Travel agencies keep FareXpert and their other fares tools working well by running them in a managed, consistent environment, keeping them and the systems around them updated and configured, ensuring fast and reliable access for every consultant, and using a provider who understands fares software and the wider booking stack it sits alongside. For most agencies this is part of managed IT at about £45 to £100 per user per month.
Fares tools like FareXpert are part of the daily workflow that turns enquiries into booked, priced travel, so when they are slow or broken, productivity and margins suffer. Keeping them dependable follows the same principles as the rest of the booking stack. Here is what matters.
Run them in a managed environment
Fares tools work best delivered through the same managed, hosted environment as the rest of your booking software, so every consultant gets consistent, fast access and the application is maintained centrally rather than installed and forgotten on individual machines. Consistency is what keeps them dependable across a busy, distributed team.
Keep them and their dependencies updated
Fares software depends on the operating system, browser and configuration around it, so keeping those current and consistent, and testing updates before they go live, stops a routine change from breaking access. A managed approach to patching keeps the tool and its surroundings in step.
Fast, reliable access for everyone
Consultants need fares tools to respond quickly, including those working from home or overseas on variable connections. Delivering them over hosted desktops with resilient connectivity means the tool feels fast wherever the consultant is, so pricing and quoting are not held up by sluggish access.
Integrate with the wider workflow
Fares tools rarely work in isolation, they sit alongside the GDS and back office. A provider who understands the whole booking stack keeps the pieces working together, so consultants move smoothly from searching fares to making and recording a booking without fighting disconnected systems.
Support that understands fares
When a fares tool plays up close to a deadline, you need support that knows the application and the environment it runs in and can fix it quickly, rather than treating it as an unknown. That knowledge is what gets a consultant pricing and booking again fast.
Monitor and plan ahead
Proactive monitoring of the environment catches problems before they reach the fares tool, and planning upgrades carefully keeps it reliable through change. The aim is that the tool is simply there and fast every day, so the team can focus on winning and booking travel rather than on the software.
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?
What good IT means for a travel agency
For a travel agency, good IT is mostly invisible. Consultants reach their booking systems quickly and securely from any office or country, the specialist software they rely on stays fast and available, payments go where they should, and travellers get answers whatever the hour. The desk keeps running and the technology stops being something anyone has to think about.
That reliability is the result of a setup built and maintained for how a travel business actually works, rather than a generic contract. For an operation that runs long hours, handles money and depends on a few specialist systems, a predictable per-user cost for that dependability is far cheaper than the downtime, fraud or lost productivity that a patched-together setup eventually causes.
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.
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 your booking systems running fast and reliably for the whole team? Book a free IT and cyber security review with First Stop IT.