing a tailored customer experience, and establishing the supporting data infrastructure and operating model.

By creating a customer experience across both online and offline touch points that is consistent, convenient, and customer- centric, travel distributors can forge greater loyalty and win in the market.

In a Price War, Everyone Loses

The case for change among travel distributors is clear. The rise of online travel agents (OTAs) and more transparent pricing has turned travel bookings into a commodity. Price-sensitive consumers scour the internet and buy the least-expensive provider, with little brand loyalty from one trip to the next. And new entrants keep crowding the market. Google’s continued penetration into the travel space is threatening even the OTAs that first disrupted the industry. (Google is now the second-most-popular option for travel search worldwide, after Expedia.)

Those market dynamics are a formula for financial ruin, with OTAs needing to spend more and more on marketing to attract new customers. Consider Booking.com, which in 2018 spent $4.4 billion on marketing—about 3% of Google’s advertising revenue for the year—while also charging less for its service in order to win in a price-competitive market.

To build a more sustainable business model, travel distributors need to transition away from focusing on individual bookings for a flight or a hotel to focusing on the total trip value through a bundled offering and—longer term—capturing more repeat business and customer lifetime value.

Already some travel distributors have started expanding to provide a more comprehensive experience—allowing customers to book not just a single component of a trip but all components. By increasing their range of product offerings through strategic ventures and partnerships, these companies are bundling and packaging trip experiences, removing the hassle of booking different travel components at different sites. (See Exhibit 1.) Better still, customers can also get a single customer-service point of contact for all aspects of a trip if something goes wrong.

This approach also generates higher margins for distributors, because consumers are no longer booking based on price alone. More important, it helps move distributors closer to the ultimate goal—becoming the go-to travel brand for customers’ needs, capitalizing on the most profitable repeat customers and spending less on acquiring new customers.

Distributors, and even travel operators like hotels and airlines, must do more than simply assemble the right offerings.

To achieve such loyalty, however, distributors, and even travel operators like hotels and airlines, must do more than simply assemble the right offerings. They can look to industries such as retail and financial services for models on delivering superlative experiences across all channels—from a mobile app to a website to live support via chat or phone, and even physical locations in some markets. Retail and financial services industries also demonstrate ways to offer a consistently positive, seamless experience across all touch points and during the entire customer journey—from initial research through booking, the travel experience itself, and even post-travel. Throughout, the experience should center around the customer’s convenience and well-being and reflect a deep understanding of individual preferences.

Achieving that kind of omnichannel experience benefits customers on many levels:

Integrated Touch Points. Both digital and non-digital touch points allow customers to start their booking in one channel and complete it another. The type of non-digital service can vary by market, from a chat support line staffed by travel experts to an in-destination kiosk to a physical storefront.

Comprehensive Data. This gives companies a holistic view of customers’ prior experiences, trips, and service requests, so that customers feel known and can have their needs be understood, anticipated, and addressed in a hyper-personalized manner.

Greater Transparency. Customers will know exactly which products and services are available and how much they cost. Any disparities across channels due to varying service levels—for example, a small surcharge to change a booking through a live representative rather than a self-service process online—are disclosed upfront, so that customers feel the process is fair.

Better Service. Companies that have bundled offerings are better able to deliver a higher baseline level of service, including tailored advice from a travel expert and full support if something goes wrong.

Tailored Offerings. Because customer preferences and behaviors are tracked more effectively in an omnichannel environment, companies can tailor their offering and deliver relevant marketing messages and promotions, which over time become more accurate and personalized.

In an omnichannel environment, companies can tailor their offering and deliver relevant marketing messages and promotions.

Benefits for travel distributors and operators that deliver a superlative omnichannel experience include:

Improved Conversion Rates.  Distributors can encourage customers who abandon a purchase in one channel to resume it in another.

Higher Spending Among Customers.  Customers who engage with brands across multiple channels typically spend far more than single channel customers do. In retail, for example, spending among multi-channel customers is two to three times higher.

Increased Customer Satisfaction.  Because omnichannel delivers a superior experience, customer satisfaction scores are higher, along with related metrics such as brand advocacy.

Greater Customer Retention.  Retailers that have transitioned to omnichannel indicate that improved customer loyalty is the main advantage, leading to repeat purchases.

Lower Customer Acquisition Costs and Higher Lifetime Value.  Because companies can spend less acquiring new customers and generate more business from repeat customers during their lifetime, overall profitability goes up.

More Efficient Support Teams.  By integrating online support (and giving customers a financial incentive to use it), companies can make their in-person support teams smaller and more efficient. For example, in an effort to reduce complaints, an airline in Asia created a more intuitive digital experience that provided proactive advice to customers. As a result, the number of customers contacting support agents dropped by nearly 40%.

Three Steps to Create a Superlative Omnichannel Experience

There’s no quick fix to start achieving the kinds of benefits we’ve just discussed. Rather, what’s required is a comprehensive solution to fundamentally change how individual travel distributors function. We believe that success comes through a structured approach, consisting of three steps. (See Exhibit 2.) 

1. Understand customers at each stage in their individual travel journey. First, distributors need to look at travel not from their own perspective but the customer’s—by mapping the process that a traveler undergoes before, during, and after a trip. Mapping the customer journey helps distributors start to understand the underlying customer needs, existing pain points, and moments of truth in their decision- making process. Through these insights, distributors are able to learn where they can differentiate themselves and generate a competitive advantage—the “right to win” for a given customer or target demographic. 

