travel tech insights

Think about the idea of a closet organizer: A device with a pre-built structure where you can easily view, store, and retrieve any number of clothing items from shoes to gloves to hats. A closet organizer not only helps you keep your closet space neat and tidy, but it also helps you know at any given time what clothing items you have on hand, in what condition, and what items you lack and may need to acquire given the time of year.

The way a closet organizer helps you assess your wants and needs for clothing functions very similar to  continuously cleaning and mapping their content databases for travel agents. Much like how your organizer keeps you up to date on your clothing inventory, content database mapping is a critical function for agents to ensure updated, accurate information about the products and services available from suppliers and for customers. Continuously mapped databases also ensures travel agents won’t miss out on the latest and greatest offers from suppliers, book inaccurately allocated hotels or accommodations, or be bogged down by slow search response times in their booking engine, travel ERP suite, or other technologies.

It’s something we’ve all experienced before: You input the wrong address on your GPS and you suddenly find yourself completely lost in an unfamiliar section of town. It’s easy to get frustrated and blame the GPS for this error, however, the GPS didn’t know you entered the wrong address - rather, it simply directed you to the right location based on the information you provided. This equates to lost time, more money spent on gas, and more wear and tear on your car.

Sounds familiar, right? This same concept holds true when it comes to content mapping for travel agencies. The process of content mapping - which helps travel agencies and suppliers coordinate the availability, inventory, and pricing of various accommodations and services - is much like using your GPS to help you get to where you’re going. Enter the right information and the GPS is likely to guide to your destination quickly and efficiently. On the other hand, enter the wrong information, not enough information, or poorly sourced information and you’re likely to lose your way entirely. A content database that is not consistently mapped can result in travel agencies using wrong or outdated information in their supplier and customer relations.

Imagine you’re driving through a new city trying to find a specific destination - a restaurant, a bookstore,  etc. You’re using your GPS but the street names on the GPS don’t quite match the names on the street signs: Sate Street instead of State Street, Min Avenue rather than Main Avenue, and so on. You make your best guess to align the names on the GPS with the names on the street, but this ultimately results in confusion, frustration, and wasted time, and it’s not long before you’re completely lost in an unfamiliar place without the resources to get to your destination.