As a travel business owner, you’ve probably asked yourself: “Should I outsource my customer support or sales team?” With tight margins, seasonal fluctuations, and rising expectations from digital-first travelers, the question is more relevant than ever.
That’s where travel outsourcing come in. Outsourcing customer support, sales, and back-office operations to specialized providers has become a strategic move for travel and tourism companies looking to maintain excellence while scaling efficiently.
In this article, we explore why brands across the travel sector are embracing travel call center outsourcing, the benefits of BPO for travel companies, and how outsourcing can improve customer satisfaction and drive sales.
Table of Contents
What Is Travel BPO – Business Process Outsourcing?
Business Process Outsourcing in the travel sector, involves partnering with a specialized service provider to manage essential business functions such as customer support, sales, and administrative operations. These services can include:
- 24/7 multilingual customer support
- Booking and cancellation handling
- Back-office processing
- Loyalty program management
- Dispute resolution
- Travel sales outsourcing and upselling
Travel BPO services can be delivered through various models, from fully outsourced teams to dedicated agents operating as an extension of your brand. With the right setup, travel companies can offer round-the-clock support while reducing costs and improving KPIs.
Why Brands Are Outsourcing Travel Support
Travel companies today operate in an increasingly digital and competitive landscape. Outsourcing is no longer just a cost-cutting tactic. It has become a growth enabler. Here’s why:
1. Scalability for Seasonality
Seasonal spikes in demand can overwhelm in-house teams. During holidays, summer vacations, or major events, booking volumes and support inquiries surge. Travel BPO providers offer the ability to dynamically scale up or down, ensuring you’re never caught off guard. This eliminates the burden of long-term contracts or idle staff in slower periods.
What makes this flexibility so powerful is that you maintain consistent service levels regardless of fluctuation. For instance, a ski resort may experience triple the inquiry volume in winter. A BPO can rapidly deploy additional agents during these peaks and then scale back without impacting ongoing operations or inflating fixed costs.
2. 24/7 Multilingual Support
Offering in-house 24/7 multilingual support is expensive and operationally complex, especially for small or mid-sized travel brands.
Working with a travel BPO partner gives you instant access to skilled agents who speak the languages your customers use every day. Lets say a French guest rebooking a missed flight at midnight or a Japanese traveler changing hotel dates during your off-hours, BPOs ensure continuity. This is particularly vital in multilingual regions like Europe or Asia-Pacific, where service in the local language builds trust and customer satisfaction.
3. Expertise in Crisis Management
Disruptions in the travel industry are inevitable, and BPO agents are trained specifically in managing complex, high-stress scenarios. These agents follow industry-standard protocols, offer consistent messaging, and maintain professionalism during emergencies. With dedicated escalation processes and 24/7 readiness, they help brands protect their reputation and reassure customers when it matters most.
4. Lower Operational Costs
Running internal support teams comes with high overhead. This includes salaries, training, HR, IT infrastructure, and workspace costs. For many travel companies, especially those with thin margins or high seasonality, this model is difficult to sustain.
Outsourcing customer support through call center significantly reduces these expenses. BPO providers usually offer predictable pricing models and shared resource pools that lower cost-per-interaction without sacrificing quality. You gain efficiency, expertise, and global coverage, all while staying lean and focused on your core business operations.
Travel Call Center Outsourcing in Action
Here’s how outsourcing plays out in real-world travel operations:
Online Travel Agencies (OTAs)
OTAs like Booking.com or Expedia handle thousands of interactions per hour. To manage this, they usually rely on BPO partners to support everything from booking confirmations to last-minute changes. With dedicated travel agents trained in their systems, they maintain speed, accuracy, and customer experience excellence.
Additionally, these partners help OTAs extend their support beyond phone and email into live chat, WhatsApp, and social media messaging. These are the channels modern travelers increasingly prefer. This omnichannel capability ensures a frictionless experience at every touchpoint.
Tour Operators
Small to mid-sized tour operators use BPO for travel companies to offer professional customer care without the overhead of hiring large in-house teams. By outsourcing itinerary support and post-booking inquiries, they can focus on designing and selling experiences.
