Tramada Systems and Axus Team Up to Power Dynamic Digital Itinerary Delivery
Content-rich, interactive mobile itineraries offer travel agents more customer impact and engagement with less time and effort.
Secaucus, New Jersey (December 9, 2019) Northstar Travel Group announced today that AXUS, its premier itinerary building and collaboration system for travel planners and tour operators, will integrate enhanced functionality with Tramada Systems, the Australian-based travel technology provider. The integration provides travel advisors using the tramada® suite of booking and financial tools with elegant new solutions for delivering itineraries and communicating with clients.
AXUS’s cloud-based platform now seamlessly generates polished digital itineraries from imported tramada bookings and distributes them via mobile app, custom web link or sleek PDF, allowing travelers to access and interact with their itinerary anytime, anywhere.
The app includes an extensive set of intuitive features for travelers, including flight status alerts, destination guides, real-time updates, and embedded chat functionality that helps them stay connected to both their travel companions and booking agent during the planning process as well throughout the travel journey.
“Collaboration and communication are essential to building strong customer relationships,” explains Greg Wilshire, Director of Business Development for AXUS. “Beyond merely simplifying the itinerary generation process and providing a valuable, user-friendly mobile tool, AXUS fosters the type of open conversation between agents and travelers that results in exceptional travel experiences and ongoing loyalty.”
Custom branding options help agents reinforce that loyalty with a consistent brand presence across all client materials.
Work smarter, sell faster, deliver more.
With 9.5 million Australians traveling overseas in 2018 and fast growth expected, agents are quick to recognize the need to deliver a superior product to stay competitive with travelers.
“More than 70% of international travel out of Australia is booked through AFTA travel agents,” says Susan Enners, Country Manager, Australia and New Zealand, for Tramada Systems. “With this AXUS integration, our users receive yet another way to differentiate themselves and provide best-in-class service to their travelers, while continuing to enjoy all the benefits of tramada’s workflow tools and robust business intelligence systems.”
The partnership demonstrates another step by AXUS toward creating the industry’s most efficient and inclusive end-to-end workflow for travel agents and tour operators, connecting back-end data, reporting and financials with automated booking management and final document delivery. Current AXUS users report as much as a 60% reduction in the time it takes to prepare customer documents compared with former processes, freeing agents to spend more time focusing on sales and strengthening relationships.
Penny Spencer, Managing Director of multi-award winning TMC Spencer Travel, explains, “We had been using AXUS Travel App enhanced itineraries for some time before the Tramada integration, and we already knew that our clients love the polished, professional, content-rich itineraries and mobile phone app. Now with the direct upload from tramada, all our booking segments are transferred directly into the AXUS workspace which saves significant consultant effort and improves data accuracy. For our agency, it’s another example of how Tramada integrates with best-of-breed industry applications to deliver solutions that fit our business and that exceed the expectations of our clients.”
AXUS is already the preferred partner for a global network of major travel brands in addition to key consortia including Virtuoso and Signature Travel Network.
“We’re extremely pleased that a whole new community of agents and travelers will experience the power and ease of AXUS,” says Sheila Rice, Vice President of Information Products at Northstar Travel Group, which acquired AXUS in 2017. “We have seen the transformative effects that thoughtful, innovative technology can have on our industry and know that our response to the traveler’s growing demand for information and collaboration on their own terms is the agent’s key to success in the future of travel.”
About Tramada Systems
tramada® is an advanced post-booking management system that streamlines travel operations, data management, document production, and travel accounting. tramada is GDS agnostic, NDC capable, and integrates with over 50 products, including online booking tools, mobile solutions, and expense systems. The modular design makes it easy to add the latest applications while automated service fees, markup tools, and commission management features increase revenue and drive down costs. Tramada Systems enables TMCs to efficiently manage post-booking processes such as service fees, itineraries, invoicing, reporting, duty of care, and more for both NDC and (traditional) GDS bookings. Tramada Systems has long been the leading provider at its home in the Australasia region and is quickly gaining recognition and adoption in North America. Learn more at tramada.us.
About AXUS
AXUS automates itinerary creation and delivers a content-rich, interactive mobile itinerary so travel advisors and tour operators can devote more time to selling travel and building stronger relationships with clients. Learn more at www.axustravelapp.com.
About Northstar Travel Group
Northstar is the owner of well-known brands including Travel Weekly, TravelAge West, Business Travel News, Successful Meetings, Meetings & Conventions, Travel Weekly China, Incentive, M&C China, Web in Travel and the events that comprise the Burba Hotel Network. The company produces more than 84 face-to-face events in 11 countries in retail travel, hospitality and hotel investment, corporate travel, travel technology, sports travel, and the meetings and incentives industry. In addition, Northstar owns Phocuswright, the leading research, business intelligence, and event producer serving the fastest growing segment of the travel industry, online travel distribution. Northstar is also the majority shareholder in Inntopia, the leading SaaS e-commerce software, CRM database marketing and predictive analytics business serving the mountain destination, activities, and specialty destination travel markets. Based in Secaucus, NJ, the company has offices in New York, NY; Stowe, VT; Denver, CO; Edwards, CO; Los Angeles, CA; Costa Mesa, CA; Lombard, IL; and global offices in Singapore, Beijing, and Shanghai. Northstar Travel Group is owned by funds managed by EagleTree Capital.
About EagleTree Capital
EagleTree Capital, formerly Wasserstein Partners, is a leading independent private equity and investment firm, focused primarily on leveraged buyout investments and related investment activities. EagleTree manages capital on behalf of institutional and individual investors. The firm is focused on investments primarily in the media and communications, consumer products, and water and industrial sectors. EagleTree is located in New York.
About Spencer Travel
Spencer Travel is a world-class corporate travel agency established in 1998 by travel business veteran Penny Spencer. Well known for its uncompromising focus on service excellence, the agency has won numerous awards for its outstanding service and staff members including Best Corporate Travel Agency (Single Location) in AFTA’s National Travel Industry Awards (NTIA) four years in succession, and was the first agency to be inducted into NTIA’s prestigious Hall of Fame. Since 2003, Spencer Travel has been one of only 100 Australian agencies who are part of the invitation-only Qantas Agent Platinum Club as well as other prestigious travel affiliations such as British Airways Prestige, Emirates Preferred, Four Seasons Preferred Partner, Virtuoso, Starwood Luxury Privileges, and Mandarin Oriental Club. For more information, please telephone +61 (0) 2 9281 5477, email contact@spencertravel.com.au, or visit spencertravel.com.au.
