Travel agency / tour operator software, built around E&O and day-by-day itinerary builder

Arkathos gives a travel agency a workspace tailored to how the work actually runs — This workspace is built around converting trip inquiries into booked, deposited itineraries and tracking the supplier commissions they earn. Arkathos tailors a travel agency workspace around 5 agents: Sentinel, Quartermaster, Treasury, Scribe, Herald.

Compliance a travel agency can't afford to miss

Watchtower tracks every license, bond, insurance policy, and continuing-education requirement for a travel agency, with renewal cadences and staged reminders so nothing lapses.

• A travel agency must maintain a California Seller of Travel Registration, through the California Attorney General's Office (Seller of Travel Program), which renews every year.
• A travel agency must maintain a General business license, which renews every year.
• A travel agency must maintain a Florida Seller of Travel Registration, through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), which renews every year.
• A travel agency must maintain a Seller of Travel registration, through the State Attorney General / Dept of Consumer Affairs (required in CA/FL/WA/HI/IA), which renews every year.
• A travel agency must maintain a Seller of Travel Surety Bond / Client Trust Account, through the State-mandated (licensed surety provider or federally insured trust account), which renews every year.
• A travel agency must maintain a Seller of Travel surety bond / trust deposit, through the Surety / Insurance Provider, which renews every year.
• A travel agency must maintain a IATA / IATAN Accreditation, through the International Airlines Travel Agent Network (IATAN), which renews every year.
• A travel agency must maintain a ARC accreditation, through the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), which renews every year.
• A travel agency must maintain a ARC Accreditation (airline ticketing), through the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), which renews every year.
• A travel agency must maintain a CLIA cruise sales membership, through the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which renews every year.
• A travel agency must maintain a CLIA Travel Agency / Individual Agent Membership (EMBARC), through the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which renews every year.
• A travel agency must maintain a Certified Travel Associate (CTA) / Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) / CTIE, through the The Travel Institute, which renews every year.
• The Certified Travel Associate (CTA) / Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) / CTIE carries a continuing-education requirement of 10 hours per year (10h General / industry continuing education (CEUs)).
• A travel agency must maintain a Commercial Use Authorization (guided tours on public land), through the National Park Service / US Forest Service, which renews every year.
• A travel agency must maintain a Professional Liability / Errors & Omissions (E&O) Insurance, through the Private insurer, which renews every year.
• A travel agency must maintain a Certified Travel Associate (CTA) credential, through the The Travel Institute, which renews every year.
• A travel agency must maintain a General Liability Insurance, through the Private insurer, which renews every year.
• The Certified Travel Associate (CTA) credential carries a continuing-education requirement of 10 hours per year (10h Travel industry continuing education).
• A travel agency must maintain a Cyber Liability Insurance, through the Private insurer, which renews every year.
• A travel agency must maintain a Workers' Compensation Insurance, through the State-regulated / private insurer, which renews every year.

Everything Arkathos runs for a travel agency

These are the agents set up first for a travel agency — and because it's one platform, every plan includes all 16 Arkathos agents. Also included whenever you need them: Guardhouse, Courier, War Room, Armory, Marshall, Mint Warden, Vault Keeper, Watchtower, Bulletin Board, Client Portal.

• Sentinel — Contact & lead management, Deal / estimate pipeline, Task & follow-up tracking, SMS & email outreach, Pipeline reporting.
• Quartermaster — Online booking & appointments, Calendar & availability, Events & waitlists, Automated reminders, Job dispatch & scheduling.
• Treasury — Invoicing & payment collection, Expense tracking, Accounting & bookkeeping, Business tax prep & filing, Recurring billing & subscriptions, Financial dashboards & reports.
• Scribe — Document & contract templates, E-signature, Proposal & form builder, PDF / Word export.
• Herald — SEO & get-found content, Social media scheduling, Email & newsletter campaigns, Brand voice & content studio, Review & reputation growth, AI-overview & directory visibility.

Your tailored travel agency workspace

These are net-new, travel agency-specific capabilities — not a generic CRM bolted onto your industry.

