Travel Agency Call Center: How to Handle Seasonal Spikes

About 8 out of 10 business travelers experienced disruptions while travelling in 2024. This number highlights the need for reliable travel agency call centers — to ensure travelers receive timely support when plans go off track.

Call centers are essential to the travel and hospitality industry, providing timely assistance, effective problem-solving, and high-quality service to ensure strong customer satisfaction.

Call agents in the travel industry provide specialized support to help tourists plan trips and resolve any issues that come up. The types of support these representatives provide include:

• Booking assistance: These include but are not limited to flight bookings, hotel accommodations, restaurants reservations.  
• Basic concierge services: Help with such tourist concerns, as changing hotel reservations or rebooking flights.  
• Emergency assistance: Efficient support in cases of missing luggage, sickness, or flight complications. 
• Multilingual support: Support in numerous languages to cater to clients of any country of origin.
• 24/7 availability: Offering support and care at any time of day or night.
• Mediating: Call center agents help resolve issues between customers and hotels on behalf of the customers and usually have more access to the information between the two parties, which helps speed up ticket resolution.

These are just a few of the areas in which tourism call center agents offer expertise, playing a crucial role in shaping the entire travel experience.

Outsourcing these activities to independent call centers allows tour operators to focus on their primary goal — growing their travel company. Modern tourists expect fast and smooth service, a standard that outsourced agents have received training to deliver. 

In fact, according to Yaguara.co, 67% of consumers are willing to pay more for better customer service in 2025, with 81% of consumers preferring to speak to a live agent than make use of AI assistants according to a study by Forbes. These expectations can be easily met by outsourcing a call center for a travel agency instead of undertaking the support in-house. 

Why Seasonal Spikes Challenge in-House Call Centers

Call centers experience two major types of spikes in call volume: seasonal peaks and periodic outbursts. Seasonal peaks are tied to holidays, tax seasons, or other annual events, while periodic outbursts are tied to product launches, promotions, or other external factors. Both require sufficient planning and would benefit from the assistance of a seasonal call center. The travel industry is highly impacted by seasonal spikes, making it essential to plan for high call volumes during peak times, best managed by a team of trained professionals.

Another reason for the rise in call volume is technical issues. With more people using online booking platforms and travel apps, there’s a growing need for IT contact centers to help fix booking issues and other tech problems. 

At SupportYourApp, we provide outsourced IT support for the hospitality industry following these steps:

1. Start With the Basics

We make it our priority to understand the individual support needs of the client, such as:

• language and regional coverage
• hiring profiles (e.g. tourism experience, fluency in multiple languages)
• scalability and seasonal flexibility
• 24/7 availability to match global traveler demands
• cultural fit and empathy training

2. Provide Information Backup and Recovery

Our support agents are tech-savvy and able to recover information in case of a system failure. 

3. Ensure Data Security

Travel agencies handle sensitive information like credit card details and personal data, which is why at SupportYourApp, we are GDPR-compliant and also have PCI DSS Level 1 Service Provider certification, allowing us to handle sensitive customer data. We ensure that the devices our consultants use are secured with VPNs, Data Loss Prevention (DLP) systems, Mobile Device Management (MDM) tools, and other security measures.

In-House Call Center Challenges

What makes a virtual seasonal contact center more effective in handling seasonal spikes than an in-house contact center? To understand this, we need to explore the challenges that in-house teams experience.

1. Costs of an in-House Call Center

To effectively manage an in-house contact center, companies need substantial costs to cover salaries, training, benefits, and infrastructure. 

Small and medium businesses are better suited to call center outsourcing to eliminate the need for additional overhead expenses and to redirect their resources to core activities instead. In fact, 59% of companies choose to outsource call centers to focus on their main tasks. 

SupportYourApp, offers cost-saving solutions suited directly to the needs of travel agencies — with omnichannel capabilities to better serve your customer base. We also offer high levels of security along with multilingual support, and teams that are highly trained to respond to any situation with the utmost care and effectiveness. 

