How to Choose the Perfect CRM for Travel Agents

Whether or not you already know what a Travel CRM is, this blog post will tell you all about the best CRM for travel agents. We hope it will help you determine the best travel software to use for your travel business.

Short for Customer Relationship Management, a CRM is a type of software that helps travel agents and other businesses in the travel industry build strong customer relationships with their clients. Travel CRM software can help travel agents get sales leads, advertise your services to clients, and better plan your business strategy. This blog post will answer some questions we think you may have about a Travel CRM and tell you all about the best CRMs for travel agents!

OK, So What Exactly Is a Travel CRM?

A travel CRM is basically a type of software that strives to help streamline all of the daily duties that you have to accomplish as a travel agent.

There are two different types of Travel CRM: B2B and B2C. A B2B Travel CRM (Business to Business) is used for travel companies that work with partners, resellers, and other travel agents. This type of Travel CRM is created specifically for B2B interactions and updates.

B2C Travel CRM (Business to Customer) is for travel companies that mainly work with individual travelers (instead of agencies and other companies). Using a B2C Travel CRM ensures that notifications and alerts are sent to the traveler throughout their trip. This streamlines this process to make it easier on the travel agent.

What Are Some Benefits of a Travel CRM?

One of the main advantages of using a Travel CRM is that they will make your day-to-day tasks easier and flow more smoothly. Travel agency CRM can create data, manage marketing campaigns, prepare reports, automate sales, and manage customer interactions.

Of course, there are general CRM that are used for other industries aside from the travel industry. However, the benefit of using a Travel CRM for your travel business instead of a General CRM is that a Travel CRM has certain features and capabilities that are designed specifically for travel agents.

For example, whereas both a General CRM and a Travel CRM will be able to help any company with managing their leads and emails, a Travel CRM will also be able to help you with managing your clients’ itineraries, managing your booking calendar, and managing vouchers, to name a few.

If your travel agency is having a hard time accessing your leads, spending too much time on manually entering and updating your data, or having difficulty prioritizing leads, it might be time to start considering using a Travel CRM.

So What Should I Look for When Selecting a Travel CRM?

All good Travel CRM should be able to help you with the following tasks:

• Booking management
• Email management
• Lead management
• Voucher management
• Itinerary management
• Invoice management
• Marketing automation

On top of those, the following are three characteristics that you should look for in a Travel CRM:

• Simplicity

It’s important that your Travel CRM is simple so that it’s easy for you and your agency to understand without too much work. This is why it’s vital that the Travel CRM you pick is self-explanatory and intuitive.

• Price

Take a look at the price breakdown of the Travel CRM you are considering and make sure the features are worth the price. Your Travel CRM doesn’t have to be super expensive in order to be a good one. Be on the lookout for any hidden fees within the CRM. Also take note if there are essential features that can only be used if you purchase it within the app.

• Relevance

As we discussed before, there are two different kinds of Travel CRMs. There are B2B Travel CRMs, and then there are B2C Travel CRM. Before selecting one or the other, make sure it is relevant for your travel business and the tasks you will need it to accomplish.

What are Some of the Best CRM for the Travel Industry?

The price of each Travel CRM depends on your exact needs and your preferred plan, but you can find out the exact price of each one by going to the website and requesting a demo. Below, please see our list for the best CRM for the travel industry and their features and uses:

• SugarCRM

Sugar is one of the top CRM software. Some of its key features include a shortcut bar, the ability to customize a homepage, a global search function, and a wizard toolbar. Sugar CRM also allows you to automate alerts, streamline social media marketing, and built-in SEO optimization.

• Freshsales CRM

Freshsales specializes in helping travel agencies manage their customer relationships. You can use Freshsales to develop and manage contacts as well as schedule follow-ups with clients. It can also help you visualize and manage reports. Some of its best features include two-way email sync, sales campaigns, email tracking, and a calendar sync.

• Rezdy

Redzy is most known for helping travel agencies automate payments. It also features in-app messaging and has a handy tool that can be used for managing online reservations.

• Salesforce Sales Cloud

We bet you’ve heard of this one! Salesforce is a well-known CRM not just in the travel industry, but as a Travel CRM, it’s known for excelling at analytics, being a CRM that works well on mobile devices, and even having an Artificial Intelligence component. It differs from the other Travel CRMs on this list in that it connects multiple departments of a travel agency to one potential customer.

• Kapture CRM

This Travel CRM is best known for its ability to be used to integrate a travel agency’s contact center and service center into one platform. Its features include invoice management and the management of customer details.

• EliNext

If you and your agency struggles with managing your clients, EliNext is what’s “next” for your business. (Please pardon our pun!)

This CRM excels in assisting you with client management. Its features also include app and web development.

• Technoheaven Travel CRM

Aside from having a cool name, Technoheaven will help you easily automate your every-day tasks. It includes a filtering tool that other CRMs don’t, as well as social media optimization and an integrated time monitoring system.

• Zoho CRM

Zoho excels at client acquisition and management. Among its features are performance management and process management. It also is very easily customized to fit the needs of you and your travel business.

• Travelopro

The built-in customer dashboard of Travelopro will make it extra easy to manage your clients. It also includes analytics to help you better understand who your agency is serving. With Travelopro, you can also easily manage multiple accounts – you guessed it – like a pro. OK, we will stop with the puns now. (Maybe.)

• Tutterfly

This CRM is not just for the travel industry in general, but was specifically designed with travel agents in mind. This customer-oriented Travel CRM includes a conversion system, professional performance analytics, and an integrated sales interface.

OK, So Now What?

We hope we’ve armed you with enough knowledge to be able to pick the perfect Travel CRM for your travel agency. Just remember, go for the one that’s the most simple, relevant to your agency’s specific needs, and will give you the most bang for your buck! Happy Travel CRM-hunting!