Travel agents have a lot on their plate. They need to juggle multiple clients, bookings, client information, payments, and deadlines all while trying to provide the best possible service. This can be a lot to handle without some sort of organization and that’s where best project management software for travel agents come into picture!
Project management software can help you organize and manage your business more efficiently and provide a number of features and tools to help you provide a better service for your clients.
In this blog post, we will take a look at why travel agents need project management software, what are some of the top project management software for travel agents, and how to choose the best one for your business. 
What’s the need of Project Management Software For Travel Agents?
When it comes to managing a travel agency, there are a lot of moving parts– making it way too easy for travel agents to become chaotic and disorganized. In this case, project management software for travel agents proves to be the savior.
Everything on project management software is hands-on. They are supposed to help you work more without burning yourself out. Also, if you have remote teams, project management software can be your “online office.” This is where everything is gathered; your teams, tasks, and customers.
Let’s dive into some reasons why your travel agency needs to leverage project management software.
Keep Track of a Project
As we mentioned, travel agents have a lot to keep track of. Project management software can help you keep track of everything in one place and make sure nothing falls through the cracks.
In addition, project management software can help you manage your time more effectively. With all of your bookings, deadlines, and client information in one place, you can easily see what needs to be done and when. This can help you avoid double booking or missing deadlines.
Improve Customer Experiences
Project management software can help you create a better customer experience. You can find and gather all the required information about your clients using a search tool like Instant CheckMate. With all of your client information in one place, you can quickly and easily access everything you need to know about a client.
This includes contact information, booking details, preferences, and more. This can help you provide more personalized and efficient service.
As a travel agent, you are likely already using some sort of customer relationship management (CRM) software to manage your clients and their information. However, CRM software only goes so far.
A project management software can do everything that a CRM does but also provides features and tools specifically designed to help with the booking process and to manage multiple bookings at once.
Easier File Sharing
Travel agencies involve a lot of files; invoices, customer data, booking data, even a promotional explainer video project for your marketing strategy– you name it. A standalone file-sharing software might seem like a good option, but project management software is a more practical one.
Project management software for travel agents offers storage where travel agents can share those files, make changes, leave feedback, and annotate easily. It also ensures transaction transparency within the team.
Effective Task Delegation
Project management software, in general, can bring together your entire team. Once they are on board, you can easily delegate project tasks to them and find who is currently available.
This way, there is no confusion regarding who gets to access what and who’s in charge of what task. Also, it ensures that no one is overloaded with too many tasks– everyone can see the workload of each member of the team.
Most underrated feature of Project Management Software for Travel Agents: Better Budget Management
Just as the name suggests, project management software for travel agents is designed to allow its users to manage every resource at hand.
All the features that they provide aim to reduce the tendency of projects to go off the track– which can cost a lot. This is how you can have better, more efficient budget management.
Improve Planning and Scheduling
Planning and scheduling are extremely important aspects of businesses in the travel and tourism industry. Meeting with clients, sending data to suppliers, etc.
With project management software, every travel agent can plan their daily, weekly, and even monthly activities. It also offers a feature where they can set priorities for their tasks and keep a record of how the entire day is to be managed.
Brainstorm and Communicate Smoothly
There is a lot of buzz and chirping going around when you are working in teams. The blank field in the customer’s information, some confusion of schedule, and quick questions for booking details can be quite daunting and kill a lot of the time if you have to have a meeting just to sort those issues out.
Project management software can bring an end to the chaos in managing those kinds of questions and quick conversations.
Most of them come up with collaboration and communication tools where you and your team can work together simultaneously without any limitations. This surely helps to avoid any misinformation and misinterpretation that can cost a lot of time.
Streamline Travel Processes
Every customer that comes to you to book their trip has unique needs. It’s your job to keep all those specific needs within your reach. Project management software that is designed specifically for travel agents often includes all-in-one tools for travel management.
From booking to invoices, to even coordinating schedules, all features mostly make the process of planning a trip for their customers much more simple. Travel agents only need to use one software, and they should be ready for the business.
What Are Top Project Management Software for Travel Agents?
Now that we understand what project management software brings to the table for travel agents, let’s look at some of the top options on the market.
We’ve listed some top project management software with varying levels of functionality. Some of them are best suited for businesses from different industries— as they offer basic but essential daily features for managing projects. Some others are specifically designed for travel agents, where CRM, itinerary, and quote creation features are involved.
#1. Nifty
Nifty is a project management software that helps you manage your projects, customers, and the team all in one place. Nifty is a great option for small- to medium-sized travel agencies. It is affordable and includes all of the features you need to manage your projects and clients effectively.
It includes features such as task management, collaboration tools, file sharing, time tracking, and more. Nifty also offers a number of integrations with other business software to help you streamline your workflow.
Pricing:
- A free version is available
- Starter plan $39/month
- Pro plan $79/month
- Business plan $124/month
- Unlimited $399/month
👉 Ready to take your travel work to the next level? Get started with Nifty for free today!
#2. Technoheaven TMS
Technoheaven TMS is a project management software designed for travel companies to manage leads, streamline follow-ups, respond to queries, automated email replies, etc.
It is highly customizable and includes features such as task templates, estimates and invoicing, Gantt charts, reporting tools, email integration, and more.
The software also offers many integrations with travel portals like Khayii and some supplier integrations to give your customers the best travel experience.
Pricing: Technoheaven TMS provides custom pricing for their software.
#3. Mavenlink
Mavenlink is a project management software that helps you manage your teams effectively and efficiently. The software includes functionality for managing projects, tasks, clients, and time tracking in one place.
Features include task templates, reporting tools, and email integration, among others. Mavenlink also has a clean, straightforward interface that is easy to use for beginners, even pros.