Desk365.io combined data on customer satisfaction rates among numerous channels, concluding that phone support remains most effective, leading with 45% ahead of the other channels, as displayed in the graphic below. Yet, another 55% are also crucial to customer satisfaction — so, an omnichannel approach in customer support should be an option.

2. Employee Turnover and Talent Retention

Poorly managed call centers often experience low employee morale, leading to high employee turnover rates and more training investment. Not only is this disruptive and costly, but it can also impact your customer satisfaction rates. 

Retaining experienced agents in an in-house center can be difficult, which is why an outsourced call center offers a better solution with dedicated recruitment teams and retention strategies in place. The task no longer lies with the business to keep the agents happy, but with the outsourced call center, and these agents are professionals focused on maintaining consistent, quality services. This means more opportunity for cost savings for the business as they no longer need to invest in training new agents. 

3. Scaling Challenges

The biggest challenge faced by small in-house operations is the ability to scale with company growth or adapt to seasonal demand spikes. In contrast, an outsourced customer service provider can flexibly scale to meet these changes without compromising customer satisfaction.

To help you find the right fit, we’ve put together a 20-step checklist for choosing a customer service provider — covering everything from seasonal adaptability to long-term support.

4. Cultural and Language Barriers

For a travel agency, overcoming language and cultural barriers is essential to maintaining clear and effective communication — especially when working with a diverse global customer base. Smaller businesses often face challenges here, as they may not have the resources to train staff across multiple languages.

Partnering with an outsourced travel agency call center can bridge this gap, providing multilingual support that ensures customers feel heard and understood in their native language. 

5. Legal Regulations and Labor Compliance Laws in Different Countries

Travel companies often avoid opening an office or setting up a local presence in different regions due to the challenge of compliance with local laws. SupportYourApp can manage that aspect on their behalf, as we handle global hiring compliance, regional payroll, benefits, and tax management, and also GDPR, CCPA, and local labor law compliance.

6. Crisis Response & Disruption Management

In case of emergency, in-house teams should be trained to deal with events like flight cancellations, natural disasters, political unrest, or sudden changes in travel restrictions. Not all travel companies can provide that kind of training, while outsourced call centers usually ensure:

• crisis-trained teams with escalation protocols in case of emergency events
• real-time surge support for weather, power, cyberattack events or other global disruptions
• 24/7 backup staffing across continents

Strategies to Prepare for Peak Seasons

Contact center managers need to plan ahead to avoid being caught off guard by seasonal spikes in call volume. With proper forecasting, strategic staffing, and preemptive training, these fluctuations can be managed smoothly — especially when partnering with an experienced outsourced call center team.

Knowing about seasonal fluctuations is not enough — there are specific strategies that can be used to plan for these seasonal spikes and even proactively anticipate them. 

1. Forecasting 

Forecasting involves analyzing past call data to help with predicting patterns, identifying when the staffing team will be busiest, and adjusting the staffing levels accordingly. Keeping track of incoming calls ensures that the customer receives a positive experience every time they call.

2. Workforce Management & Smart Scheduling

BPO providers often use WFM (Workforce Management) tools to:

• Optimize agent shift schedules around forecasted peak times
• Automate shift swaps, breaks, and overtime rules
• Align staffing precisely with call/chat/email patterns across time zone

3. Chatbots 

During seasonal peaks, it’s important to minimize repetitive inquiries. Adding a chatbot and a well-structured FAQ section to your website enables customers to quickly find answers on their own — without needing to contact support. This frees up your agents to focus on more complex issues, ultimately improving efficiency and customer satisfaction. 

4. Callback Service

Instead of keeping customers on hold, provide the option for a callback. This simple yet effective solution reduces wait times and customer frustration, resulting in a more positive experience.

5. Customer Feedback

Customer feedback is one of the most valuable tools for improvement. Use it to identify pain points and streamline processes, helping you deliver a better experience during future seasonal spikes.

