Travel agencies occupy a crucial position in the accommodation industry. Contributing to a large majority of hotel and tour bookings, the agencies still remain quite important. But, will it be always like this? Or will the impact of travel agencies gradually decrease in response to the developing technology? In this article, let’s take a quick look at how the Internet is changing the industry.
The technology in its current state provides virtually unlimited opportunities for users. The sources for travelers to turn to when choosing where to stay used to be limited to travel agencies. Today, however, almost every hotel and airline has a website and even an average Internet user can map out a travel budget with the help of some research. Besides, websites like Expedia and Booking.com are on the lookout for claiming their slice of the Internet cake. All these examples we have touched upon indicate that the travel agencies are faced with an ever-competitive environment.
Is it possible to solve this problem?
Being online is the solution!
We have written the above not to make travel agencies panic or despair, but to help them understand how they can benefit from the change in the competitive environment. Well, if the developing technology provides great benefits to your rivals, why don’t you also take advantage of the facilities provided by the Internet to strengthen your agency? Once you become a part of the online world, you will see how fast you will overcome the distance between you and your rivals.
The benefits of being online
Accessibility is the biggest advantage of online travel agencies. By making your property online, you can access customers from anywhere in the world in a much easier way than before. Besides that, low advertising and other promotional costs are an advantage. Social media will help you get brand recognition easily and quickly. Also, you will be capable of selling online 24/7.
As a travel agency, the sources you can access through your corporate networks are, naturally, much more powerful compared with an average Internet user. This allows you to draw up cost-effective budget plans and market these easily by taking the advantage of being online. Although users can make their own travel plans with the help of the Internet, doing so is actually quite tiresome for the most of them. In addition, engaging an online travel agency will appear a much more preferable option for them so that they can receive help from the agency’s experienced and professional staff if faced with problems during their travel or with services like accommodation, car rental etc.
Being online is not difficult
To make your property go online, you should create your own website and choose a proper infrastructure as well as an attractive and professional layout. Additionally, you better promote your agency and campaigns with the help of social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
HotelRunner is always within your reach if you are looking for a solution that provides all these features in one package. You can make your agency go online and fulfill your biggest potential without wasting your time with technical details, thanks to its features such as an advanced infrastructure, original themes and advanced search engine optimization. Do not lose any more time, create your HotelRunner account and start to earn more now.