Travel agencies manage shared sales and operations inboxes securely by setting them up properly in Microsoft 365 as shared mailboxes with controlled access, protecting them with multi-factor authentication and managed email security, keeping them organised so nothing is missed as work passes between people and time zones, and training staff on the fraud that targets these busy addresses. For most agencies this is part of managed IT at about £45 to £100 per user per month.
Shared inboxes, sales, operations, bookings, are the nerve centre of a travel desk, where enquiries land and work is handed between consultants and offices. Run badly they become chaotic and a security risk; run well they keep the desk moving. Here is how to do it right.
Set them up as proper shared mailboxes
Shared addresses should be real shared mailboxes in Microsoft 365, with the right people granted access, rather than a password everyone knows or a personal account others log into. Proper shared mailboxes give controlled, individual access, a clear audit of who did what, and no shared passwords to leak when staff leave.
Secure them, because they are targeted
Busy shared inboxes are exactly where payment-fraud and phishing emails land, so they need the same protection as everything else: managed email filtering, multi-factor authentication on the accounts that access them, and monitoring. A compromised shared inbox can be used to defraud clients and suppliers, so securing it is essential.
Keep them organised so nothing slips
With many hands and several time zones, a shared inbox can become a black hole where messages are missed or double-handled. Clear processes, folders or categories, ownership rules, and sensible use of tools so people can see what has been actioned, keep things moving and ensure no enquiry or booking falls through the cracks.
Hand work over cleanly across time zones
For a global desk, shared inboxes are how work passes from one region to the next around the clock. A tidy, well-managed mailbox with clear status makes those handovers smooth, so the team in the next time zone picks up exactly where the last left off, and travellers get a smooth, consistent response whatever the hour.
Train the people who live in them
The staff working shared inboxes see the most phishing and fraud attempts, so awareness training and a strict bank-detail verification process matter most here. A team that knows to pause and verify a payment request, even in a busy shared inbox, is the best protection against the fraud aimed at these addresses.
What to ask a provider
A specialist for travel agencies should be able to answer:
- Have you supported travel agencies, hosted desktops and systems like Amadeus, Navitas, FareXpert or TRAMS before?
- How do you give office, remote and overseas staff secure, reliable access in any time zone?
- How do you protect us from invoice, supplier and crew payment fraud, and help with PCI DSS?
- What is your response time when a booking or payment is at risk, out of hours?
- Is the price clear and per user, with security included rather than charged separately?
Where to start
If you are not sure where your agency stands, a short review is the quickest way to find out: confirm multi-factor authentication is on for every account including overseas machines, check that booking systems and backups are managed and test-restored, confirm a strict bank-detail verification process is followed every time, and make sure only approved software can run. Those few steps remove most of the risk and show where a travel-aware managed setup pays off.
The bottom line
When a travel agency’s IT is right, the business simply runs: people in every office and time zone reach the same fast systems, payments go where they should, threats are caught early, and travellers get answers whatever the hour. The technology fades into the background and the team gets on with looking after clients and crew.
That dependability comes from a setup designed, secured and actively managed for how travel actually works, not a generic contract. For a business that runs long hours, handles money and depends on a few specialist systems, a predictable per-user cost for that reliability is far cheaper than the downtime, fraud or lost productivity an ad-hoc setup eventually causes.
Why travel agencies choose First Stop IT
First Stop IT has supported businesses since 2002, including travel agencies and travel management companies, and we understand the systems a travel desk runs on: Amadeus, Navitas, FareXpert and TRAMS, delivered securely over hosted desktops, alongside Microsoft 365. We support travel businesses based in Essex, Hertfordshire and London with teams working worldwide. Our credentials include:
- Cyber Essentials Certified
- IASME Cyber Assurance (Gold)
- NCSC Assured Service Provider (Cyber Advisor for Cyber Essentials)
- Microsoft Partner
- Crown Commercial Service Supplier (G-Cloud)
- Quality Principles Certified
We look after more than 2,000 endpoints across 50 companies, we have been named a Top 50 UK MSP for three years running, and we support organisations with 10 to 100 employees across Essex, Hertfordshire and London, including teams working internationally.
Book a free IT and cyber security review
Want IT that keeps pace with your travel business? Book a free IT and cyber security review with First Stop IT.