• Day-by-day itinerary builder (Scribe): Build multi-supplier itineraries (flight/hotel/tour/transfer segments) with confirmation numbers, times, and a branded traveler-facing PDF; current Documents tab has no structured trip object.
• Supplier commission tracker (Treasury): Per-booking expected commission by supplier (cruise line/tour operator/hotel) with status pending->received and payout reconciliation, since commission is the real revenue and lands weeks after travel day.
• Client-funds trust accounting + Seller-of-Travel registration (Treasury): Segregated client-deposit trust ledger plus tracking of state Seller of Travel registration/bond (CA/FL/WA/HI/IA) and E&O renewal; deposits are a liability until the trip is delivered.
• Scheduled-departure seat inventory (Quartermaster): Group/tour departures as date objects with seat capacity, per-departure availability, and waitlist on sold-out trips so a departure can only oversell with explicit override.
• Traveler document vault + intake (Client Portal): Secure collection of passports, traveler details, and travel-insurance elections, with delivery of e-tickets/itineraries/vouchers back to the traveler.
• Preferred-supplier catalog (Sentinel): Catalog of preferred suppliers with commission rates, IATA/ARC/CLIA numbers, and contacts that attach to a trip record for fast quoting.

The agents and tabs you get

Sentinel for a travel agency surfaces Overview, Contacts, Tasks, Chat. Quartermaster for a travel agency surfaces Calendar, Bookings, Availability, Waitlist, Chat. Treasury for a travel agency surfaces Financial sheet, Transactions, Invoices, Draft estimate, Vendor credits, Integrations, Chat. Scribe for a travel agency surfaces Documents, Templates, Chat. Herald for a travel agency surfaces Compose, Schedule, Get found, Directories, ✦Studio, Chat, Brand voice.

Frequently asked questions

best software for travel agency 2026

Popular picks include Travefy, TravelJoy, and Ezus for advisors, plus tour-operator systems like Checkfront and Resmark. Arkathos bundles CRM, itineraries, invoicing, payroll, compliance, and marketing in one flat-priced platform.

how much does travel agency booking software cost per month

Entry SaaS tiers typically run $49-$99/month; some tour systems charge 1-8% per booking, and enterprise is custom-quoted. Arkathos uses flat pricing with no per-seat fees.

do travel agents need a crm

Yes for most; about 87% of hosted advisors use one to centralize client data, follow-ups, and itineraries. Brand-new agents can start on a spreadsheet. Arkathos includes a travel CRM.

how do travel agents track commissions

Commission-tracking tools import booking data from GDS and suppliers, link each commission to the trip, and flag unpaid or unallocated amounts. Arkathos tracks expected vs. received commissions in its finance layer.

how to take online bookings and deposits for tours

Tour booking systems (Bookeo, Checkfront, Resmark) accept deposits and partial payments, collect digital waivers, and process cards via Stripe, PayPal, or Square. Arkathos handles scheduling, deposits, and payments too.

do i need a seller of travel license

Only California, Florida, Hawaii, and Washington still require seller-of-travel registration (Iowa dropped it in 2020). It applies if you sell to those residents anywhere; Florida requires a $25,000 bond.

what software do i need to start a travel agency from home

Booking/GDS access (often through a host agency), a CRM, an itinerary builder, accounting, a website, and payment processing. Arkathos consolidates CRM, invoicing, scheduling, marketing, and compliance in one platform.

how do travel agents get clients

Mostly referrals and word-of-mouth, plus niche specialization, social media (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok), email, a professional website, and host-agency lead programs. Arkathos pairs its CRM with marketing tools to capture and nurture leads.

all in one travel agency software with itinerary builder and invoicing

Travefy, TravelJoy, and Ezus combine proposals, itineraries, CRM, payments, and reporting for smaller agencies. Arkathos goes further, adding payroll, tax compliance, and scheduling under one flat price.

What licenses and insurance does a travel agency need?

Arkathos tracks 18 items for a travel agency, including California Seller of Travel Registration, General business license, Florida Seller of Travel Registration, Seller of Travel registration. Each renewal and expiration is monitored in Watchtower with staged reminders.

What continuing education is required for a travel agency?

The Certified Travel Associate (CTA) / Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) / CTIE carries a continuing-education requirement of 10 hours per year (10h General / industry continuing education (CEUs)). The Certified Travel Associate (CTA) credential carries a continuing-education requirement of 10 hours per year (10h Travel industry continuing education). Watchtower logs hours by category and flags shortfalls before the deadline.

Which Arkathos agents does a travel agency get?

Arkathos tailors a travel agency workspace around 5 agents: Sentinel, Quartermaster, Treasury, Scribe, Herald.

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