Pricing:
- Teams: $19/month – Up to five users, collaboration tools, task management features
- Professional: $39/month/user – All previous features, time tracking
- Premier: Contact for pricing – All previous features, financial tracking, resource planning
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing – All previous features, business intelligence
#4. Basecamp
Basecamp is a project management software that can help you put everything you need to get to work for the travel agency in one place.
It’s designed for businesses to complete basic daily tasks, project tracking, and schedules regardless of the industry they belong to. They have all those basic tools that all teams need to work together.
With Basecamp, now you know who handles the itinerary, who takes care of the customer’s information, and who’s in charge of calling the travel suppliers. It keeps everything organized by default.
Pricing:
- Basecamp Personal: limited, but free.
- Basecamp Business: $99/month flat.
#5. Dolphin Dynamics
Dolphin CRM is a project management software that helps independent travel agents and tour operators automate processes and drive conversions.
It includes functionality for managing projects, tasks, contacts, and time tracking in one place. Features include task templates, reporting tools, and email integration, among others.
Pricing: Starts at $105.00 per month. They do not have a free version. Dolphin CRM does not offer a free trial.
#6. Hero Travel
Designed specifically for travel agencies and activity resellers, Hero is an all-in-one ticketing, payment, and booking solution that allows businesses to streamline their workflow in one single software.
Key features include itinerary creation, payment processing, and quotes or estimates. With Hero Travel, you can also send personalized eQuotes, eTickets, and eReceipts with travel itineraries.
Pricing: Hero is available for free.
#7. TripIt
TripIt is a trip planning and itinerary management software that helps you organize, coordinate travel plans, and keep track of all your bookings in one place.
It also allows you to share your itineraries with clients quickly, so they can have all the details of the travel plans.
Pricing:
- TripIt’s basic service is free.
- TripIt Pro has an annual standard subscription rate of $49.
#8. Xero Projects
Xero is robust accounting software with a number of helpful features for project management– called Xero Projects. This software is more suitable for smaller businesses, from sole travel agents to mid-size.
You can use it for basic project management, collaborate with team members, and keep track of all your clients and bookings. Xero Projects also offer tools that are more focused on the financial side of project management.
Pricing:
- Starter $22USD/month.
- Standard $35USD/month.
- Premium $47USD/ month.
#9. ProofHub
ProofHub may be a project management software you’re looking for if you want to focus on keeping everyone on your team in sync and more productive.
The workflows and kanban boards allow you to move the task to a subsequent stage making sure the entire process keeps working smoothly.
With the file-sharing feature, this software also makes it much easier for you and your team to bring not only customers’ documents but also all the marketing collateral materials like brochures, templates, web graphics, PDFs, and more to one central place.
Pricing:
- Essential plan: $50.00/month billed monthly or $45.00/month billed annually.
- Ultimate Control plan: $99.00/month billed monthly or $89.00/month billed annually.
#10. TravelPerk
From booking to managing, TravelPerk makes every task your travel agency has so much more doable and organized. You can view, track, and manage all your travellers’ data in real-time. No more emailing back and forth.
The most interesting thing that this software has is that you can track how much money is being spent per stakeholder with the online booking tool.
Pricing:
- Free €0/ trip.
- Premium €15/ trip.
- Pro €25/ trip.
How to Choose the Right Project Management Software?
It can be difficult to choose the right project management software. This is because project management software is a vast field with a variety of options, each claiming to be the best.
The best project management software for travel agents should help you manage your business and stay organized at the same time. It’s also the one that can match your budget and fulfill your travel agency’s needs.
Here are a few important things to keep in mind when choosing the best project management software for your travel agency.
Set a Budget
How much money can you spend on project management software? There are some open-source software as well as ones that cost thousands of dollars with varying levels of features and functionality.
A free or more affordable project management software can help you with basic daily tasks. It’s more suitable for a smaller team. But, if you have a bigger team and need more advanced features, investing in more expensive software can be a good option.
Understand Your Needs and Preferences
Understanding all the needs and preferences will help you choose the right project management software with the right features and requirements.
If you rely on the software simply for to-do lists and assignments, the go-to project management software, Nifty, might be the right fit for you.
But, if you want software that is specifically designed for travel agents with more specific features, you can consider using TripIt Pro or Dolphin CRM.
Take a Look at Reviews
It’s a good idea to do a little research and find out what other people think about the project management software you’re considering. You’ll understand all of the advantages, features, and even catches of one specific software as well as the most helpful features according to their users.
You can also talk to other people in your business to find out what they think about project management software. These people might have some good insights about project management software that can help you choose the best project management software for your business.
It’s also a good idea to talk to other travel agents and see if they have experience with project management software.
Is It Easy to Use?
A great project management software is one that your whole team has no problem utilizing its features. The ease of use is definitely a consideration here. Make sure that everyone on your team understands how to use features hassle-free so they can effortlessly get their full potential from them.
Remember that your travel agency business doesn’t always require complex tools to complete a task. Even a simple interface combined with straightforward features may be what you’ve been looking for.
Use Free Trials
Not only a product demo video but most project management software also offer you a free trial to give you an insight into all the features before you commit.
You can sign-up for the free trial if you want to try the software before you buy it without any risk. Here, you can see what the interface looks like, how it functions, and how you personally will interact with it.
Conclusion
Running a travel agency requires synergy between different departments. Not only do you have to set up a team that can take care of the travel bookings of your customers, but you also need people who can handle the hotel reservations and other itineraries. This is where project management software plays an important role.
The well-chosen project management software not only improves your teamwork and streamlines all the workflow, but also results in more satisfied, happy customers– which can lead to a more meaningful customer-agency relationship. With all those points mentioned above, now you have a more solid understanding of how project management software can save the day, what is worth considering in the market, and even how to choose the right one.
