Travelling is everybody’s favorite thing to pursue in this era of luring travelling pictures on Instagram. Travel for leisure, business trip, or for some international conference- the pursuit has become an integral part of our ever-mobile lives. Digitization, like any other industry, has a significant impact on this business sector as well.
Online travel booking is no longer a term of the future. Apps like Expedia,Travelocity, Make My Trip, Booking.com are the popular names in the market. People are leveraging these technologies for booking hotels, flights, renting cars, and much more.
As per a report by Statista, only 22% of the US adult population opt for an offline mode of booking, and the rest 88% like to do everything with a few swipes on their mobile screens.
So, if you are a travel agency who wishes to give a face to their business in the digital world, or an individual looking to tap into this sector with a fine looking app like Travelocity then, it is the time. In this article, we have covered all the nooks and corners involved in developing an app like Travelocity.
But first let’s begin with getting to know this giant called Travelocity.
What is Travelocity?
Travelocity app provides the travelers with a facility of searching and booking flights and hotels. The software comes with a powerful feature-kit and exclusive deals with a value guarantee. With this fantastic solution, the users can have an overall feel of the hotel right from their mobile screen. Colorful pics, and trusted feedback are some of the things a user would get to see upon checking out a hotel on the app. The application offers various functionalities including flight booking, hotel booking, rental cars, vacation booking, last minute deals, and much more.
Factors to be considered before developing a Travel Application like Travelocity
Development of a travel application like Travelocity requires the attention of various aspects, the important of which are listed below:
1. Know Your Competition
Before stepping into any business it’s crucial to know your competition well. Dig deeper into their design, their services, covered market area and many other factors. After that, have a design which is simple and intuitive enough to lure your customers.
2. Homepage is a Primary Requirement
Homepage is the welcoming screen which users would witness upon visiting the travel application. The page must cover all the functionalities and features that the app covers. It must highlight all the exciting offers that the software frequently offers.
3. Don’t Forget the Menu Bar
The menu will possess everything the application has to offer. It must incorporate options like Home, My Profile, Exciting Offers, GeoMaps, Make Bookings, and so much more.
4. Content is the Soul
Content, by a wide margin is a vital aspect in any online business. When a travel app is concerned, design different categories of content- blogs, infographics, and much more by displaying all the information creatively. Allow the user to have a deep insight into your operations with the help of an interactive content
5. Responsivity makes the Final Call
Regardless of whether your solution supports an iOS or Android platform, it is important to ensure that your app fits all the sizes of screens. Therefore, build a fine launch screen for the software.
Features to be integrated in a Travel Software like Travelocity
Admin Panel
1. Login
The first step to access the travel application is to login using the credentials provided by the development team. After logging in, the admin can manage all the features for providing a seamless experience to their customers.
2. Push Notifications
Admin can send notifications about the discount offers, updated versions of app, new venue addition, and much more with a travel booking software.
3. User Management
Admin can manage all the users, their profiles, trip mades, cancelled bookings, offers availed, and whatnot using a powerful travel application like Travelocity.
4. Manage Hotel
Manage all the hotels, and resorts added through this panel. Avail all the information related to a property, along with the number of guests visiting in a centralized dashboard integrated in the admin panel.
5. Manage Flights
Admin can easily add the details of flights, or may opt for integrating with different airline companies to make the most of thf flight booking system.
6. Add Blogs
For encouraging the travel bug in users, admin adds various kinds of travel blogs some of which talks about details of venue, true exciting travel stories, foriegn cuisines, extra activities through this exciting software.
7. Weather Estimates
Provide an estimate of weather conditions in different tourist areas added into the application. This feature would help the travelers to decide when and how they should carry the excursion.
8. Feedback
Monitor all the feedback provided by users to overall improve the application’s service, interface, and experience.
Service Provider Panel
1. Register Hotel
The first thing that a service provider like a hotelier must do is to create an account and register their hotel. The owner details in addition to other basic information is crucial for being part of the application.