For example, travelers increasingly value things like user-generated photos and videos, along with credible reviews that help a potential traveler get inspired for a given trip and verify the quality of an experience or offering. Increasingly, consumers see those kinds of reviews as more trustworthy than traditional marketing. Similarly, the industry has seen a rise in the number of last-minute and in-destination bookings. Exhibit 3 shows additional emerging trends throughout each stage of the customer journey. 

2. Design an improved customer experience. Armed with a detailed understanding of the customer journey and individual needs and preferences, distributors can start to redesign their value proposition to better meet the needs of the target group—or, increasingly, the needs of an individual customer. Crucially, this customer experience should integrate all relevant channels.

For example, brick-and-mortar travel agencies are fading away in developed markets, but they are a critical part of the customer journey in other geographic regions, where they can provide a human touch or a “try before you buy” concept to boost sales conversion rates. (Some physical locations are incorporating advanced tools such as augmented reality and virtual reality simulations, which give customers an immersive, memorable way to visualize a future trip.)

A Middle Eastern travel agency found that its customers’ greatest unmet need was for inspiration and advice.

A Middle Eastern travel agency found that its customers’ greatest unmet need was for inspiration and advice. In response, it developed travel concept stores in its retail network, devoted to introducing new destinations and providing expert recommendations—as well as helping customers book trips.

Similarly, an Asian OTA faced rising customer acquisition costs in digital channels, in part because some of its target customers in remote populations (along with elderly customers) don’t always have reliable internet and deep digital literacy. For those groups, online marketing alone simply wasn’t enough. To improve, the OTA opened a retail network to help elderly people and those in more remote markets learn to use its website to research and book trips. Over time, those walk-in customers became digital customers.

At the same time, the growth in digital requires that distributors integrate both physical and online offerings. In many markets, distributors can leverage digital to increase the quantity and quality of touch points, enabling more personalized interactions, offerings, and experiences. For example, once customers have made their initial purchase, distributors can use digital to upsell and cross-sell additional components through real-time push notifications, personalized to customers’ trip timing or location, or both. So when a customer checks into a resort, the distributor could offer a menu of additional tours and experiences that are bookable through a single click, rather than putting the burden on travelers to research and book their own add-ons.

Digital can also offer travelers a valuable support channel on their trip, generating higher levels of customer service and ultimately making them more loyal to the distributor. Perhaps most important, digital generates a wealth of customer data at each touch point, which distributors can use to create tailored interactions and more richly detailed customer profiles. (All data should be handled according to privacy regulations such as Europe’s General Data Protection Registry.)

3. Establish the data infrastructure and operating model.  Critically, companies need to put the right internal foundation in place in order to deliver a seamless customer experience. That includes both digital architecture and the operating model.

In terms of digital architecture, distributors need an integrated data platform with unified customer IDs. This serves as a single repository of both structured and unstructured data that AI engines can use to generate targeted sales opportunities. Distributors also need a set of channel-agnostic business services that can ensure a consistent product and price offering. And they need a means to track customers throughout their various touch points with the brand and deliver 360-degree customer visibility to all relevant parts of the organization.

Regarding the operating model, distributors need to ensure that they stay focused on the customer in all decisions. That requires regular customer research and feedback, to ensure that new initiatives are defined by how they improve the customer journey (and that the success of those initiatives is measured accordingly). Distributors should also realign key business metrics and performance incentives to focus on long-term customer profitability (repeat purchases with increasing trip values comprising a larger share of high-margin products), rather than short-term targets such as transaction volume.

Because omnichannel success requires integration among multiple business units and functions, organizations should be redesigned to break down channel silos and instead form multi-functional teams that bring employees from different parts of the organization together.

Distributors can leverage digital to increase the quantity and quality of touch points, enabling more personalized interactions, offerings, and experiences.

The travel industry is changing rapidly, and the coronavirus pandemic has only accelerated the need for travel distributors to rethink their approach. Rather than continuing to focus on individual transactions—paying ever more to acquire new customers and competing on price—they can differentiate themselves by creating a seamless, omnichannel experience that puts customers’ needs first. When customers feel known and understood, they become more loyal and spend more. That concept has been proven in other industries like retail and financial services, and it holds just as much potential in travel.

Managing Director & Senior Partner; Middle East System Lead

Managing Director & Partner

Washington, DC

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The Best Distribution Channels in Travel and Tourism

Distribution channels in travel and tourism are the medium tour operators, attractions, travel agencies and other travel companies use to sell their products to their customers.

This article aims to answer the following question:

What are the main types of tourism distribution channels?

Before giving you the answer, you must understand how distribution channels can help you grow your tour company.

Understanding the distribution channels in travel and tourism

The chain of distribution in travel and tourism has grown with the surge of new technologies. Nowadays, distributing brochures to hotels is not enough to stay competitive in the market.

Not only being listed in the right distribution channels will assure better exposure for your tour company , but it will also make it more credible. That is the combination you are looking for to increase your profits.

Basically there are two ways of reaching customers in tourism :

• Directly – In a travel agency or through a travel agency’s website.
• Indirectly – Through a partnership with third-party distribution channels.

The distribution channels in travel and tourism can also be divided into offline and online channels .

Offline channels are more traditional and most tour operators are familiar with them. I’m talking about hotels, hostels, B&Bs, souvenir stores, restaurants, cafes, visitor information centers, trade shows and local partners .

Social networks, review platforms, mobile location-based services, and online travel agencies are examples of online distribution channels.

