TOUR operators, DMCs and travel agents seeking to book a lodge, hotel or guesthouse accommodation and update their Southern Africa itineraries in real time now have access to an online specialist tool that will save time, money and manpower. The Travia booking tool is supported in southern Africa by Go4itAfrica, a travel tech company based in Johannesburg. CEO of Go4itAfrica, James Elstob, explained: “The Icelandic travel and tourism market is very similar to that of southern Africa, so it made sense to offer this one-to-one direct contact B2B tool in this market.”

He said the Travia portal www.app.travia.is – in the process of being updated to reflect a more African “look and feel” – was “very user-friendly” as long as the users had Internet access. So it works well for SMMEs and smaller specialist accommodation providers and specialist agencies. Elstob pointed out that there were two types of users on the system – the accommodation providers and those needing to book accommodation as part of their customers’ itineraries.“Operators or agents on the portal will be able to see, in real-time, what rooms are available at their actual contracted rate.” This means that booking agents will always see the negotiated contracted pricing and rates between the agency and the accommodation provider.

Time-saver

Elstob said this saved considerable time as there was no need for a back-and-forth over different time zones and conversations between the accommodation provider and the agent/operator.“Often the delays due to the human interaction factor can result in lost bookings as the end customer accepts the quote from the agent who responds the fastest. This tool eliminates that risk as the operator can immediately see how many rooms are available and book them.”

Minimal costs

Elstob added that there were zero start-up and monthly costs. “Some of the larger agencies offer similar tools but at a much higher cost. For Travia the only cost involved is a R15 or €1 transactional fee. And, since Travia is new to SA, those utilising the tool will not pay a transactional fee for the first six months.” According to Elstob, this also works out considerably cheaper for both sets of users (buyers and sellers) as other booking engines – OTAs such as booking.com – charge up to 30% commission for a successful booking.A value-added benefit for accommodation providers is that they can also use Travia as a booking engine on their website, should they choose to provide direct booking access. Over 100 properties in southern Africa have signed up for Travia, along with several agents.

The evolution of self-service tech

Hoteliers now understand that guests are starting to prefer self-service options during their hotel stay. Online bookings and self-check-in kiosks at airports and hotels are taking the world by storm thanks to the vast range of advantages. The biggest one being increasing guest satisfaction. A single touch on the screen means having a better and transparent view of availability, amenities, services, and prices. This gives guests a sensation of having full control of their stay and the planning of activities.

Contact James Elstob: james@go4commerce.com

by Adele Mackenzie