Five things to settle before you build an OTA

Most of what makes an online travel agency project hard is not code. It is the set of business decisions the code has to follow. Settling these five early saves months later.

1. What you will sell first

Flights, hotels, packages, visas — each needs its own suppliers and its own booking flow. Launch with the product you already sell well and add the rest in phases.

2. Where the inventory comes from

GDS, consolidators, direct contracts or a mix. Supplier access and API credentials often take longer to arrange than the software takes to build.

3. Who you sell to

Travellers, sub-agents or both. This decides whether you need a B2C site, a B2B portal or a platform that does both.

4. How money moves

Payment gateways, agent wallets, refunds and reconciliation. Involve whoever handles your accounts from the start.

5. Who runs it day to day

Someone has to manage bookings, content and customer queries. The admin panel should be designed for that person, not for the developers.