The role of these new technologies in distributing travel products and generating revenue has grown a lot in the past years.

However, the virtual landscape changes fast. For that reason, it’s important to be aware of new opportunities to list your products to remain competitive and successful.

After this brief introduction, time to break down the distribution channels in travel and tourism.

The best distribution channels in travel and tourism

We’re highlighting five distribution channels for tours and trips , where a tour company should be, to stay competitive.

1. Tour company’s website – the number one direct distribution channel in travel and tourism

When was the last time you didn’t start planning a trip online? Not for a long time, right? It’s obvious, the internet changed the traveler’s behavior.

The time from finding travel inspiration to packing your bags for a new travel adventure has never been shorter. And travelers love it!

That said, we can guarantee that remarkable tour photos published on your tour company’s website will attract curious eyes. Videos from the trip you share on social media profiles will bring you sales too!

At the same time, you can integrate an online tour booking system to your website, turning it into a direct distribution channel. That way your future customers can easily book a tour with you and you pay no commission for that!

Did you know that in 2019 $755 billion worth of travel was booked online ?!

By the end of 2023, travel and tourism revenues are expected to reach this same level again.

Nowadays, travelers start and finish their travel arrangements online. Because of that, it’s so important to maintain an updated and optimized website.

2. Google My Business – a must for a successful tour company

Google My Business is one of the most important indirect distribution channel in travel and tourism to sell your trips online.

Most of it is related to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Being listed in Google My Business helps your organic reach on Google search because it improves your SEO ranking .

Another benefit is having your business featured on Google Maps, which includes relevant details, such as opening hours, website link, contact number and customer reviews .

If you don’t have a business profile in Google My Business, creating one should be your priority right now. Use this guide to create the perfect listing for your business in Google and other platforms.

3. Hostels & tourist information centers – sell more tours and activities

After checking-in at a hostel, visitors often ask an employee at the check desk for a tour recommendation. Hence, tour and activity operators can benefit from a partnership with their local hostel.

On the other hand, travelers who are not staying at a hostel usually seek information in a tourist information center. So, it would be wise to contact your local tourist information center and see how you can partner with them.

Tour companies usually drop off flyers and brochures to hostels and tourist information centers. And interested travelers will call to set up a reservation with your tour company .

Now you know how important it is to stay in good grace with the front desk and to develop perfect relationships!

4. Review sites – they will make or break your tour business

Is there a traveler who hasn’t heard about TripAdvisor ? I don’t think so.

Depending on the reviews you get , they will either make or break your tour business. All your marketing efforts won’t be able to reverse the negative effect of a couple of negative reviews.

However, not so much effort will be needed to marketing your travel packages , if your tour business has hundreds of positive reviews.

This is because only 14% of consumers trust traditional advertising, while 92% respect reviews on sites such as TripAdvisor .

That makes it a very important distribution channel in travel and tourism. So, you better be good!

5. Online travel agencies – online giants with huge audiences

Online Travel Agencies ( OTAs ) are powerful distribution channels in travel and tourism, boasting millions of users to their websites every month.

OTAs will list your tours and trips on their site and allow their users to book with you.

Usually, this works through a pay-per-click format. But it might worth the money, considering that bookings through those platforms are expected to grow year over year .

Three global OTAs that tour operators should consider partnering with are:

• GetYourGuide
• Touriosity (commission-free OTA)

There are also much less known local OTAs. Consider partnering with them, too.

Finally, choosing wisely the right distribution channels in travel and tourism means a strategic advantage for your tour company .

It takes a bit of time to figure out which one works best for your tour business. Anyway, starting from enabling direct online sales through a tour company’s website is always a good practice.

If you liked this article, consider downloading our infographic 5 Channel Ideas to Sell your Tours.

What are the distribution channels you find the most suitable for your tour business?

ORIOLY on May 5, 2021

by Lidija Šomodi

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Low Budget Digital Marketing Strategies for Tour Operators

In this ebook you will learn strategies to boost your digital marketing efforts, and the best part, at a low and even zero cost for your business.

The Ultimate Guide to Mastering Trip Advisor

TripAdvisor is an excellent tool to sell tours and activities online and this guide will teach everything you need to know to master it.

A Simple Guide on How to Sell Tours With Facebook

Zuckerberg’s platform is by far the most popular among all social media. So why not selling tours and activities with Facebook help?

Comprehensive Guide on Digital Marketing in Tourism for 2021

Online marketing is a new thing and it changes fast, for that reason we made this eBook where we compiled the latest online marketing trends in tourism!

Other resources

Live Virtual Tours: Everything You Need

5 Channel Ideas to Sell your Tours

How to start a food tour business, related articles.

How to Use TikTok to Promote Your Travel Business

Learn how to showcase your tours and activities on TikTok to convert potential customers into new guests for your travel business.

7 Tips to Get More Bookings From Gen Z Travelers

As Gen Z’s influence in travel grows, adapting to these shifts is not just advantageous—it’s imperative to success in the travel industry.

Unlocking Global Reach: The Ultimate Guide to OTAs for Tour Operators

Explore key strategies for tour providers to partner with OTAs like GetYourGuide and Viator, enhancing visibility and bookings.

The trouble with travel distribution

A decade after the Internet spurred airlines, hotels, and other travel players to sell directly to customers, the sector’s ecosystem is fracturing. Companies are abandoning the systems that are supposed to provide consumers with one-stop shops to book flights, accommodations, and other services. Lawsuits are being filed. And the very people whose interests should be paramount—customers—are being caught in the cross fire. That’s giving newcomers a chance to swoop into a sector that today boasts annual online sales of almost $100 billion, around a third of all global e-commerce activity.