6. Post-Peak Debrief and Optimization

After peak periods, call center managers should:

• Run the analysis of what went well and what didn’t
• Share data with the client to adjust strategies for the next cycle
• Update training, scripts, and automations accordingly

Benefits of Outsourcing Call Center Services for a Travel Agency

Technological advancements over time have allowed the travel industry to experience a massive boost in popularity among holiday goers and business travelers alike. This influx of travelers is part of the large need for third-party support services in the travel industry to handle queries quickly and effectively without affecting customer satisfaction. 

Let’s explore the key benefits of outsourcing call center services for a travel agency:

Cost-Effectiveness

Outsourcing call center operations significantly reduces operational and infrastructure costs for travel agencies. Instead of investing in in-house setups, outsourcing allows the business to save money and benefit from the specialized service provider.

Specialized Talent

Outsourcing grants access to specialized agents with expertise in customer service, equipped with industry-specific knowledge and experience with up-to-date training on best customer support practices.

Scalability and Flexibility

Call centers are well-equipped to handle seasonal peaks faced by travel agencies, where a surge in travelers often leads to a sharp increase in customer queries and support needs. Contact centers can swiftly adjust staffing levels, reallocate resources, and accommodate fluctuations in call volumes without disruption.

Improved Technology & Tools Access

Outsourced call center providers often offer access to enterprise-level tools without the travel agency needing to invest in them directly. For example, SupportYourApp offers access to: 

• Advanced CRM & ticketing systems (Zendesk, Salesforce, Jira, Aircall, Intercom)
• AI-powered chatbots and sentiment analysis (such as CoSupport AI)
• Workforce management tools for better efficiency 

We can also provide consultants experienced in:

• GDS platforms (Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo)
• Online booking tools, CRM systems, and reservation engines
• Loyalty program workflows and OTA integrations

24/7 Availability

Travelers find it important to be able to reach support services at any time of day or night, to avoid anxiety and frustration. 

Outsourced call centers provide travelers with quick assistance even after hours to improve their travel experience.

Multilingual Support

Travel agencies are required to provide services in a wide range of languages, catering to various cultural backgrounds. When customers are assisted in their language, they will find the experience more enjoyable and memorable, making the business prone to repeat customers and recommendations.

Summary

At the onset of the global pandemic in 2019, the travel industry saw a dramatic decline. However, by 2024, travel had made a strong comeback, with an estimated 1.4 billion travelers recorded worldwide. This rebound highlights the vast client base that travel agencies serve annually—and reinforces the need for specialized customer support services, especially during seasonal peaks. During these high-demand periods, agencies face a range of challenges, including booking issues, cancellations, technical problems, and emergency support.

In-house call centers often struggle to manage this surge in demand due to the high costs of setup and training, high employee turnover, limited scalability, and cultural or linguistic barriers.

By outsourcing to a seasonal call center, travel agencies can rely on trained professionals who leverage forecasting, tailored training, callback services, and real-time performance monitoring to manage peak volumes without sacrificing service quality. Agencies that partner with outsourced call centers benefit from cost efficiency, access to skilled multilingual agents, scalable support based on demand, 24/7 availability, and the freedom to focus on their core operations.

FAQs:

FAQ 1: How to Prepare Your Contact Center for Seasonal Staffing?

Contact center managers must plan ahead not to be caught off guard by seasonal call volume fluctuations. By using past call data to forecast, preemptive training, simulation tests, and monitoring ongoing performance, call center agents can be prepared to easily manage the influx of support queries during seasonal peaks. 

FAQ 2: Why Do in-House Call Centers Struggle to Meet Seasonal Spikes? 

In-house call centers often experience challenges keeping up with call volume during seasonal peaks due to a lack of sufficiently trained staff, high employee turnover, the inability to scale their operations adequately, and cultural and linguistic limitations, resulting in customer dissatisfaction and frustration. 

FAQ 3:  What Are the Benefits of Outsourcing Call Center Services for a Travel Agency? 

When a business opts to use an outsourced call center, it gains access to cost-effective solutions, specialized agents with current training, the opportunity to scale operations to meet demands, and linguistically rich support teams who are available 24/7.

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