Hiring a travel website development company is a big decision, and many first-time buyers are unsure what such a company actually does. Beyond building pages, a specialist travel developer handles suppliers, payments, booking logic and operations tools. This article describes the typical services and deliverables, so you know what to expect and what to ask for.
1. Consulting and planning
- Understanding your business model, customers and products.
- Advising on suppliers, platforms and phasing.
- A written scope, timeline and cost estimate.
2. Design
- User experience for search, results and checkout.
- Visual design that reflects your brand.
- Mobile-first layouts.
3. Booking engine
- Search, pricing, booking and confirmation flows for each product.
- Markup, discount and fee rules.
- Customer accounts and booking management.
- B2B features such as agent wallets, if needed.
4. Supplier integrations
Connecting GDSs, airline APIs, hotel bedbanks, bus and transfer APIs, including certification with suppliers. Experience with the specific suppliers you use saves significant time.
5. Payments
Gateway integration with secure confirmation, refunds and reconciliation reports.
6. Admin and back office
- Booking queues and after-sales tools.
- Content management for pages, offers and blogs.
- Reports for sales, margins and suppliers.
- User roles and permissions.
7. Testing and launch
- Functional, device and performance testing.
- Live test bookings and payments.
- Deployment, HTTPS setup and sitemap submission.
8. Support and maintenance
- Bug fixes and security updates.
- Supplier API version updates.
- Monitoring and urgent issue response.
- Ongoing improvements under a maintenance contract.
Deliverables to ask for
- A written scope and project plan.
- Design files and approved screens.
- The working website and admin panel.
- Access credentials and documentation.
- Clear agreement on code and data ownership.
- A support agreement with response times.
In practice: clarifying deliverables
An agency signed with a developer without listing deliverables and later found that supplier certification and the admin reports were not included. On its next project, it insisted on a deliverables list with each item signed off, and the project ran without disputes.
Common mistakes when hiring
- Choosing on price without comparing scope and support.
- Not checking experience with your specific suppliers.
- Leaving code and data ownership unclear.
How a typical project runs
Most projects follow the same path: discovery workshops, a written scope, design approval, development in short cycles with demos, supplier certification, testing with your team, launch and then ongoing support. Knowing this path helps you plan your own team's time, prepare content and supplier details in advance and keep the project on schedule.
Working well together
Appoint one decision-maker, provide feedback in one consolidated list, and join regular demos. Clear communication on both sides is the biggest factor in delivering on time.
Frequently asked questions
Do development companies provide supplier contracts?
Usually not. You sign with suppliers; the developer integrates them. Some platforms include supplier content as part of their service.
Is hosting included?
It depends on the company. Clarify hosting, domain and maintenance responsibilities upfront.
Choosing the right company
Look for live projects similar to yours, experience with your suppliers, references from existing clients and a clear support agreement. Ask how they handle supplier certification and post-launch issues, because these are where travel projects most often run into trouble.
Finally, ask how the company keeps up with supplier changes. GDSs, airlines and hotel suppliers update their APIs regularly, and a development company that tracks these changes proactively protects your bookings from sudden failures.
Key takeaways
- A travel developer covers consulting, design, booking engine, suppliers, payments and support.
- Ask for written deliverables and ownership terms.
- Ongoing support is as important as the initial build.
See how we work on our travel website development company page.
