What is Travel Management Software? Which are its Key Features

In today’s dynamic travel landscape, where every customer expects a unique experience, traditional ways to optimize travel portals do not suffice. It has become extremely important for businesses to adopt efficient, centralized, and scalable tactics to streamline the user experience. This is where the travel management software comes into the picture, providing a robust way to streamline and optimize modern-day traveller needs.

This revolutionary travel booking software allows businesses to provide real-time flights, hotels, car rentals, etc by directly collaborating with Global Distribution Systems (GDS). What’s more, using an efficient travel management software, OTAs, tour operators, TMCs, DMCs, B2B or B2C businesses can enrich their customers with automated features packed with advanced analytics capabilities.

In this blog, we’ll go through the core concepts of travel management software, understand its stance, features, and how it can be a valuable addition for both businesses and travelers.

What is Travel Management Software?

Before getting involved with anything too technical, let’s briefly break down the concepts of corporate travel management software. This innovative travel solution is designed to help businesses reduce the hassle of manual work and improve efficiency with a series of automation.

In simple terms, TMCs and DMCs won’t have to waste a ton of time and effort behind redundant tasks like managing booking confirmations, queries, cancellations, or modifications. Furthermore, it is designed to handle the growing customer base and high volume of traffic in peak seasons across multiple clients.

Table of contents

12 Key Features of Travel Management Software

To help you understand the concept of business travel management software in a much more simplified manner, we’ve discussed its highlighting features in detail. Let’s quickly explore them all:

1. Centralized Platform with Real-Time Multichannel Booking

Managing a scalable business with multiple modules can sometimes become overwhelming. Manually handling all the tasks not only affects operations but also affects efficiency. However, by opting for the best travel management software, travel agencies, OTAs, TMCs, and DMCs can access real-time information from multiple suppliers in a centralized manner. This means businesses can manage their wide inventories across the portal without any hassle.

2. Modular Architecture Offering Flexibility & Scalability

The corporate travel management software can be redesigned at any interval of time, allowing the companies to add or remove the desired APIs on demand. Such a travel solution can be utilized independently or simultaneously with reusable components for easier adaptation, expansion, and maintenance. 

3. Integrated Modules for Seamless Operations

A travel management booking software is comprises of multiple features like dedicated travel CRM integration, independent management of suppliers and vendors, and precise documentation handling. Overall, with such a solution at your disposal, you can seamlessly handle all the ongoing operations in the pipeline.

4. Online Booking System & Self-Service Options

The new gen group travel management software is designed with a customer-centric approach. Simply put, they can personalize their booking as desired and even create itineraries to make their journey more memorable. Such self-service options not only help in improving the customer experience but also reduce the manual efforts for travel companies.

5. Robust Payment Processing with Secure Gateways

Payment is one of the most critical aspects of any travel booking software. Often, it’s hard for businesses to ensure that all the transactions carried out in the portal are friction-free and secure. Thankfully, travel management booking software provides the necessary encryption, tokenization, fraud detection, and compliance with industry standards such as CCPA, GDPR, PCI-DSS, etc, to protect online transactions.

6. Travel Itinerary Management & Customization Tools

Custom tour and travel packages do not appeal to every customer anymore. People prefer to customize their journey in their terms with strings attached. A travel management system can be programmed to comply with such requirements and enrich the customers with all the necessary travel itinerary tools to create detailed plans and manage bookings.

7. 24/7 Customer Support & Chat Integration

Imagine responding to all customer queries in real-time 24/7; sounds impossible, right? But with AI-powered chatbots and rigorously trained virtual assistants, business travel management software can make this happen. This feature not only helps users with booking queries but also helps them in every possible way to uplift the overall experience.

8. Communication Tools & Notifications Automation

Travel management booking software streamlines communication and notifications using automated systems. With this function actively running 24/7, companies can ensure that travelers receive timely updates and information through various channels like SMS, email, or in-app messaging, improving the overall travel experience. 

