Providing The Ultimate Travel Experience This Holiday Season

 

Following the height of the pandemic, 2022 has become “The Year of Travel” in more ways than one. Travelers are anxious to get back on the road, business travel is increasing, travel rates are climbing, and fraudsters are targeting the tourism and travel industries for their booming activity, leaving travel agents busier than ever. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the tourism and travel industries will contribute more than two trillion dollars to the US economy by the end of 2022. 

With the holiday season approaching and more than half of Americans preparing to travel at some point between Thanksgiving and New Year's, travel rates will continue to skyrocket, reaching levels the industry hasn’t seen in years. Fortunately, integrated solutions like Sertifi can make a travel agent’s life easier this holiday season. 

Reduce Time Spent on Administrative Tasks 

Travel agents can save time and money by streamlining their workflows with an all-in-one digital payment and agreement solution. Tasks that take up your day, like signing and sending documents back and forth between parties, can be alleviated by using Sertifi’s e-signature tool. Travel agents, customers, and vendors can easily share and sign digital contracts, itineraries, travel consent letters, travel package forms, healthcare information, and so much more anytime, anywhere, from any device. This leaves more time to be available to customers and concentrate on the growth of your business. 

Reinforce Your Value 

As the market grows and travel rates ramp up, being able to seamlessly share information with other hospitality and travel companies is a must. Software integrations connect and act as interpreters between travel agencies and suppliers, guaranteeing fast and efficient communication. Travel agents who use travel management software that integrates with Sertifi can take advantage of e-Confirmations. Sertifi’s e-Confirmations tool facilitates secure sharing of traveler credit card information from the travel agent to the hotel, creating a quick, seamless booking and payment process. With Sertifi, travel agents also have access to a growing list of travel management company (TMC) integrations offering more opportunities for fast communication with customers. Digital-first guests demand immediacy. Knowing that their travel agent uses a safe, automated platform like Sertifi, customers and vendors will be more likely to trust and enjoy doing business with you.
 

Keep Customer Information Secure 

With travel rates on the rise, fraudsters have been lurking around travel and booking websites waiting for an opportunity to strike – knowing that more than 45% of travelers plan to use them this holiday season. Some companies have attempted to do more business by streamlining their processes by ignoring gaps in their information and payment systems and not including security checkpoints, creating a space for fraud to occur. Those gaps allow fraudsters to hack into systems and steal customers’ payment information. By using Sertifi’s payment solution, complete with integrated processing capabilities with SertifiPay, payments are completed just as fast but in a secure, PCI-compliant manner, leaving little room for fraud to occur. By using a secure payments system, travel agents can remain credible and maintain positive relationships with customers and vendors. 

Provide The Ultimate Traveler Experience 

This year, the ability to travel has been a lifeline for so many. After the past few years of staying home, emotions are running high around the topic of travel. In fact, 68% of travelers said they plan to travel no matter what. But the drive doesn’t stop there. In the U.S., the number of in-person meetings and events increased by 190.5% in Q3 compared to Q3 2021. On top of that, 48 million hotel bookings have already been made globally for 2023 cementing the fact that travel rates of all types will continue to rise after the holiday season. With Sertifi, travel agents can choose to provide the ultimate travel experience and make it even easier for travelers to enjoy their journey faster.