In a series of articles, fvw presents tour operator software for small and medium-sized specialists. In this one, Jochen Eversmeier sat down with Nezasa CEO Manuel Hilty to ask about what TripBuilder and TripBooster can do. This is the translated version, you can find the original post here.

By Jochen Eversmeier

 

fvw: Mr. Hilty, what kind of tour operators do you want to address with TripBuilder?

Manuel Hilty, Nezasa: TripBuilder is a highly flexible booking system for personalised travel and is therefore suitable for anyone who wants to dynamically create and book personalised packages. Until now, the majority of TripBuilder customers have been medium-sized to large tour operators such as FTI, Diamir and Windrose, but there are also smaller tour operators such as GalapagosPro and Viamonda who are fully committed to this type of production.

 

What is TripBooster about?

TripBooster is a newly developed app for tailor-made sale of additional products that can be bought after the initial booking, especially during the trip. TripBooster is on the market since May 2019. The mobile application automatically generates personalized recommendations for additional products and sends them to the travelers. The recommendations can then be booked very conveniently via mobile phone by the travellers themselves before or on the trip. The booked products are automatically added to the existing travel plan. For the tour operators, this is an opportunity to benefit from in-destination business and to stay connected with their customers during the trip. For now, the app is limited to activities, but further travel products are to follow.

 

Who are the systems suitable for?

TripBooster is suitable for all tour operators who sell not only building blocks, but whole trips. We also offer TripBooster without TripBuilder, which means that an operator can upload their itineraries into TripBooster even if the trips have been booked through another system.

With TripBuilder it is important that this form of production – i.e. dynamic combination of components into a personalised travel plan – is wanted. For tour operators who want to produce mostly fixed offers, TripBuilder makes less sense.

 

How do organisers become bookable?

An Internet Booking Engine (IBE) for the direct sale to end customers and an extranet login for travel agency sales are also included in TripBuilder. In addition, a Stadis connection to the Amadeus Selling Platform is also possible.

 

What makes your system special?

We increase the personalisation of travel bookings. And we enable this personalisation by combining it with direct bookability.

 

How long does it take from the first meeting to the implementation?

In the case of TripBuilder, this depends strongly on the product that is sold. If all individual products come from sources that are already connected to Nezasa, implementation will take only a few months. For more complex set-ups, this can take longer depending on the specific plans.

TripBooster can be implemented within a few weeks as long as the operator sells trips from an activity bank. If the operators have their own inventory, the duration depends on the source of said inventory.

 

How much money does an organiser have to invest?

For TripBuilder, the fixed costs start at 3.500 Euro per month for small and medium-sized organisers, plus a fixed transaction fee. A more flexible model, which will be more suitable for small customers, is in the working.

TripBooster has a revenue share model with very small monthly fees.

 

For whom is such an investment worthwhile?

For TripBuilder, it depends strongly on how much the existing processes need to be considered and how many own products exist. If the tour operators are prepared to alter their processes in order to adapt to the new possibilities, a very high efficiency is possible and they will profit from immediate bookability – even for personalised trips.

For TripBooster, the initial investment is very low and should therefore quickly pay off for most tour operators. After all, TripBooster is not about existing but additional business.

 

What yield control options does your system offer?

In TripBuilder, margins can be set per product category, allowing to take into account time and geography.

 

How does the system help to obtain the required content?

We offer connections to various content systems, for example various bed banks, air platforms including the flight wholesaler Aerticket, activity banks such as Hotelbeds and Viator, transfer providers such as Holiday Taxis, and rental car providers such as Sunny Cars. We will also soon be connected to the Peakwork system landscape.

 

What options do the organisers have that they didn’t have before?

With TripBuilder, the operators can make individual trips bookable in real time and with TripBooster, they can earn money even during the trip.

 

This article was written by Jochen Eversmeier and appeared on www.fvw.de on 17 June 2019. You can read the article in German here.