This turbulence isn’t a bad thing: the travel sector has reached the next phase in its evolution, and some creative destruction is necessary. In fact, companies are already investing billions of dollars in the next wave of travel e-commerce, from revamping Web sites to changing the technology infrastructure. Consolidation is also creating opportunities that didn’t exist before. But the critical question is whether the sector’s players can find a sustainable path forward before new rivals blaze the trail for them. To name just two candidates: Google recently paid $700 million for ITA Software, whose algorithms form the backbone of 65 percent of flight sales by carriers, while Apple has filed a series of patents for a mobile-device application called iTravel.

The bottom line is that travel suppliers, aggregators, and service providers each need to define the sector’s next wave quickly. We suggest that industry incumbents move away from a model focused almost exclusively on reducing channel costs and toward one that seeks to maximize returns by best serving customer needs. And the incumbents must understand that the customer experience not only begins before the time of sale—and even before the time of search—but also extends well after purchase and travel. The changes we recommend don’t require reinventing the wheel: many solutions already exist, but the sector’s myopic focus on costs rather than returns prevents their implementation. Balanced business models that give all value-adding players a seat at the table are what’s needed.

A troubled history

For a long time, suppliers in the travel sector regarded themselves as service providers and let distributors handle the technology-intensive process of actually selling airline seats or hotel rooms. The airlines facilitated this approach in the 1960s by creating global distribution systems such as Apollo and Sabre—used by travel agents to search inventory across the world—only to spin them off in the late 1990s, when cash got tight and valuations looked rich.

As with many other sectors, the Internet’s arrival changed everything. Online travel booking took off as aggregator sites, such as Expedia, began to give consumers a one-stop shop, in return demanding commissions that forced airlines and hotel operators to rethink their hands-off strategy. US airlines responded by creating a rival online travel agency, Orbitz, but their return to the distribution business was short lived: as financial pressures on the airlines’ core business continued to build, they spun off Orbitz. Recognizing the low-cost direct sales model offered by the Web, the airlines set about redirecting shoppers from aggregators’ sites to their own.

American Airlines (AA), for example, withdrew inventory from Orbitz in late 2010; in solidarity with Orbitz, Expedia fired back by removing AA’s listings (the airline is now back on both sites). Enterprise Rent-A-Car also left Orbitz, citing high costs, while US Airways piled onto AA’s disputes by filing suit against Sabre on antitrust grounds. Such disputes are common whenever industries confront the problem of who owns the content and who owns the customer: cable television companies, for example, regularly battle networks over channel-access issues, and insurers have created their own Internet portals to combat the brokers’ entrenched power.

The travel sector’s problem, however, is that the underlying model is fracturing. Traditional travel agencies now tend to tailor their services to business travelers, rather than provide options and products for a broad set of customer segments. Suppliers are making huge investments to lure customers to their direct channels, inadvertently reducing return on investment (ROI) by lifting costs with little immediate increase in revenue. Online aggregators are not only pushing suppliers out and undermining their one-stop-shop proposition, but also digging their heels into a format that emphasizes price as the primary product differentiator. Fundamentally, and most damagingly, consumers increasingly find that they don’t have what they really want: all travel options at their disposal in one place. If this problem persists, they will become more willing to consider superior alternatives.

The path ahead

So what should be done? We have identified four imperatives for travel companies: making customers the strategic focus, using data to understand them, serving them better through partnerships, and providing the best end-to-end experience to promote both sales and ongoing loyalty.

1. Focus on customers, not channels

The travel sector’s approach for two decades has been to push customers toward lower-cost yet more uniform distribution channels. We believe this is the wrong response to a growing mandate for product differentiation: while some customers value price above all else, that attitude is far from universal. Travelers differ in clear ways when it comes to their requirements—both in their traveling needs (which inform product design) and their shopping needs 1 1. For more on this topic, see Carmen Nobel, “Clay Christensen’s milkshake marketing,” Harvard Business School Working Knowledge , February 14, 2011. (which inform merchandising design and are relevant for distribution). Suppliers should shift from a business-to-business, channel-centric approach to a decidedly customer-centric one: the overarching goal should be to win customers, not to fight a zero-sum game with intermediaries (for more on how to win customers, see the below interactive exhibit, “Understanding travel’s core customers”).

In an ideal world, suppliers would tailor services to each individual. Reality makes that goal almost impossible to achieve, but travel companies can and should craft focused solutions for a range of broad customer segments. Price-driven leisure travelers, for instance, are drawn to transparency and comparability above all else, shopping at an average of three to four Web sites before making a purchase. So why don’t airlines, hotels, and car-rental companies bring price comparability to their own sites? This is exactly the model adopted by US insurance companies that quote competitors’ prices alongside their own. While there is some risk of customer defection—especially among price-focused travelers—that’s mitigated by the fact that this approach helps earn customer trust and draws valuable insights (about consumer preferences and behavior) that enable more effective merchandising.

Customers in another segment—unmanaged business travelers—are too small to justify the expensive services of large travel-management companies. However, less costly and more efficient technologies make it easier to service this “long tail” of corporate travelers, and suppliers and travel-management companies alike recognize the potential ROI of moving them to online channels. Unmanaged business travelers seek less expensive versions of the services received by larger accounts, such as expense-management tools, profile management, and company loyalty programs. Meeting this demand will be complicated, but in industries such as banking and telecommunications we see a potential answer by combining a customized product offering with a different sales model. Consortiums and partnerships are likely to be the key to success—for example, imagine deploying a sales force to sell airline product bundles to small- and medium-sized businesses, empowered by the latest external advances in tracking and reporting tools.