What’s more, BPOs can support marketing campaigns through outbound calling, follow-ups on inquiries, and proactive engagement. This helps operators stay top of mind with travelers even after a trip ends.
Airlines and Hospitality Brands
Airlines often outsource ticketing, refund processing, and baggage queries to reduce wait times. Meanwhile, hotel groups use BPOs to manage loyalty program questions, concierge services, and reservation updates across time zones.
Travel Tech Platforms
Tech-driven platforms like travel management apps or AI booking assistants often integrate with outsourced support to ensure human backup is available when needed. This is especially important for complex or high-stakes issues.
Sales and Revenue Benefits
Outsourcing doesn’t just improve service quality. It can drive revenue too.
1. Travel Sales Outsourcing and Upselling
Trained agents don’t just answer questions. They close sales. Whether it’s upselling a room upgrade, recommending travel insurance, or guiding users through abandoned cart recovery, a skilled travel sales team can boost average order value and booking conversions.
2. Faster Response = More Bookings
Travel decisions are often made in the moment. If a customer hits a snag during booking and can’t get support immediately, they may abandon the purchase and go to a competitor. BPO teams reduce wait times, increase chat availability, and resolve issues before they lead to drop-offs.
3. CRM and Lead Management Integration
Top BPO partners integrate directly into your CRM and marketing stack, feeding back valuable customer data. This allows for smarter retargeting, better segmentation, and personalized follow-ups that drive loyalty and repeat bookings.
Choosing the Right Travel BPO Partner
Not all outsourcing partners are equal. When evaluating BPO options for your travel brand, consider the following:
1. Industry Experience
Look for a provider with a proven track record in the travel and hospitality space . Ask for case studies, client references, and vertical-specific experience.
A seasoned BPO won’t just handle volume. They will bring suggestions to improve workflows, reduce average handling times (AHT), and enhance your Net Promoter Score (NPS) by optimizing how and when your customers interact with your team.
2. Technology Capabilities
Can they integrate with your booking systems, CRM, and communication channels? Do they support omnichannel service such as email, voice, chat, and social media? Automation and analytics capabilities are also a plus.
Some BPOs offer AI-enhanced support layers like chatbot integration or sentiment analysis tools. These help route high-priority cases faster or identify issues before they escalate. This improves both efficiency and customer satisfaction.
3. Multilingual Talent Pool
Ensure they offer agents fluent in the languages your customer base needs. This includes English, Spanish, French, German, Mandarin, Arabic, and others depending on your regions of operation.
4. Compliance and Data Security
Customer data in travel is sensitive. Make sure your partner follows GDPR, PCI DSS, and other relevant regulations. They should also have strong security protocols in place.
5. Cultural Fit
Your outsourced agents are an extension of your brand. Look for a partner that understands your tone of voice, values, and service philosophy. They should deliver consistent customer experience across all markets.
FAQ
Q1: Why are more travel companies turning to BPO services?
Outsourcing allows them to stay agile, reduce operational costs, and focus more on core business areas like product development and marketing, while experienced BPO partners handle customer service and backend operations efficiently.
Q2: What are the benefits of travel call center outsourcing?
Key benefits include 24/7 multilingual support, cost savings, scalability during peak seasons, faster response times, and access to trained agents with industry-specific expertise.
Q3: How can BPO for travel companies improve customer satisfaction?
BPO partners provide professional, consistent service across channels, reduce wait times, and resolve issues more efficiently. This leads to higher customer satisfaction scores and brand loyalty.
Q4: Can I outsource both sales and support as a travel company?
Yes. Many travel BPO providers offer both sales and support services, including upselling, lead qualification, abandoned cart recovery, and live chat support to increase conversions.
Conclusion
The travel industry’s future is fast, digital, and global. Customers expect real-time, multilingual support and personalized experiences, whether they’re booking a weekend getaway or handling a mid-trip emergency. By leveraging call center outsourcing and sales outsourcing, brands can unlock efficiency, scalability, and gain competitive edge.
Ready to scale your travel operations with expert BPO support?
Let’s talk! We’ll help you build a dedicated travel support team that speaks your brand’s language and delivers results.
