Build, buy or replatform

In short

The decision that comes before every other one here: where an off-the-shelf operator system genuinely fits, what a custom build has to earn back to be worth it, and how you get off spreadsheets or a white-label script without losing ten years of bookings.

2 pages

diagnostic

Bookings confirm on your site and the supplier has no recordA confirmation email proves the checkout finished, not that a supplier accepted anything. Here is the timed comparison that shows whether your booking script reads live availability or a copy.diagnostic10 min

definition

The reservation system of record: which system may change a bookingThe system of record is not the prettiest system or the one everyone logs into. It is the single system permitted to change a booking's state, and there can only be one.definition6 min

Other topics in Travel & Tourism

See all

From enquiry to confirmed bookingThe commercial funnel a trip business actually runs on: capturing an enquiry, routing it to the right consultant, answering fast enough to matter, chasing the quote that went quiet, and giving trade agents a channel with its own rules.3 pages Itinerary building and the trip data modelHow a multi-day trip is represented before anyone prices it — components, days, templates, variants, versions and the client-facing proposal — and why the model chosen here decides what quoting and operations are able to do later.4 pages Letting a model draft the tripWhere AI belongs in trip planning and where it does not: grounding a draft in inventory you actually hold, keeping prices and availability out of the model's hands, reviewing before a client sees it, and measuring whether a prompt change helped or only changed things.4 pages Quoting, costing and where the margin goesThe engine that turns a shaped trip into a number: per-pax and per-departure costing, seasonal rate cards, markup versus commission, group and child tiers, and knowing the margin before the quote goes out rather than after the trip has run.1 page

Working on something in this space?

Tell us where you are in a sentence or two. We'll tell you honestly whether we're the right team, and what a sensible first slice of the work looks like.

Start the conversation