With Launch of its Integrated Booking Platform,
NEW YORK — In advance of Virtuoso Travel Week, modern travel agency Fora is unveiling the alpha release of its integrated booking platform. Fora’s booking platform allows advisors to seamlessly research and book trips from their computer or on-the-go with their smartphone.
“It’s all about the ease of this tooling,” explained Jake Peters, Fora’s Co-Founder and Chief Product/Technology Officer. “We know travel advisors are busy, and our booking platform streamlines their workflow. It negates the need for countless website tabs open, comparing different hotels and partner perks… Fora’s new technology allows advisors to go from research to booking with just a few clicks.”
On the booking platform, advisors can search by specific hotel or browse by destination, comparing preferred partner hotels in real-time with crystal-clear visibility into Fora’s preferred rates and perks. The booking platform is connected to Fora’s
Vault, a secure and seamless tool for payment card storage and collection. When advisors are ready to make a booking, they can securely add client payment information to lock down the reservation, all without ever leaving their Fora Advisor Portal.
“Fora’s booking platform is the tooling I dreamed about in my years as a travel advisor,” said Henley Vazquez, Fora’s Co-Founder (and a seasoned travel advisor of 15 years). “I’m a firm believer that being a travel advisor is the best job ever, and Fora’s tech and tooling makes a travel advisors’ role that much easier – and fun.”
The booking platform is powered by Fora’s central supplier database, so advisors can easily gauge the popularity of hotels through Fora’s bookings data. In the future, proprietary data (such as traveler and advisor reviews and related training sessions) will be available in the booking platform.
“It’s a huge win for our suppliers and partners because we’re developing all of this amazing content and linking that intel to the booking platform,” Vazquez said. “It’s super simple to see how many advisors have booked a property, how many times their clients have stayed, and what their commission levels are. We’re taking the mystery out of search and discovery for advisors.”
The alpha release of Fora’s booking platform was unveiled to select Fora Advisors just prior to Virtuoso Travel Week. All Fora Advisors will gain access to the booking platform in September. The alpha version includes a browse & book function for Fora’s 4,500 preferred partners, and additional features will roll out this fall.
“This is the next step in our big vision for our tech platform because it connects all of our tooling together,” Peters said. “And it’s just the start. Later this year, we will bring online all the 100,000-plus hotels available through the GDS. Next year, we’ll look at cruises, transportation, activities, and insurance. It’s going to be a one-stop shop to seamlessly browse and book travel.”
Fora continues to lead the way in developing tooling for advisors, and the company’s approach is rooted in building a feedback loop between advisors and Fora’s engineering team.
“Fora’s booking platform is amazing! The traditional way of pulling hotel rates is so time intensive,” said
Natalie Kurtzman, a Fora Advisor and one of the alpha users of the booking platform. “I cannot wait to see all of these features continue to roll out. A big thanks to the Fora HQ team for all of the incredible work that will help me scale my travel business.”
About Fora
Launched in 2021, Fora is a new kind of travel agency, with a modern, tech-forward and inclusive approach. Built for the next generation of side hustlers and entrepreneurs, Fora empowers anyone with a passion for travel to earn flexible income booking trips – with expert training and marketing tools, an intuitive technology platform and global community hub. By overhauling industry pain points and removing barriers to entry, Fora is redefining and revitalizing the travel agent industry (one awesome trip at a time).