Free-text call notes feel thorough and are almost useless a week later. Structured fields are searchable, drive automation and let the next person pick up the conversation without asking the traveller to repeat themselves. This is the field set we recommend as a starting point.
Why fields beat notes
A note that says 'wants Greece in May, flexible, budget around 3k' cannot trigger a workflow, cannot be reported on and cannot be validated. The same information in four fields can fire a follow-up, feed a dashboard and warn you when the budget is missing.
The core set
- Travel dates and flexibility (fixed, ±3 days, any time in a month)
- Departure airport or region
- Destination or shortlist of destinations
- Party composition: adults, children with ages, infants
- Budget band and whether it is per person or total
- Trip purpose: leisure, honeymoon, family, corporate
- Preferences: board basis, room type, star rating, must-haves
- Marketing consent and preferred contact channel
- Source and campaign that generated the enquiry
Fields that prevent repeat calls
Capture the booking reference on every service call, link any previous enquiries, and record special requirements — accessibility, dietary, medical — once, properly. Most repeat contacts happen because this information was spoken but never stored.
Mapping to your CRM
Create the fields on the object your team actually works from — usually the enquiry or opportunity, not the contact. Mark the handful that are genuinely required, add validation for dates and numbers, and let the assistant populate them directly so nobody re-keys a transcript.
If a detail matters enough to ask the traveller, it matters enough to store in a field.
