Betsy Harbison CEO of Softrip and Nivo

You’ve spent much of your career in the tour operator technology space. What first drew you into this niche, and what keeps you inspired today?

Who doesn’t love to work in travel? We often joke internally that we’re on the “wrong side of the table” on the software side. Day in and day out, we speak with operators who are jetting off to different parts of the globe, and we’re constantly amazed by the niches they serve and the unique experiences they provide. It’s inspiring to see how diverse and creative this industry really is.

From a technology standpoint, vertical market software is such an incredible space to be in. What keeps me motivated is knowing that, for multi-day tour operators, it’s still very early innings. For too long, they’ve had to rely on legacy systems, cumbersome processes, disconnected tools, and subpar passenger experiences. So much of the work is still done manually, but we’re finally seeing a renaissance in this space-and with AI accelerating innovation, the pace of change is about to move even faster. The industry is a perfect fit for GenAI. The industry thrives on creating special moments and experiences, but it requires a lot of logistics and coordination.

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From your perspective, how has tour operator technology evolved since you started at Softrip? What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in how operators use tech?

COVID was an incredibly difficult time for the multi-day travel industry; truly, it could not have been worse. But one silver lining has been the mindset shift that emerged as operators rebuilt. Rather than simply hiring back staff to do things the old way, operators started asking, “How can we automate this?” and “Why have we been doing this manually for so long?” That shift away from spreadsheets, paper trails, and manual processes has begun.

Since then, the number of technology offerings for multi-day operators has expanded significantly. Some companies are carving out niches with best-of-breed point solutions, while others are working to marry together key parts of the workflow. Either way, there are now far more options than there were even a few years ago.

What are operators asking for today that they weren’t five years ago? How have their expectations shifted in terms of flexibility, automation, and customer experience?

What’s interesting is that operators today aren’t necessarily asking for deep AI solutions-at least not yet. That’s typical with any new technology. It’s really our job as the tech provider to identify the problems that are best solved with GenAI and bring those solutions to market. We’ve already started doing that, and we have a pretty exciting (and still mostly secret) roadmap ahead.

What operators are asking for is a much more elevated end-customer experience. The bar has been raised-travelers are far more tech-savvy and expect more than a printed binder with a static itinerary. They want digital, interactive, personalized experiences, and operators are under pressure to deliver that.

Travel technology has traditionally been male-dominated. Have you encountered unique challenges or unique opportunities being a female leader in this space?

One thing I didn’t realize when I first entered this space is how many women are actually driving the travel industry. The majority of people we work with every day are women, and many of them are building companies of their own. That energy has been a huge force in shaping how we’ve approached our new product, Nivo.

We’ve been working closely with female entrepreneurs who are just as invested in shaping the future as we are. Those relationships have become deeply personal, and that level of trust and collaboration is invaluable when you’re creating something entirely new. There’s nothing more important than having partners who want to build alongside you and are willing to share candid feedback every step of the way. Our mentality is simple: when we succeed, they succeed. It’s a partnership.

Nivo is your newer product line. What was the impetus for creating it, and how does it differ from Softrip in purpose and design?

The idea for Nivo came directly from the market. For years, we found ourselves turning away 90–95% of our inbound leads because our enterprise platform, Softrip, was simply too big, too expensive, and too complex for smaller, scrappier tour operators-especially teams with fewer than 10 employees. But the inquiries kept coming, and we started to realize: what if we were overlooking a huge opportunity?

At the same time, we were watching what had unfolded in the single-day tour operator market. That space has matured significantly, while the multi-day market still felt nascent and underserved. Our hypothesis was that smaller operators didn’t need the weight of a full ERP system-they just needed a few critical pieces of the workflow brought together in one seamless solution. What we found was striking: many of these operators were using four or five different tools-a booking and payments system, a separate platform for itinerary creation, Canva for travel documents, and Excel for pricing.

Nivo was built to solve that pain point, from the ground up, backed by our 25+ years of experience in the industry. With Nivo, an operator can create one itinerary and instantly present it in multiple formats, whether as a polished proposal, a final travel document, or a mobile-ready itinerary. It’s designed to be lightweight and easy to use, so that a small team can be up and running in a single business day. In fact, most can build their first proposal in under 30 minutes.

After just a year and a half of building, we’re already pulling customers away from well-established competitors, and the momentum has us extremely excited about the future.

Different Market Segments: Can you walk us through the types of tour operators that are the best fit for Softrip versus those who would thrive with Nivo?

Softrip is a perfect fit for larger, more complex operators-typically teams with 25+ employees who need the full power of an ERP. These companies often manage multiple product lines (FIT, groups, cruises, multi-day tours), work with large volumes of suppliers, and require deep functionality across contracting, inventory management, accounting, and reporting. Softrip not only serves as the backbone of their operations, but it also allows them to scale without constantly needing to add more people. With its strong focus on data, powerful reporting, and financial visibility, Softrip gives these operators the insights and control they need to run efficiently and grow confidently on a global stage.

Nivo, on the other hand, was designed specifically for smaller, scrappy operators-usually teams of fewer than 10 employees. These businesses are often growing quickly but struggling with disconnected tools. Nivo pulls key functionality together into one lightweight solution. It makes it easy to implement repeatable processes for a growing team, and it frees up operators to take on more customers, expand into new destinations, and build relationships with additional suppliers. Fast to adopt-Nivo gives smaller operators a polished, professional presence that helps them compete with much larger players.