A channel-based mind-set limits the willingness of players, particularly suppliers, to make such moves. Instead, they tend to focus on market share targets for channels (and attempt to achieve these targets with initiatives such as Web site overhauls), without considering what it takes to shift preferences by consumer segment. New capabilities, not cosmetic changes, are what are really needed. Focusing on customer-based ROI rather than on channel targets forces executives to ask themselves how much they are going to invest—in which capabilities and targeting which customer shopping needs—to produce which results.

2. Win in the era of ‘big data’

Travel companies have access to mind-boggling customer data: everything from basic personal information to preferred airline seats, in-flight-entertainment preferences, meals at hotels, and credit card usage. They have the means to paint detailed pictures to drive marketing initiatives that more deeply engage customers, yet few—if any—of them truly maximize the potential of the data at their disposal. There’s no doubt that the synthesis of sales, pricing and revenue management, loyalty, and IT required to deliver on data’s promises is daunting. But there’s equally no doubt that companies from outside the travel sector specifically tooled to make the most of data are going to figure things out, enter the market, and try to steal customers.

Amazon.com, for example, became the thorn in the side of every bookseller—and, eventually, every retailer—by mining data to craft individualized customer experiences full of conversion-ready streams of recommendations. Amazon is notably absent from travel, at least for now. Google, however, has tens of billions of dollars in cash reserves and hundreds of employees whose job description is data mining. And its acquisition of ITA, a critical airfare search provider, already allows Google to provide users with instant travel itineraries and links to purchase (to see it in action, simply Google “NYC to LAX”).

Meanwhile, suppliers are moving slowly. British Airways recently announced that it would equip flight attendants with iPads rather than paper manifests. This provides a way to capture and use unprecedented levels of customer data, but this capability is only a small step forward—in many ways, incumbents remain squarely on the back foot in the emerging era of big data. It’s not too late: suppliers have a wealth of information and resources they could use to test new ideas. But they need to ask themselves which data they could be collecting, which existing data are not being mobilized, and which capabilities they should be building (or partnering to acquire) to compete on the big data battlefront. 2 2. For more on how data, customization, and experimentation will be a new hallmark of competition, see Brad Brown, Michael Chui, and James Manyika, “ Are you ready for the era of ‘big data’? ,” mckinseyquarterly.com, October 2011.

3. Unlock the power of partnerships

Imagine if you could type (or speak) the following instruction into your smartphone: “Book my usual flights from Dallas to New York, out Monday and back Wednesday, usual hotel, rental car”—and quickly receive an itinerary compliant with your corporate travel policies. What would it take to achieve that? We see far too many travel companies seeking to undertake local, discrete tasks well and not simultaneously thinking broadly about the kinds of solutions that really engage and stimulate customers. Considering a customer’s mind-set and thinking more creatively about products and services should be a priority, and that may require working with, as well as against, competitors. One good example of this approach is the recently launched hotel search and booking site, RoomKey.com, founded by Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group, Choice Hotels International, and Wyndham Hotel Group.

In the world of consumer packaged goods, we’ve seen such partnerships take off: retailers and manufacturers now share unprecedented levels of information across their supply chains, enabling far more effective merchandising decisions and physical-distribution and logistics outcomes. Yet the most public dispute in travel—among AA, Expedia, and Orbitz—is the equivalent of a consumer-packaged-goods company pulling its products from a retailer’s shelves: it benefits no one.

Our point here is twofold. First, creating new technologies is not necessarily the answer to all the challenges in travel today; indeed, the technical capacity to deliver what consumers need arguably exists already, dispersed in pockets across a dysfunctional ecosystem. Second, the potential of partnerships—lateral (supplier–supplier), vertical (supplier–aggregator–provider), or with companies beyond the travel sector—remains to be unlocked. Succeeding here may be more about identifying companies with similar interests and synergistic capabilities than about throwing new money and new technology after problems rooted in structural issues of coordination.

4. Master the entire customer experience

Selling a product isn’t the beginning of a company’s relationship with customers; that starts when they first become aware of its brand. Equally, the relationship doesn’t end at the point of sale, because every interaction with customers is an opportunity to foster their loyalty or lose their future business. 3 3. For more on how consumers make purchasing decisions, see David Court, Dave Elzinga, Susan Mulder, and Ole Jørgen Vetvik, “ The consumer decision journey ,” mckinseyquarterly.com, June 2009. Customer solutions in the travel industry often span multiple players, providing each with an opportunity to showcase its strengths and make a case for becoming a traveler’s favorite. Some companies are actively seeking to forge tighter bonds with customers: for example, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will soon launch a service that allows its passengers use their Facebook or LinkedIn profiles to choose seatmates on upcoming flights. Malaysia Airlines is releasing a Facebook service that lets travelers check if friends are on their same flight or headed to their same destination. Like British Airways’ use of the iPad, these innovations deploy technology to shape the customer experience , not just to conduct booking and customer service transactions.

A critical prerequisite for influencing the customer experience is the dissolution of organizational barriers—not only budgets and planning processes but also ownership of information—to gain a comprehensive view of the customer journey. There should be a single customer databank, not separate ones for information on loyalty, transactions, and pricing. And to make the customer-centric approach a reality, unprecedented levels of coordination among multiple business units (including those responsible for loyalty programs, pricing, sales, marketing, and information technology) are also required. Far too few companies in the travel sector have taken the steps needed to achieve this level of unification.

