From practice to smart digital solutions: how Travelsoft is changing the daily lives of renters and agencies
Today we are talking to Toni Blašković, one of the founders of Travelsoft – a company that has been making a strong contribution in recent years digitalisation of renters, travel agencies and local service providers. We've known each other for many years, so I know firsthand how dedicated they are to creating practical, simple, and smart solutions. Their products, Rentistic and Sugestio, are rapidly gaining recognition, which is a clear sign that the market approves of their approach. With this interview, we want to give Tragenta's audience a closer look at what exactly they do, how they think, and where they see room for future growth.
Toni, to start with, how did Travelsoft come about and what prompted you to begin developing your own digital solutions for tourism?
To answer this question, I need to go back to the beginning of Adriagate. My partner Igor Popović and I founded the tourist agency Adriagate in 2001 with the idea of creating an online tourist agency and bringing guests to Croatia. At the time, there was no software that met our needs, and as students just entering entrepreneurship, we didn't even have the means to consider expensive foreign solutions.
So we set out to develop our own system ourselves. For the first few years, I developed it personally, and as the business grew, we hired our first programmers, and the system continued to develop even faster. For the next fifteen years or so, we continuously upgraded and optimised the system according to the real needs and situations from our operational work.
As Adriagate grew and collaborated with an increasing number of charterers and other travel agencies, it became clear to us that they were facing the same challenges due to the lack of a complete, reliable, and locally adapted solution, and that they needed the software we had.
Therefore, in 2016, we founded the IT company Travel Soft, with the aim of separating software development into a separate company and, based on our experience to date and our internal system, developing a modern, scalable platform that Adriagate will continue to use, but which will also be available to other travel agencies and renters as a product.
Travelsoft's first product is Rentistic is today recognised as a very practical tool for landlords and agencies. What would you highlight as its greatest value for users?
The greatest value of Rentistic for users is that it consolidates the entire operational process of accommodation management into one system. Rentistic arose from personal experience and real needs that we had for years in our daily work, where with the growth of business at Adriagate, we encountered various challenges and devised solutions to organise all these processes and operate in a simpler and more efficient way.
This is precisely why I believe Rentistic very effectively covers the real needs of landlords and agencies, and resolves their specific operational problems, from simple property input into the system and management of bookings and sales channels, to guest communication and finances.
U čemu se Rentistic differs from other solutions on the market and which functionalities users use most?
I have already touched on this in the previous question, but we can repeat it. Rentistic differs from most solutions on the market in that it originated as a system developed from the actual operational practice of a travel agency. Therefore, it focuses on the entire process of accommodation management, not just individual functionalities like a calendar or channel manager.
Unlike many solutions that cover only part of the business, Rentistic integrates key operational processes in one system, giving users greater control and significantly less administration.
Users most commonly use the channel manager, centralised calendar, and unified inbox for guest communication, as these functionalities offer the greatest time savings and significantly reduce the possibility of errors in daily operations.
I recently came across your latest product, Sugestio. Could you simply explain what Sugestio is and who this product is actually intended for? Who can benefit most from its application?
Sugestio is a digital guide and recommendation system. It is a solution that allows renters and agencies to offer guests all important information about accommodation and the destination – from house rules, Wi-Fi details, and stay instructions to local recommendations, excursions, and additional services – in one place, via a simple link or QR code.
In practice, Sugestio functions as a „digital host“ as it is always available to guests, reduces the need to send numerous messages and repeat the same information, and allows them to feel welcome, informed, and independent throughout their stay. This approach positively impacts guest satisfaction and the quality of reviews.
The product is intended for private renters who own villas, holiday homes, apartments, and smaller hotels, as well as tourism agencies wishing to elevate their service level without additional administrative burden. It is particularly useful for those managing a larger number of accommodation units who require standardised yet personalised guest communication.
The product has great potential and is receiving much positive feedback. What would you highlight as its biggest advantage in digital communication with guests?
The biggest advantage of Sugestio in digital communication with guests is the centralisation and consistency of information, with constant availability to guests. Instead of guest communication happening through a series of messages, different channels, and at different stages of their stay, Sugestio consolidates all key information and recommendations in one place, accessible to guests 24/7.
This simplifies communication, making it clearer and more professional, and gives landlords and agencies greater control over what, when, and how guests see things. Guests, on the other hand, gain a sense of security and independence as they have access to all important information at any time without needing to contact the host for basic questions.
Ultimately, this method of communication reduces the operational burden on the host, raises the quality of service, and leaves guests with the impression of a modern approach, which is directly reflected in satisfaction and reviews.
You recently announced a collaboration with Authland on the development of the Sugestio concept. This is a highly innovative approach to additional services and experiences. In what direction do you plan to further develop this project?
