Athena Innovations: From Brick and Mortar to Click and Order in Travel
Junus, DirectorContinuing this trajectory, Athena Innovations is embracing new frontiers. It is pushing boundaries again by integrating AI to optimize every facet of travel operations. Its forward-thinking approach maximizes efficiency, empowering agencies to concentrate on what they do best—delivering exceptional travel experiences.
“We provide systems for all types of agencies, whether they are corporate ticketing, retail or tour agency services. Our solutions are designed to meet the diverse needs of each agency, ensuring they can operate efficiently and effectively,” says Junus, director.
Streamlining Success in Travel Operations
Combining cutting-edge technology with deep industry understanding, Athena Innovations offers an impressive range of solutions for travel agencies in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Importantly, the company’s solutions are cloud-based and allow agencies to stay connected anywhere. For agencies prioritizing data security, Athena Innovations also offers on-premises solutions and a hybrid setup for those seeking a combination.
At the core of the company’s offerings is Athena Bookings, a full-featured system designed to transform how agents manage bookings and financial processes.
Tired of manual paperwork slowing you down?
Athena Bookings functions as a frictionless front, mid, and back-office solution. When an agent enters a booking, the system simplifies documentation by effortlessly generating essential items like booking forms, receipts and invoices. This automation significantly reduces manual entry, minimizes errors, and allows agents to focus on delivering exceptional service to their clients.
Versatility is critical in today’s dynamic market. Athena Bookings caters to various travel agencies, including corporate ticketing, retail agencies, and tour operators. Agents can manage unlimited bookings for different travel products, with the capability to perform comprehensive searches based on passenger names, departure dates, or invoice numbers.
This robust functionality ensures that critical information is always at agents’ fingertips.
In addition to streamlining front-office operations, Athena Bookings enhances mid-office management with advanced reporting and operational tools. Travel agencies can generate detailed reports to track reservations and make data-driven decisions, enabling effective communication between the front and back offices.
Regarding financial management, Athena Bookings’ back-office capabilities easily handle accounts receivable and payable with ease, managing deposits, receipts, and invoicing per local regulations. The system tracks all transactions—both trade and non-trade—allowing agencies to maintain a complete financial overview. Generating financial statements like profit and loss reports and balance sheets becomes straightforward, enabling agencies to prepare for audits and comply with tax obligations.
Athena Bookings’ back-office also offers extensive automation in reconciliation, including auto-reconciliation with bank and credit card statements, as well as with supplier statements that may contain high transaction volumes, such as insurance and other travel product statements. This automation frees up significant time and resources for agencies, reducing the need for manual tracking and allowing staff to focus on more strategic tasks.
To further streamline financial processes, Athena Innovations partners with fintech companies like Fiserv and MasterCard to enable direct credit card charges through secure payment gateways, allowing for automatic payment transactions within the Athena system. It also collaborates with Nium to facilitate automated VCC (Virtual Credit Card) supplier payments, along with auto-reconciliation of Nium’s statements, creating an end-to-end, fully automated receivables and payables system.
Scalability is another hallmark. The system is designed to support a wide range of clients, from large corporate agencies with revenues exceeding SGD 200 million to smaller retail agencies operating with as few as five users. This adaptability means that Athena Bookings can grow alongside its clients, adjusting to their evolving needs and complexities.
Agents can personalize their experience, contributing to greater productivity and efficiency. Each user can set preferences, utilize shortcuts, and tailor the system to align with their workflow, ensuring that they maximize the software’s benefits.
And with features like customer portals and mobile apps, agencies can deliver real-time updates to travelers, further improving service levels and communication.
We provide systems for all types of agencies, whether they are corporate ticketing, retail or tour agency services. Our solutions are designed to meet the diverse needs of each agency, ensuring they can operate efficiently and effectively
In addition to streamlining front-office operations, Athena Bookings enhances mid-office management with advanced reporting and operational tools. Travel agencies can generate detailed reports to track reservations and make data-driven decisions, enabling effective communication between the front and back offices.
Regarding financial management, Athena Bookings’ back-office capabilities easily handle accounts receivable and payable with ease, managing deposits, receipts, and invoicing per local regulations. The system tracks all transactions—both trade and non-trade—allowing agencies to maintain a complete financial overview. Generating financial statements like profit and loss reports and balance sheets becomes straightforward, enabling agencies to prepare for audits and comply with tax obligations.
Athena Bookings’ back-office also offers extensive automation in reconciliation, including auto-reconciliation with bank and credit card statements, as well as with supplier statements that may contain high transaction volumes, such as insurance and other travel product statements. This automation frees up significant time and resources for agencies, reducing the need for manual tracking and allowing staff to focus on more strategic tasks.
To further streamline financial processes, Athena Innovations partners with fintech companies like Fiserv and MasterCard to enable direct credit card charges through secure payment gateways, allowing for automatic payment transactions within the Athena system. It also collaborates with Nium to facilitate automated VCC (Virtual Credit Card) supplier payments, along with auto-reconciliation of Nium’s statements, creating an end-to-end, fully automated receivables and payables system.