The digital revolution has upended business as usual in almost all industries, and travel is no exception. Consumers are empowered by information: they have near-instant access to their flight, hotel, and car-rental options; virtual price transparency; and the ability to play suppliers off against one another. The game is now about delivering a superior customer experience. If players can do that, the investment returns will follow.

Robert Carey is an associate principal in McKinsey’s Atlanta office, where David Kang is a consultant; Michael Zea is a principal in the Stamford office.

The authors wish to acknowledge the contributions of Andrew Curley, Alex Dichter, and Bryan Hancock to the development of this article.

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Online Travel Agencies – A Brief Introduction

The role of an online travel agency (OTA) is becoming increasingly important in the accommodation industry as they provide a convenient way for travelers to arrange their stay. From the comfort of their home, travelers can compare hotel prices and book them over the internet. 

In this blog, we are going to discuss what an OTA is, the best OTA platforms, travel website development and how to do it right, and more.

Ready? Let’s go.

What Are Online Travel Agencies?

An online travel agency (OTA) arranges and sells accommodations, tours, transportation and trips on an online platform for travelers. They are third parties who sell services on behalf of other companies.

Usually, these OTAs offer many benefits with added convenience with more of a self-service approach. They also include a built-in booking system which allows instant bookings.

How Do Online Travel Agencies Work?

OTAs generally work on two models. They are,

1. Merchant Model

In this model, hotels sell rooms to OTAs at a discounted or wholesale price. Then, the OTA sells them to the customer at a markup price

2. Agency Model

This is a commission-based model where OTAs acts as a distribution partner. OTAs receive full commission after the stay has taken place. The hotel directly receives the payment from the end customer and does not wait for the payment transfer from third-party distributors.

What Are the Benefits of Partnering with Online Travel Agencies?

In one word – exposure! Online travel agents get thousands of website visitors from all over the world. Plus, they have positioned themselves as an authority on everything related to travel. So, people trust the recommendation they receive from OTAs.

By listing in OTAs, accommodation businesses like hotels not only reach a vast set of audience but will also find their service among many other reputable sources of information.

In addition, hotels that are listed on OTAs can also benefit from what is referred to as the ‘billboard effect’. This means that OTAs provide a form of advertising for service providers such as hotels on their platforms. Once the user gains this awareness, they may even go to the website of that particular hotel to make a direct booking.

What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Selling Through Online Travel Agents?

Accommodation businesses like hotels and B&Bs have pros and cons of getting listed in OTAs. Let’s take a look at them.

Advantages Of Online Travel Agents

• Low-cost method of selling accommodation services
• Reduced online marketing spend as OTAs invest in advertising to attract potential customers
• Impartial reviews give customers the confidence to book
• Users can easily compare various accommodation costs at one place

Disadvantages Of Online Travel Agents

• Commission rates are charged on every sale. It can range between 10-15% of the gross cost
• Restrictive cancellation terms
• Even if accommodation businesses use OTAs, the need for their own website and booking engine does not go away
• Investment in a balanced multi-channel strategy may be needed to boost sales

Even though OTAs can help to fill your rooms, accommodation businesses must try to maximize revenue through their own website. Consistent work on search engine optimization tactics and other digital marketing techniques is a must. Accommodation businesses must focus on customer retention techniques and directly target their existing customers through emails and direct marketing.

How To Start An Online Travel Agency?

Travel agencies no longer inform customers about the availability of flights and rooms. They issue rooms and get a commission from the respective accommodation businesses. That is why most of the new travel businesses follow the OTA model.

If you plan to enter the OTA arena, you can specialize in pilgrimages, leisure travel, business travel or any niche. But, focusing on how effectively you offer things is the key to success.

Here Are Some Points You Have To Consider When Starting An Online Travel Agency.

• Register the name of your agency and if applicable, take a license as per your local laws
• Try to get a membership in IATA or any other reputed travel organization
• Gain more knowledge about the travel industry and particularly the nice you want to concentrate
• Get your travel website designed by a professional company like ColorWhistle
• Offer deals that focus on a specific geography. Focusing on a particular niche will also bring more success
• Publicize your business in the online space
• Utilize the power of blogging
• Create a good social media presence

Why Do People Use Online Travel Agencies?

 here are some of the main reasons they prefer ota’s..

• Few OTAs offer reward programs which can be used for future travel needs
• Special rates which cannot be found elsewhere
• Some OTAs may have generous cancellation policies. For example, Priceline does not offer any penalty if the user cancels the ticket until the end of the next business day
• Most users may not have an idea on where to book other than an OTA
• OTAs make it easy to compare different rates

Which Are the Best OTA Platforms?

1. booking.com.

Booking.com is one of the largest accommodations websites which has now expanded to smaller markets such as family-operated bed and breakfast, vacation rentals and self-catering apartments.

Interesting statistics

• Every day, 1,550,000 nights are booked
• 68% of nights booked came from families and couples
• 42% of nights booked came from unique places such as homes and apartments
• 38% of reviews are given by guests which are useful for other travelers
• 75% of nights booked come from guests who booked more than 5 times

2. Expedia’s Hotels.com

Expedia’s Hotels.com is a popular brand which has a global audience and attracts diverse travelers. The company gained more power in the industry by acquiring Travelocity.