Even in the early stages of Sugestia's development, we faced the challenge of how to ensure a sufficient number of quality tourist activities and authentic local experiences, such as wine and olive oil tasting, gastro tours, boat trips, or adventure activities, which hosts and agencies could easily select and recommend to their guests.
Initially, we tried to build that part ourselves, by directly contacting the organisers of such activities and gradually involving them in the system, but this approach proved to be slow and difficult to scale, and we only managed to develop it effectively in a limited number of destinations.
Meanwhile, Authland appeared on the market, which developed this segment much more efficiently and brought together a wide, quality, and geographically covered offer of authentic experiences throughout Croatia. By integrating with Authland, we have solved this key challenge and enabled our users to access a rich offer of activities within Sugestio.
This allowed us to further focus on developing what Sugestio brings the most value to – the digital guide, quality content presentation, and recommendation system, with the aim of a better guest experience and added value for hosts and agencies.
How has demand for your solutions developed? Were the first users renters, agencies, or local service providers?
The demand for our solutions has developed gradually and organically. The first users were travel agencies, as the software was initially developed for Adriagate's needs and was adapted to work with a larger number of accommodation units, bookings, and sales channels. Over time, individual renters also started approaching us who wanted to digitalise their business, automate administration, centralise communication with guests, and have better control over bookings.
From the very beginning, demand has grown primarily through recommendations and tangible results, without aggressive marketing, which was the best indicator for us that we are solving concrete problems in the market.
Tourism agencies are increasingly looking for almost “plug-and-play” digital solutions. How does Travelsoft respond to these needs?
Travelsoft meets these needs precisely through the development and market offering of its products. Rentistic is designed as an almost “plug-and-play” solution because, even in its basic configuration, it encompasses all key processes required for daily operations: property management, reservations, sales channels, guest communication, finances, and local legal obligations. Implementation is swift as the system comes with pre-defined structures, rules, and integrations (OTA channels, eVisitor, fiscalisation, payments), meaning agencies do not have to spend a long time adapting the system to their own processes.
At the same time, Rentistic remains flexible and scalable. Agencies can start with basic functionalities and gradually incorporate additional modules as they grow, without system changes or data migration. In this way, they get a solution that is ready to use quickly but supports professional growth and more complex operations in the long term.
What would you highlight as the biggest challenges your users face — and how do Rentistic and Sugestio specifically ease their business operations?
The biggest challenges our users face stem from the growing complexity of business. There are more and more sales channels and their requirements, more guest communication, more administration, and ever-increasing guest expectations, while time and staff are often in short supply.
Rentistic tackles challenges through the centralisation and automation of key operational processes. Instead of working with multiple disconnected tools, users manage bookings and pricing across all channels from a single system. They have a unified calendar and inbox for guest communication, automated messages, and finances. This significantly reduces the possibility of errors, overbooking, and wasted time on administration, giving users clear control over their business.
Sugestio tackles another big challenge – how to provide guests with added value and an authentic local experience without additional operational burden. Through Sugestio, hosts and agencies can simply recommend verified local experiences and activities to guests, thereby enhancing the guest's stay experience, increasing satisfaction, and opening up an additional revenue stream, without the need for manual arrangements or complex organisation.
Together, Rentistic and Sugestio enable users to spend less time on administration and more time on service quality, guest relations, and business growth.
The digital tools market in tourism is changing rapidly. What currently inspires you the most when thinking about innovation within Travelsoft?
We continue to be most inspired by the real problems and needs of our users, as well as by changes in guest expectations. Today, travel agencies and renters are looking for solutions that are not only functional but also enable them to work more simply and faster, while guests expect increasingly personalised and higher-quality experiences. Within Travelsoft, we are focused on innovations that bring tangible operational value. This primarily means further process automation, smarter use of data and AI in guest communication, price management and optimisation of properties, and daily decisions, but always with the aim that technology works in the background and does not further burden users.
We are particularly inspired by connecting Property Managers with solutions that elevate the guest experience, such as Sugestio, because we believe the future lies in connected systems that simultaneously aid operational efficiency and create added value for guests, rather than in isolated tools.
Finally, how do you see Travelsoft developing over the next three to five years? Are there any new markets, partnerships or functionalities that you are already planning?
In the next three to five years, we see Travelsoft as a stable and recognisable regional company offering its solutions for professional management of tourism businesses, with a clear focus on agencies and serious landlords.
Our priority is the further development of Rentistica as a central accommodation management system, with an even greater degree of automation, smart use of data and AI, and additional functionalities that reduce users' operational burden and help them make better decisions. In parallel, we plan to continue developing Sugestio as a product that connects accommodation with local experiences and creates added value and additional revenue for all involved parties.
Regarding the market, we still see significant room for growth in Croatia and this is our primary focus at the moment. A natural next step, due to proximity and business similarities, would be expansion into regional countries, while global expansion remains a longer-term goal that we will consider at a later stage of development.
