How to Find the Best Tour Operator Software and Activities Booking Technology for You | Arival | The Resource for Tours, Activities, Attractions & In-Destination Experiences.

So you heard that online booking is one of the most important deciding factors for travelers.

Maybe you are among the more than half of all activity and tour companies currently not using online booking systems (according to Arival research). Or maybe you are dissatisfied with your current system and making plans for a change.

Deciding which tour operator software or activity booking platform to use is one of the most important decisions you will make for your business and for your guests. Tour booking systems play a crucial role in enabling businesses to manage and facilitate online bookings. Investing in good tour management software is essential to your business’ growth, as it can provide benefits to your operations including improved efficiency and enhanced customer experience.

But with so many options out there, how do you decide which one to choose?

This article walks you through what operator software is, some key benefits and tools it provides, and how to choose the best one for you. Then, we provide a roundup of some of the best available tours booking software options out there right now.

Editor’s note: We have recently released the Arival Guide: How to Choose a Booking System for more information about tour operator software, including a more comprehensive list of available booking system providers. Download it for free today!

What is Tour Operator Software?

Tour operator software is a type of technology that is used by businesses in the tourism industry to manage and facilitate the booking of tours and activities. Also referred to as tour reservation software, reservation technology (or restech), booking systems, or some combination of those terms, booking software for tour operators and activity providers encompasses a wide spectrum of solutions that help optimize various aspects of tour management, as we will explore further in this post.

Tour booking software is used by businesses in the tourism industry, such as activity and tour operators, attractions, travel agencies, and destination management companies in a variety of ways. For tour and activity operators specifically, some of the most relevant applications include: online booking management, integrations with online resellers such as OTAs, payment processing, customer service, and reporting and analysis, as outlined below.

Finding the right tour booking software for you can be the key to your success as a tour business, especially as more and more experience travelers are looking for the flexibility, convenience and cost-saving that online booking can offer.

Key Features of Tour Operator Tools

There are myriad features and functions of tour booking software, such as the ability to create and manage tour itineraries, process payments, and track bookings and customer information. Here are a few of the most important applications:

• Booking and Reservation Management – tour reservation software can help streamline your booking management by enabling your customers to book online, either directly through your website, or through integrations with resellers such as OTAs. It can also help you manage bookings made via emails, a call center or through a direct point of sale such as a storefront or activity desk, and ensure consistent pricing across all sales channels.
• Itinerary and Resource Management – some systems also include functionality to help you build and plan itineraries and proposals for custom tours, and can double as tour scheduling software to help manage products, calendars, availability and other resources such as guides/staff scheduling and equipment allocation.
• POS and Payment Processing – a robust operator software can help you manage all of your accounts, payment processing for POS (point of sale) and online bookings, invoicing, receivables and connect to a third-party accounting system.
• Customer Relations Management – many tour softwares also include CRM elements that automate emails or texts to customers before and after the tour or activity for better customer service and upselling. For example, you should be able to send a message with meeting point information the day of a booking, and automate requests for reviews post trip.
• Reporting and Analysis – tour operator software can enable you to better track and analyze booking data, costs and other key metrics across your business.
• Customer Feedback Platforms and Review Management – many tours booking software facilitate integrations with customer feedback platforms, such as Tripadvisor and Google for reviews.

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Benefits of Using Tour Operator Software

One of the key benefits of incorporating software in your business operations is: having a single source of information for your products, pricing, inventory availability and confirmed bookings, updated in real time, reduces the chances of overbooking and helps your team streamline the booking process.

Other benefits of using tour booking software include improving efficiency, saving on costs, enhancing your customer experience, and informing your business with data about your customers and sales. The usage of tour management software can increase bookings, make personalized marketing easier, and allow for a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t.

How to Choose the Right Product for Your Company

Selecting the right tour booking software is essential for your business. Here are some tips and guidelines for evaluating and comparing different software options.

There are several factors you should keep in mind when choosing a tour booking software for your business, such as functionality, user-friendliness, integration with other systems, and security. Start by determining your current pain points and biggest needs in order to work out which of the features outlined above are the most important for you to have. Here are a few of the top factors to consider:

• Cost: Different systems come with different pricing plans and models, most notably the fee-per-booking model, where you pay a percentage of every booking; or the subscription model, where you pay a set monthly or annual fee. Remember, though, that there is more to cost than price: the best solution should save you costs in other areas as well as increase your sales. (See also: the Arival Guide to Res System Pricing which provides a complete explanation of different tour operator software pricing models.)
• Customer Support: How responsive will the software provider be to you when you require assistance and support? How quickly do they respond to your messages or emails? What is the turnaround time like for requests? Keep in mind the process of contacting companies to demo their systems and ask questions can be a good early indicator for this.
• Integrations: Which ones will make managing your bookings easier? For example, while large tour operators may be looking to streamline their connectivity with a variety of resellers and payment platforms, for small tour operators software that streamlines the waiver signing process for guests could be an important need.
• Ease of Use: How easy is it to learn the new software, and how many different ways will your team need to use it? Will guides need to be trained to use the system on tour, and if so is it accessible enough for them to use in their environment — for example, on a phone while on a bus or boat or in a busy downtown area — and not just on a desktop computer in an office?
• And so on… the top factors will differ by company depending on your specific needs.

As the booking software you choose can have a major impact on your business management, operations and your team, be sure to take the time to conduct a thorough evaluation of different tour booking software options. Creating a list of desired features and functions, request demos from vendors, and ask for references from other businesses that use the software.

A forthcoming report from Arival — a comprehensive guide to choosing a booking system — will include some resources to help you through this process in more detail, including an internal needs assessment checklist, a vendor assessment checklist, and a full list of the booking and reservation system providers for tours, activities and attractions.

In the meantime, you can begin the process by exploring and demo-ing a few of the options out there. The following list should give you some ideas for where to start!

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35 Activity Booking & Tour Operator Software Options

Please note: Although some but not all of the providers listed here have been Arival sponsors, no company has paid Arival to be included here. The list is presented in alphabetical order.

Also, we know there are a lot more than 35 tour and activity operator software providers out there! This list focuses specifically on booking systems for day tours and activities (and does not include systems primarily focused on ticketing for attractions or multi-day tour operators*) and is intended to give you a good place to start and a bit of a flavor for each, but is by no means exhaustive. We will include a full list, including more details about the features and pricing structures of each, in our forthcoming booking systems guide and directory.

*(Multi-day tour operators: For a review of multi-day booking tech, visit this comprehensive resource from Arival: https://arival.travel/the-state-of-booking-tech-for-multi-day-tour-operators/ )

All that being said, operators: if you have had a positive experience with any tour booking systems that you don’t see on this list, or ResTechs: if we missed you, please let us know at [email protected] and we’ll be sure to include you in the full list when it’s out!

Choosing Your Tour Operator Software: What’s Next?

This article is intended to be a bit of a primer on tour operator software and activity booking systems, sort of like this social media primer. We’ve looked at what tour operator software is, some of the key features and benefits of software for tour operators, how to choose the right software for your company, and a list of some of the top tour booking systems out there currently.

We are in the process of preparing a more comprehensive step-by-step guide to choosing a booking system, which goes deeper into the evaluation process, from assessing your needs to evaluating booking system providers to understanding the different pricing models and plans, and will include a more in-depth directory of tour and activity booking systems (as well as ticketing systems for attractions). Look for this guide scheduled for release in early 2023!

Editor’s update: This guide is available now! Check out the Arival Guide: How to Choose a Booking System for more information about tour operator software, including a more comprehensive list of available booking system providers. 

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