Why Tour Operators That Go Paperless Are More Successful

Thanks to technological advances, companies operating in a wide variety of industries have gone paperless in recent years. Why? Because paper-dependent businesses can be inefficient and costly. In fact, it’s estimated that companies spend more than $120 billion each year on printed forms, most of which are outdated within just three months.

The tour booking industry is certainly no exception. Tour operators are constantly making reservations and booking rentals, which takes enormous amounts of paper when done manually. The good news? These processes can easily be digitized with an online tour booking software. We’ve outlined four major advantages to paperless tour booking so you can decide if it’s the right move for your business!

Spend less time and money on tedious administrative tasks

Tour operators that are paper-dependent are likely to be slower and more error-prone than those that utilize paperless tour booking. When you must manually keep track of every tour booking and/or activity booking, it takes your time and focus away from higher-value tasks, such as actually interacting with your customers. Additionally, unorganized filing and retrieval processes can result in lost productivity that frustrates both your employees and your customers. In fact, an average of four weeks is lost each year waiting on misfiled, mislabeled, untracked, or lost documents.

Minimizing these routine administrative tasks can save your business from wasteful spending. Say goodbye to purchasing cases upon cases of paper — plus buying and maintaining hardware like printers and photocopiers. Instead, paperless tour booking can be completed, confirmed, and shared with your customers immediately and from any location without the need for additional steps such as printing or copying.

Increase document organization and security

Online tour booking software can reduce long-term storage costs and space requirements for your company as well as allow you to access information almost instantaneously. Rather than spending time searching for a certain piece of paper in a filing cabinet, you can pull it up digitally in just a few clicks. In a paper-dependent organization, you can only access information if you’re in the same location that your documents are stored. On the other hand, digital files can be accessed from anywhere at any time.

Additionally, tour operators often have access to confidential information, such as a customer’s credit card number. Having this written down on paper simply isn’t secure, as there’s the risk of theft and natural disasters, such as a fire or flood, that could destroy your hard-copy paperwork to keep in mind. With paperless tour booking, digital documents can be protected remotely through cloud services or an off-site hard drive. Further security measures can also be implemented for an extra layer of protection, such as installing firewalls or setting strong password guidelines for all employees.

Optimize volume of tour booking and activity booking

Tour operators want to maximize their booking velocity to increase revenue and get the most out of their equipment. If a customer cancels or doesn’t show up for their tour booking, both the tour guide and any equipment they would have used will be sitting idle. If you’re only able to book reservations on paper, you’d have to wait for someone to physically walk into your business to make up that last-minute lost sale.

In the same situation, paperless tour booking would allow you to put that missed rental or tour back up for booking as soon as it happens. With Indexic’s online tour booking software, selling potential is maximized. You’re able to fill gaps, such as from someone returning a rental early, and cancellations — immediately.

Improve your customer experience

In today’s digitally-driven world, consumers place a heavy emphasis on convenience and accessibility. Think about how you’ve come to expect Amazon Prime’s delivery speed and can do everything from make restaurant reservations to purchase movie tickets online. Thanks to modern technology, tour booking and activity booking are no different.

By utilizing paperless tour booking, you aren’t limited to only making or changing reservations during business hours. Your customers will appreciate the convenience and flexibility of digital, immediate booking that can be done from any location without having to pick up the phone and wait for a tour guide to be available to speak with.

At Indexic, our free online booking software can help your business lower expenses and improve efficiency — while increasing bookings that drive revenue and enhancing the customer’s experience. We’re experts on the tourism industry, and we’re passionate about helping your business streamline operations to see increased success!

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