• Gets over 675 million monthly site visits
• Operates in 70+ countries and 40+ languages
• Attracts 75 million monthly flight shoppers

Airbnb revolutionized the travel accommodation industry by introducing home-sharing. The website has diverse listings and travelers get a sense of safety as they can know their guest’s identity.

• 2.9 million hosts are present on Airbnb
• Average of 800k stays each night
• 14k new hosts join every month

Apart from these major OTAs, there are many small ones such as OneTravel, Vayama, Tripsta, TravelMerry, ExploreTrip, Kiss&Fly, Webjet, GoToGate, Travelgenio, Bookairfare, Fareboom, Skybooker, Travel2be, OneTwoTrip!, and eBookers.

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What the future holds for online travel agencies.

It is clear that, in the near future, accommodation businesses are not about to back down from OTAs. They are enjoying the billboard effect and trying their best to retain website visitors and convert them into direct booking. 

Sure, there is a cost involved. The upside of this is that accommodation businesses are working hard to create a loyal customer base that will continue to seek direct bookings.

The chances of OTAs suffering in the long run are pretty slim. Smaller accommodation businesses have a lot to gain from the exposure they receive through OTAs. Plus, a large portion of the younger generation prefers OTAs. So their market will continue to grow.

If you need any help to design, develop or market an OTA website, contact our travel web design and development experts at ColorWhistle . 

We can create an amazing website with beautiful designs combined with dynamic content such as live rates and special offers. Contact us today for your free business analysis and consultation.

In quest of the Perfect Travel Tech Solutions Buddy?

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About the Author - Anjana

Anjana is a full-time Copywriter at ColorWhistle managing content-related projects. She writes about website technologies, digital marketing, and industries such as travel. Plus, she has an unhealthy addiction towards online marketing, watching crime shows, and chocolates.

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Online passport renewal is now available for some applicants. Here's how it works.

• The State Department is running a trial for online passport renewals.
• Online renewals will be available to a limited number of applicants each day for now.
• To qualify for online passport renewals, applicants must meet certain criteria.

You may not need to go to the post office to renew your passport anymore.

The State Department is running a trial for online passport renewals and says it plans to fully open the system for online renewals in the coming months.

Online renewals will be available to a limited number of applicants each day for now, and those applications will only be accepted during Eastern time zone midday hours.

“We plan to continue to limit the number of applications accepted each day so we can monitor the system’s performance in real time,” a statement from the State Department said. “This beta release during which we are limiting the daily applications is an important and standard part of the software development process.”

To qualify for online passport renewals, applicants must: 

• Have an existing U.S. passport that was issued no more than 15 years prior to the new application date. It must still be in the applicant’s possession, and not previously reported lost or stolen.
• Not be changing their name, gender, date of birth or place of birth for the new passport.
• Be applying for a regular tourist passport.
• Live in a U.S. state or territory.
• Be able to pay the renewal fee using a credit or debit card online.
• Be able to upload a digital photo.

The State Department will not offer expediting for online passport renewals during the system trial period, so it requires applicants to certify that they have no international travel plans for at least eight weeks from the application date.

Cruising Altitude: See Europe as the Europeans do this summer with these pro tips

The fee for online passport renewal is the same as renewal by mail – $130. The State Department advises applicants that their existing passport will be canceled as their renewal application is processed. New passports will still be delivered by mail after the application is approved.

Zach Wichter is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in New York. You can reach him at [email protected].

The Key Points at the top of this article were created with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and reviewed by a journalist before publication. No other parts of the article were generated using AI. Learn more .

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How to renew your passport online.

For the first time since March 2023, online passport renewals are available.

How to Renew a Passport Online

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The Department of Transportation has announced a (second) beta release of its online passport renewal program, which means eligible U.S. citizens can renew their passports online.

Before you begin, know that the system will open for a limited midday eastern time window each day and will close once a certain number of renewals has been met. This will allow the DOT to monitor the system's efficiency in real time.

How to renew your passport online

In order to be eligible for an online passport renewal, the following must be true:

• You live in the U.S.
• Your most recent U.S. passport is in your possession and is not damaged.
• Your most recent U.S. passport was valid for 10 years.
• Your passport book or card was issued between 2009 and 2025, or more than nine years but less than 15 years from the date you submit your application.
• You currently use the same name, gender, date of birth and place of birth provided on your current U.S. passport.
• You can upload a digital passport photo.
• You are applying for a standard U.S. passport.
• You can pay for your passport renewal with a debit or credit card.

Also note that your current passport will no longer be valid (even if it has not yet expired) once you submit your application for renewal.

If you meet all of the above requirements, you can proceed to the U.S. Department of State website.

How to renew your passport by mail

If you have an expired or expiring passport in your possession that was issued when you were at least 16 years old and within the past 15 years, you can renew your passport by mail as long as it's relatively undamaged. You'll need to submit the following documentation:

• Form DS-82:  Complete the  DS-82  renewal application.
• Existing passport:  You will need to send your current U.S. passport, but if you're someone who likes to look back fondly at all of your passport stamps, don't worry – you should receive the original passport back with your new one.
• Passport photo:  Include a new photo that meets passport requirements (outlined in more detail in the FAQ section below).
• Check or money order:  Once you determine the applicable fees for your passport renewal, payment must be made with either a check or money order payable to "U.S. Department of State," on the front of which you'll print the full name and date of birth of the applicant. You cannot pay online or send cash at this time.