2. Hotel Description
Add the relative details of a hotel in the portal. Share its location on the maps, in addition to room availability, and insights of the hotel in the portal.
3. Accommodation Availability
The service provider panel must show the accommodation availability on a particular date/ week/ month. This facility would help in conveying information to the customer quite clearly.
4. Booking Management
Manage all the customers booking with a feature-rich travel software. The registration is confirmed immediately, when the user makes a booking. The service provider can cancel all the bookings upon requirement using the portal. Also, it helps in keeping a track of all the bookings on a weekly/monthly/yearly basis.
5. Share Pictures
A picture speaks a thousand words. The hotelier shares pictures of their property for providing an insight into the hotel environment to the users. This would help the users to find out whether they would like to stay at the described place or not even before they step out of their home.
6. Notification Panel
When a customer makes a booking, the service providers must be notified via the email or the notification panel.
Customer Panel
1. Sign-Up
After installing a travel app, the first stage the user must cross is to register into the application.They have to provide basic details like name, email, contact no, and other such information for availing the complete experience of a travel app.
2. Search your Flights
Once the user has successfully logged into the application, they can search for popular destinations and henceforth, look for flights based on their arrival and departure times, date and make the booking.
3. Book Hotels
Explore all the hotels globally and filter them based on price, customer reviews, and discount offers. Get to know the insides of a hotel by checking out the pictures available in the application. Also, the past guest reviews are also a good source of gaining insights. The app also enables a faster checkout option for making payments.
4. Reserve a Ride
Reserve a ride for an traversing through the city by a few taps. Customers can make the booking even at the last moment, with no cancellation fee. However, this option should be available upto a limit. Post that, it is important to charge the customers for preventing the exploitation of services provided.
5. Explore Activities
Users can explore various activities such as local attractions, local shows with a travel booking application. Explore local hottest areas and score discounts upon visiting them.
6. Real-time Updates
Have all the details of the complete trip, right from gate changes to the baggage carousel numbers in the real-time by a few taps.
7. Rate & Review
Rating and review is a significant part of any travel application portal. It allows the users to rate the services as per their quality standards. The portal is integrated with different kinds of ratings- star rating, price review score, top picks, etc. The review section is present at the end of a hotel description. These reviews build credibility for travelers and help the service providers for improvising their offerings.
How much does it cost to build a Travel Booking Software?
The cost to build an app like Travelocity depends on the below factors:
1. Platform of Development
App development cost is different for different platforms. A software developed on iOS platform costs a bit lesser than the one developed on Android. It is because the number of devices to be tested for an iOS platform are lesser than Android which in turn affects the cost of development.
2. Design of the Application
UI/UX of any application represents the business. If your software is powered by an interactive and compelling design, then you would have to put less effort for enhancing the user engagement. A great design is an output of experts leveraging finest tools, which ultimately costs a bit more.
3. Complexity of Features
Features make the heart of a travel application. The overall costing of the app would undoubtedly go higher with the number of features involved. The smartest way to trim down the costing is to integrate primary features in the basic version. Once the software reaches masses, you can introduce advanced features in the subsequent versions.
4. Development Resources
One of the crucial factors that decide the app costing is development resources which includes developers costing, region of development, expertise of coders, and their experience with the travel booking apps.
Some areas tend to charge more for a basic application, while others may offer a full-fledged software package at a cheaper range. To have a precise estimate, contact our experts at Matellio.
5. eWallet Integration
An eWallet is a great move in travel booking software. Including an eWallet into the app ensures seamless payments, in addition to offering numerous advantages. The application equipped with a mobile wallet is certainly going to cost more than the one which doesn’t.
Looking forward to building a travel app like Travelocity?
Share your requirements and Matellio would get back to you within 24 business hours. Matellio is a double-decade experienced software development studio with projects ranging from simplified to complex levels. Our development team involves skilled UI/UX designers, business analysts, experienced Android and iOS developers, QA experts. We leverage powerful technologies like AI, ML, IoT in addition to holding core expertise in web and software development.
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