Estimates from the World Economic Forum’s Digital Transformation Initiative (DTI) show that by the end of 2025, sectors such as travel, tourism and aviation will be worth up to $305 billion. The same source also claims that the digital transformation of these sectors will bring benefits worth more than $700 billion to both their customers and society in general, and that intensive development of these sectors will result in the migration of around $100 billion in value from traditional businesses to their new digital competitors. These numbers are undoubtedly impressive and are great proof that nowadays there is no going back. Companies that want to stay on top and offer the best personalized experience to their customers simply need to adopt digital tools and approaches.
Growing expectations as the driver of change
Customers of modern travel agencies have very high expectations. They expect a more personalized offer, its convenient and clear presentation, and the possibility of accessing it anytime, anywhere. It is in this area, compared to other industries, that the travel sector has a lot of catching up to do. One of our clients, a travel technology company that develops software for the alternative accommodation sector and runs an online travel agency, is well aware of this. They came to us with the need for a scalable, high availability solution that would enable their customers to process a significant number of searches and transactions.
For this client, we created a dedicated booking engine designed to provide connected partners with access to search, immediate confirmation of availability, and the booking process for properties (vacation homes, villas, apartments, condos, holiday residences, and even castles).
Technology serving business
Using such technologies as Microsoft Azure, Azure API Gateway, and Elasticsearch, as well as agile development methodologies, we have delivered:
- API, that is a RESTful web service designed for easy deployment and use,
- internal applications such as Backoffice to manage reservations, transactions, and fees,
- administrative tools that allow you to easily check the current status of the entire system.
The engine we implemented guarantees the highest quality of user experience. The website created as part of the collaboration allows you to easily show all available data in one place and provides guests with the ability to make a reservation directly in the system.
Widespread digitalization is inevitable, and events such as the Covid-19 pandemic only confirm the need for gradual digitalization. Enterprises that embraced it early are now reaping the benefits, those that were hesitant know now that they have a lot of catching up to do. Although it is impossible to travel online, it is still possible, with the help of new technologies, to streamline several procedures or at least communication with customers. These are already the first steps towards improving the quality of customer service and increasing sales.
