Customers

Globally trusted travel technology provider

TravelStoreMaker.com provides its products & services to customers in Europe, The Middle East, North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia and Australia.

Travel agencies, tour operators, airlines, consolidators, web portals and corporations from all over the world have chosen TravelStoreMaker.com as their trusted travel technology provider.

Customers using TravelStoreMaker.com's Internet Booking Engine and XML API Middleware can be found in the following countries:

Case Study: Welcome Travel Group S.p.A. implements multi point ofsale software from TravelStoreMaker [1]

[1]Based on an Interview with Adriano Apicella, President, Welcome Travel

By: Bob Offutt, Principal, Travel Technology Consulting

Introduction: The Welcome Travel Group is the largest travel distribution chain in Italy. Operating under a consortium model, Welcome Travel includes 3 networks of over 2,500 travel agencies. Welcome Travel is controlled by the Alpitour Group and Costa Cruises, two leaders in Italian leisure products.

Welcome Travel recently implemented Multi Source, Multi GDS software from TravelStoreMaker. This case study will explore why Welcome Travel chose TravelStoreMaker, if the proposed benefits have been realized and what is in store for the future.

Before: Welcome Travel operated different software systems for each of its lines of business: B to B for Travel Agencies, B to C as an Online Web Site and B to B for managed business travel. Each system was independent and loosely connected to the others.

Why Welcome Travel Selected TravelStoreMaker?Welcome Travel felt the competitive pressure of Online Travel Agencies and desired a service option that would allow it to compete effectively. In addition, TravelStoreMaker was needed to offer direct access to the reservation systems of the growing number of low cost carriers emerging in Europe. TravelStoreMaker also provided multiGDS access, giving Welcome Travel flexibility for future operations. With this multi GDS and low cost carrier access, TravelStoreMaker provided a unique capability to construct trips one leg at a time from any of the content sources. One of the value added capabilities that TravelStoreMaker offered was a direct connection to an Italian bank for payment for guaranteed rates and fares, eliminating fraud.

Figure 1: The example illustrates a round trip flight option that is a combination of one-way low-cost flight on the outbound portion and a one-way regular flight on the inbound. One way combinations, especially with low-cost flights on one of the legs often provide better price for the end customer. Ability to provide one-way combinations with real time seat availability and utilizing multiple content sources on the very same result page is one of the unique features of TravelStoreMaker.com booking platform.

After: Customers can enjoy good service from Welcome Travel, regardless of the interaction point. Transactions booked online can be serviced through a traditional Welcome Agency or vice versa. Business travel reservations [using the TravelStoreMaker Corporate IBE Lite] can be serviced in a similar manner. The data is the same, regardless of the touch point.

Results: Revenue per Travel Agent and per Location has increased. Overall in 8 months, Welcome Travel’s volume has increased €$1 Million year over year.

One benefit from the TravelStoreMaker multi source content engine is the ability to see the published rates for the same hotel from multiple sources (see figure 1). After 6 months of testing, in 90% of the cases, Welcome Travel has found that TravelStoreMaker finds and displays the lowest bookable rate.

The Future: Welcome Travel is looking forward to planned TravelStoreMaker improvements, including redesigned graphics for the web interface, better hotel listings, integration of TripAdvisor and a mobile access capability. Welcome Travel is working with TravelStoreMaker to include TrenItalia content in its platform.

Further extending its content scope and providing differentiating customer value, Welcome Travel is in the process of launching TravelStoreMaker’s air charter system which will be integrated seamlessly with scheduled air and the TrenItalia rail content. The result will be that when a search is made for flights, GDS, LCC, Rail and Charters will be shown in the same display (see figure 2).

Figure 2: TravelStoreMaker.com is a Multi-Modal travel provider. The example illustrates ability to combine in one booking option flight, transfer from airport to rail station, and rail to the final destination, offering lower price together with the convenience to have all portions of the trip booked and paid in one reservation.

Bob Offutt

Bob is currently a principal in a Texas based consultancy, Travel Technology Consulting.
He also supports PhoCusWright as a Senior Technology Analyst and as the Editorial Director of and frequent contributor to PhoCusWright’s Innovation Edition. The holder of 12 patents relating to travel distribution and fulfillment, Bob was most recently the Chief architect and senior vice president for Sabre Holdings where he defined the strategy and plan to migrate from a monolithic Mainframe environment to Distributed Open Systems and a Service Oriented Architecture. Prior to being Sabre's chief architect, Bob founded and led Sabre Labs, a technology incubator that made Sabre the industry leader in new Online products and services. Before Sabre, he spent 26 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he led the agency's information Technology unit. Bob has also served on the faculty of the University of Puget Sound, George Washington University and the University of Southern California. His education includes a BS in Engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and a Masters Degree in Management Science from the U. S. Navy Postgraduate School. Bob represents over 20 years of experience in information technology, IT management and travel industry dynamics.