How to navigate travel app overload

We all get bombarded by technology - and so do our clients. 

While it pays to stay on top of what consumers are looking at for booking purposes, there are many apps that can assist us in our daily work load, especially if we are working from home or on the road.

The 4 Ps

An easy way to sort through the jumble is to try and stick to the four Ps below:

• Purpose: Is it just a time-waster or does it have true purpose like an itinerary organizer?
• Passenger: Is it going to be helpful to share with your clients to use?
• Productivity: Will it help with efficiency - delivery of helpful information for you/client?
• Product Knowledge: Will it educate you or give you great tips to share with your client?

Let’s talk apps - those that organize travelers’ plans and itineraries on their mobile devices, providing real-time alerts to travellers and agents, including flight status updates, gate changes, delays and cancellations. Some well-known ones are: 

• TripCase (GDS Linked)
• Travelport Mobile Agent (GDS Linked)
• Google Trips

Packing list apps like Packpoint make it easy to ensure that you can send a list to a client or have them download it to be prepared for the activities they have booked. This is great for families and the busy last-minute packer who needs some guidance. Extra service goes a long way!

Currency exchange can always be a challenge because of changing rates but your bank’s app or the most commonly used app, XE Currency, can help clients navigate. It’s constantly being updated and offers live exchange rates for almost every world currency.

If a private transfer isn’t something your clients want to pay for, then suggest Uber/Lyft or city-based car share/pickup services. These are also great for getting around to those crazy tourism events that happen right after work! Google Maps and TripAdvisor are two of the big game players out there making planning a lot easier, but they can also be our direct competition, so know what you are playing against. Most clients these days have already searched Trip Advisor before they reach back to you with pricing. Be savvy, not resistant!

If your clients are travelling to a country where they don't speak the official language, suggest that they pack a few of the best language apps to translate on the go; you can also use them to brush up yourself or use them to translate documents from suppliers.

These include:

• Google Translate
• Duolingo
• Translate Voice

Need to talk but don’t have access to a regular phone line? While they generally a Wi-Fi connection, these apps are great at giving you options to stay in touch with clients while traveling:

• WhatsApp 
• Facebook Messenger
• Skype

If you are a tech-savvy agent, you might be familiar with many apps making your life easier and if you aren’t it’s time to make friends with technology - it will love you back!