9. Advanced Reporting & Real-Time Analytics

Data remains one of the most important factors to advance in any business. It helps businesses craft effective strategies based on upcoming trends and current user behaviour. With advanced travel and expense management software, companies can make immediate decisions and respond quickly to changing conditions.

10. Data Integration, Syncing, & Risk Management

Travel risk management means predicting, avoiding, and responding to the dangers travelers may face, such as weather, civil unrest, or health threats. Creating such a comprehensive solution with airlines, hotels, car rentals, and other booking platforms calls for sound risk management parameters.

11. BCP (Business Continuity Plan) & Disaster Recovery

A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) ensures businesses continue to function during disruptions that could be caused by server downtime, technical glitches, etc. On the other hand, Disaster Recovery (DR) is concerned with recovering IT infrastructure and data following a disastrous event. Together, business continuity and disaster recovery are vital for maintaining service quality, minimizing downtime, and preserving customer trust.

12. Brand Identity & White-Label Options

For startups, small businesses, and OTAs, white-label solutions provide an affordable way of developing a full-fledged travel solution. Businesses can offer travel services under their own brand, customizing the platform’s look and feel while leveraging the travel API integration techniques and inventory of the provider to enhance brand identity and customer experience.

Travel Management Software for TMCs and DMCs

Now that we’ve covered all the key factors that highlight the capabilities of travel expense management software, let’s understand its relevance for travel management companies (TMCs) and destination management companies (DMCs).

Why Do TMCs Need Specialized Travel Management Software?

By utilizing the best travel management software to fulfill the ever-evolving demands of modern travellers, TMCs and DMCs can embrace a series of benefits such as:

• Effectively managing high-volume bookings.
• Tailoring travel plans to corporate/client policies.
• Ensuring real-time compliance and approvals.
• Generating insightful travel & expense reports.
• Cost reduction through automation and negotiated supplier rates.
• Enhanced traveler experience with mobile apps and itinerary updates.
• Greater market reach with multi-GDS and travel API integrations.

How Travel Management Booking Software Works

Below is a detailed infographic showcasing the entire workflow of corporate travel management software from booking to post-trip analytics.

Travel & Expense Management: One Unified Platform

There is no denying the fact that business travel management software allows for a series of benefits to customers. But it also acts as a centralized travel management software to keep track of all incoming and outgoing sales under one portal.

a) Expense Tracking & Policy Enforcement

With the help of streamlined, advanced, and the best corporate travel management software, companies can capture receipts, submit expenses, and align them with organizational policies without depending on any third-party tool.

b) Multi-Currency and Global Payment Management

Catering to a global audience has its own set of challenges, one of them being payments. However, with travel expense management software equipped with a multi-currency feature, customers can pay via any medium such as cards, net banking, crypto currencies, wallets, etc.

c) Mobile App for On-the-Go Travel

Another crucial advantage of the travel management software is the ability to provide mobile-friendly solutions. With highly interactive and user-friendly mobile applications, customers can prompt travelers to book, pay, and receive confirmations or alerts in real time.

d) Automated Reimbursement Workflows

Manage your company expenses by setting up effective rules and regulations followed by company approvals. This will allow the management to approve reimbursements quickly, reducing turnaround time and errors.

e) Integration with ERPs and Finance Tools

Integrating ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems with finance tools and travel and expense management software streamlines operations, enhances data accuracy, and facilitates better decision-making by centralizing financial information and automating processes. 

Seamless Travel Starts with Smarter Software – Let’s Build It Together

As we close the curtains to our detailed expedition of the software for travel management, it’s easy to determine the importance of such a solution for agencies, TMCs, and enterprises. However, before proceeding with a solution directly, it’s better to assess business needs, analyze gaps, identify the audience, and then go after a solution. OneClick can turn out to be a reliable partner in your journey with years of experience, robust decision-making, and high proficiency in developing a travel management booking software.

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