You can mail all your materials – including your old passport and any name change documents – in a large envelope through the U.S. Postal Service to one of the National Passport Processing Center's designated P.O. boxes; the address varies depending on what state you live in and whether you choose expedited or routine service. Note that if you use a delivery method other than USPS, your application will be returned to you without being processed.

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How to renew your passport in person

If your passport has been damaged, lost or stolen; was issued before you turned 16; or is more than 15 years old, you'll need to renew it in person with the following documentation:

• Form DS-11:  You can fill out the  DS-11  passport application online or by hand, but don't sign the form until an authorized agent instructs you to do so.
• Proof of U.S. citizenship:  This evidence can take the form of an original or certified copy of a U.S. birth certificate, a Certificate of Naturalization, a Certificate of Citizenship or a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, among  certain other options . Aside from the physical proof, you must also bring a photocopy for the State Department to keep.
• Identification document:  Your government-issued photo ID can be a driver's license, a government employee or military ID, a valid foreign passport, a Certificate of Naturalization, a Certificate of Citizenship, or another form of  ID deemed acceptable  by the State Department. Just as with the citizenship proof, you have to make a photocopy of your photo ID too.
• Passport photo:  See the FAQ section below for U.S. passport photo requirements.
• Form of payment:  When submitting your application at a passport acceptance facility (such as designated libraries, post offices or local government offices), you'll need to pay for the application fee with either a check or money order payable to "U.S. Department of State." The acceptance facility will also charge a separate $35 fee that can be paid by money order or (at select locations) by check, cash or card.

Frequently Asked Questions

U.S. passports are valid for 10 years as long as they were issued when you were 16 years of age or older.

It's best to renew your passport several months before it expires, factoring in mailing times plus current processing times, which are six to eight weeks. Note that in many countries, visitors' passports must be valid for at least six months beyond the date you intend to return to the U.S. You can check the U.S. Department of State's website for information on policies by country.

No, but if you can't supply a birth certificate, you must be able to provide either a valid, undamaged passport; a Consular Report of Birth Abroad or Certification of Birth; a Certificate of Naturalization; or a Certificate of Citizenship. If your state issued a birth abstract (a summary of your birth record), you can submit it as long as it meets the requirements outlined by the U.S. Department of State.

If you cannot provide any of the above, you will need to submit secondary citizenship evidence such as a delayed birth certificate or a Letter of No Record, plus the DS-10 birth affidavit form and early public records like a baptism certificate or doctor's record of postnatal care. Consult the State Department website for other examples of early public records you can use.

Unless you make an appointment at a passport acceptance facility that is equipped to take passport photos, plan to provide a high-resolution photo taken in the last six months whether you complete the process online, by mail or in person.

Photo specs: The photo should be in color and measure 2 by 2 inches; use the State Department's photo tool to ensure it's the correct size. If you're taking the picture at home, stand in front of a plain white or off-white background that's well lit. You will need to have someone else snap the photo, as selfies are not permitted.

Clothing: Glasses are not permitted in photos, nor is any attire that resembles a uniform. It's best to wear plain, everyday clothing. Hats and head coverings aren't allowed in passport photos, unless you sign a statement verifying they are worn as part of a recognized religious practice or provide a written doctor's note confirming they're for a medical purpose.

Expression: Your head should be centered, in full view and facing forward. Pose with a neutral expression or natural smile (don't show your teeth) and ensure your eyes are open.

If you're confident you can follow the guidelines and want to take your photo at home, you can either print it yourself on matte or glossy photo paper or upload it to a passport photo printing service (offered by CVS, Target, Walmart and others). For online applications, you can simply upload the file.

Otherwise, a passport photo can be easily obtained for a fee from select post offices, shipping stores, passport acceptance facilities, and even big box stores and major drugstores (including the same ones that offer printing services).

Technically, you cannot "renew" a passport for a child younger than age 16. Instead, you must reapply using the same in-person process you went through to acquire their first passport. For a list of step-by-step instructions and required documentation for minors, see How to Get a U.S. Passport for Kids . If your child is at least 16 years of age, however, you can renew their passport using the methods detailed above.

If your name has changed since your last passport was issued, you'll need to provide documentation – such as a marriage certificate, divorce decree or court order – that serves as proof of the name change. This requirement applies with whatever method you choose to renew your passport.

As of 2024, the renewal fee for an adult passport book is $130. The State Department's fee calculator provides additional information on passport fees.

Routine processing times for expired passport renewals currently range from six to eight weeks, beginning when the passport center or agency receives your application to renew your passport, according to the U.S. Department of State. Sometimes the process can take less time, but don't count on it.

If you're in a rush to renew your passport, you can pay for expedited service. There are a couple of options:

If you can wait two to three weeks: Expedite your passport by mail. Clearly write "EXPEDITE" on the outside of the envelope. Be sure to submit payment for the $60 expediting fee with your application; if you also want to request the fastest return shipping (which takes one or two days), you'll need to pay $19.53 on top of that.

If you need your passport in days: If you have a life-or-death emergency that requires your passport to be renewed in days or urgent international travel plans necessitating a passport within two weeks, you'll need to make an appointment with a regional passport agency.

Also an option is a service such as RushMyPassport , touting easy, expedited service in as little as one week (though these services can come with a hefty fee). If you're a member of AAA, you can take advantage of exclusive rates on expedited passport renewals through RushMyPassport.

You might also be interested in:

• The Top Passport Wallets
• TSA PreCheck vs. Global Entry
• The Best International Travel Insurance
• The Best Travel Insurance for Expats

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