Travel agents have reported that most of the mobile applications they use on a daily basis are indistinguishable from the apps any frequent travelers have on their smartphone's home screen: Google Maps, Google Translate, a weather app, a currency converter, social media, etc.
But when it comes to job-specific apps for agents, itinerary-management tools are king, and they are giving agents immediate access to their clients through their mobile phones.
Itinerary-management apps have a "wow factor," Libbie Rice, the co-president of Ensemble Travel Group, said recently.
The apps typically sync with an agent's GDS (which GDS varies with the apps) to make it easy to import trip information. Most enable agents to make live changes to clients' itineraries, and they include a chat function to encourage collaboration.
"I think the ability to communicate with your clients and give them changes and all of that works well with the apps that are out there," Rice said.
Some of the more popular names in the itinerary-management app sphere are Axus, UMapped and TripScope.
All of them enable agents to create itineraries their clients can access via a mobile app.
The itineraries can be changed easily, inviting agent-client collaboration on trips.
All three were part of Virtuoso's Incubator program, which selects new travel technology companies to be tested by its members; and all three went on to become Virtuoso partners.
David Kolner, Virtuoso's senior vice president of global member partnerships, said the three apps offer the same core functionality, mobile itineraries presented in-app, but each has a different interface and presentation, so Virtuoso advises its members to try all three before settling on one.
"There are idiosyncracies between them in terms of usability or features: the way that photos are presented, how easy it is to put information in," he said.
The one eventually chosen by agents tends to be the one that appeals most to their personal preferences, so that choice varies from individual to individual.
"They are really speeding up client interaction, itinerary updates and all those things far faster and beyond anything else that's in the market," Kolner said. "It's also one of the few things they can actually get clients to download and use, because it's worth it for the client."
Outside of the itinerary-management sphere, agents are increasingly using apps that enable international calling at rates lower than those offered by most U.S. wireless companies.
For example, users of the Wireless Traveler app can make international calls for as low as 2 cents per minute when they're connected to WiFi. The company also offers a white-label version of its app that some industry groups have embraced.
Some agents are even gifting their clients with in-app credit before their trip: then, not only can they call home, they can contact their agent if they run into any trouble.