A travel agency should choose an IT provider that genuinely understands travel: one with real experience of hosted desktops and systems like Amadeus, Navitas, FareXpert and TRAMS, strong security to counter the fraud that targets the sector, support that responds fast and covers your hours, and clear per-user pricing with security included. The right partner keeps the desk running and booking; the wrong one becomes a constant drag. Managed IT for an agency typically costs about £45 to £100 per user per month.
Most IT providers can support a generic office. Far fewer understand a 24/7, global travel desk that moves money and runs on specialist software. Here is what to look for when choosing one.
Real travel experience
Ask directly whether they have supported travel agencies, hosted desktops and the booking systems you use. A provider who already knows Amadeus, Navitas, fares tools and TRAMS, and how a desk works across time zones, will solve problems quickly instead of learning on your business. Sector experience is the single biggest differentiator.
Security that fits the threat
Travel agencies are heavily targeted for payment fraud, so your provider must lead with security: multi-factor authentication, managed email protection, allowlisting, monitoring, backup and staff training, as standard rather than costly extras. Ask how they would protect you from the supplier and crew payment scams that hit this sector constantly.
Fast, travel-aware support
When a booking or payment is at risk, you need quick help from people who understand the urgency, including out of hours if your desk runs late or worldwide. Check their response times, their support hours, and whether you reach knowledgeable engineers rather than a slow queue.
Clear, fair pricing
Look for straightforward per-user pricing that includes the security you need, so costs are predictable and scale with your team, rather than a low headline rate with essential protection charged separately. Transparent pricing is also a sign of a provider who will be straight with you in general.
A partner, not just a fixer
The best providers do not just react to problems, they plan ahead, advise on growth and overseas expansion, and keep your systems and security improving over time. For a travel business with ambitions, a provider who thinks like a partner is worth far more than one who simply waits for the phone to ring.
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 your data, your tools and your provider all working for you? Book a free IT and cyber security review with First Stop IT.