Scalability is another hallmark. The system is designed to support a wide range of clients, from large corporate agencies with revenues exceeding SGD 200 million to smaller retail agencies operating with as few as five users. This adaptability means that Athena Bookings can grow alongside its clients, adjusting to their evolving needs and complexities.
Agents can personalize their experience, contributing to greater productivity and efficiency. Each user can set preferences, utilize shortcuts, and tailor the system to align with their workflow, ensuring that they maximize the software’s benefits.
And with features like customer portals and mobile apps, agencies can deliver real-time updates to travelers, further improving service levels and communication.
Winning Strategies for Corporate Ticketing Agencies
Athena Innovations has achieved notable success with corporate ticketing agencies, especially among large organizations across the Asia-Pacific region. A standout example comes from a top agency in Singapore. The agency operated with approximately 11 independent teams, each dedicated to providing exceptional service to its clients. Supported by a back office team of seven, it faced significant challenges in managing its operations.
Recognizing the need for transformation, the agency turned to Athena Bookings, seeking to automate and streamline their workflows. The implementation process began with an in-depth analysis of their existing operations. The Athena team worked closely with the agency to identify inefficiencies in billing, credit controls, and supplier payments. The goal was to automate to enhance the overall operational efficiency while ensuring that the staff felt empowered rather than redundant.
As the system went live, the impact was almost immediate. Automating processes significantly reduced the manual workload for the back office staff, allowing them to focus on higher-value tasks. Over the next two to three years, the agency experienced notable growth, with revenues soaring to 220 million Singapore dollars, up from around 100 million annually.
“Our legacy of innovation, fueled by years of r&d and strategic technological investments, has set the stage for a diverse range of automation solutions, and we are committed to building on this momentum”
The transformation enhanced the agency’s financial standing and redefined how it managed its credit controls. With the automation in place, the agency could more effectively oversee accounts receivable, ensuring that clients paid on time. This step improved cash flow and built supplier confidence, allowing for smoother payment management.
“Our legacy of innovation, fueled by years of R&D and strategic technological investments, has set the stage for a diverse range of automation solutions, and we are committed to building on this momentum,” says Junus.
Athena Bookings is leading the charge in modernizing the travel industry, urging agencies to step away from outdated practices and embrace a tech-driven future. Once defined by face-to-face interactions and phone calls, the travel agency landscape has transformed. Today’s travelers are digital-first, relying on online platforms, mobile apps, and seamless e-commerce experiences.
The company is passionate about guiding agencies through this shift, recognizing that investing in technology isn’t just an option—it’s essential for survival. The company sees this transformation as a critical step for agencies to stay ahead of competitors and maintain relevance in a fast-changing market.
As travelers become more tech-savvy, Athena Bookings plans to equip agencies with the tools they need to survive and flourish. The focus on automation and technology is about securing the future, ensuring agencies are ready to meet the modern traveler's expectations while staying competitive in an industry that no longer waits for those who can’t keep up.
Athena Innovations has achieved notable success with corporate ticketing agencies, especially among large organizations across the Asia-Pacific region. A standout example comes from a top agency in Singapore. The agency operated with approximately 11 independent teams, each dedicated to providing exceptional service to its clients. Supported by a back office team of seven, it faced significant challenges in managing its operations.
Recognizing the need for transformation, the agency turned to Athena Bookings, seeking to automate and streamline their workflows. The implementation process began with an in-depth analysis of their existing operations. The Athena team worked closely with the agency to identify inefficiencies in billing, credit controls, and supplier payments. The goal was to automate to enhance the overall operational efficiency while ensuring that the staff felt empowered rather than redundant.
As the system went live, the impact was almost immediate. Automating processes significantly reduced the manual workload for the back office staff, allowing them to focus on higher-value tasks. Over the next two to three years, the agency experienced notable growth, with revenues soaring to 220 million Singapore dollars, up from around 100 million annually.
“Our legacy of innovation, fueled by years of r&d and strategic technological investments, has set the stage for a diverse range of automation solutions, and we are committed to building on this momentum”
The transformation enhanced the agency’s financial standing and redefined how it managed its credit controls. With the automation in place, the agency could more effectively oversee accounts receivable, ensuring that clients paid on time. This step improved cash flow and built supplier confidence, allowing for smoother payment management.
“Our legacy of innovation, fueled by years of R&D and strategic technological investments, has set the stage for a diverse range of automation solutions, and we are committed to building on this momentum,” says Junus.
Athena Bookings is leading the charge in modernizing the travel industry, urging agencies to step away from outdated practices and embrace a tech-driven future. Once defined by face-to-face interactions and phone calls, the travel agency landscape has transformed. Today’s travelers are digital-first, relying on online platforms, mobile apps, and seamless e-commerce experiences.
The company is passionate about guiding agencies through this shift, recognizing that investing in technology isn’t just an option—it’s essential for survival. The company sees this transformation as a critical step for agencies to stay ahead of competitors and maintain relevance in a fast-changing market.
As travelers become more tech-savvy, Athena Bookings plans to equip agencies with the tools they need to survive and flourish. The focus on automation and technology is about securing the future, ensuring agencies are ready to meet the modern traveler's expectations while staying competitive in an industry that no longer waits for those who can’t keep up.
