A travel-trade alternative to Microsoft Dynamics 365
Dynamics is chosen for the organisation. RepBud is chosen for the rep — logging a conversation from a trade-show floor by voice, photo or forwarded email, and turning a season of it into the report a represented property is waiting for.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a broad business applications platform that sits alongside the rest of the Microsoft stack.
What is RepBud?
Travel businesses often arrive at Dynamics 365 from the same direction: the group already runs Microsoft, so it is there in the licence and IT can deploy it alongside everything else. That is a sound reason for an organisation to standardise, and Dynamics is a capable platform for it. The question worth asking separately is who the day-to-day tool was shaped for — because a sales rep between a lodge visit and an airport is a different user from a head-office team.
RepBud is built for that rep. A meeting is logged in seconds by typing, speaking, photographing a handwritten notebook page or a business card, or by forwarding the email or WhatsApp thread — and it matches the contact, links the company and files it into a relationship history that runs for years. Trade shows, portfolio coverage and per-client activity reporting are part of the tool rather than something configured into it. It is mobile-first on iOS and Android with a web dashboard behind it.
The two are not mutually exclusive. A group can keep Dynamics as the system of record for the business and give the trade sales team something built for their week — contacts and activity export whenever you want them.
What it brings to your day
Shaped for the rep, not the org chart
Capture where the work happens
Log a meeting by text, voice, a photo of a business card or notebook page, or by forwarding the email or WhatsApp thread. Nothing waits for a desk, a laptop or a form.
Relationships that run for years
A trade relationship is not a deal that closes. Coverage is tracked over seasons — who has been seen, who has gone quiet, which buyers have not been reached this year.
The report a client is waiting for
Per-client activity reports drawn from what was logged, over the date range asked for — the monthly or quarterly account of the work a represented property pays a retainer to receive.
No deployment project
The travel-trade workflow is built in, so a small team starts the same afternoon without an implementation partner, an administrator or a configuration phase.
When is Microsoft Dynamics 365 the better choice?
RepBud is a rep's field companion, not a business applications platform. It does not run finance, service or operations, it is not a place to model custom objects across departments, and it does not aim to be the single system of record for a whole group. Where an organisation is standardising on the Microsoft stack and wants sales sitting in the same platform as everything else — with its reporting, its automation and its identity management alongside — Dynamics 365 is genuinely the better home for that, and that is a reasonable decision to make on its own terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions people ask us
Is RepBud a Dynamics 365 alternative for a travel sales team?+
For the day-to-day job of a travel rep — logging conversations in the field, matching contacts, prepping meetings, tracking follow-ups and producing per-client activity reports — yes, and a small team is running the same afternoon. Whether it is the right alternative depends on what the wider organisation needs from a platform, so compare both against your own situation.
We already pay for Microsoft. Why would we add something?+
Sometimes you would not, and that is a fair answer. The case for adding something is narrow and specific: the trade sales team is the part of a travel business that works away from a desk, and a tool they actually use in the corridor produces a record the organisation does not otherwise have. Where the team is already logging properly, there is less to gain.
Can we run both?+
Yes, and several teams do. RepBud is where the rep works in the field; contacts and activity export whenever you want to feed something else. Your data is yours and we make it straightforward to take with you.
Can I bring my existing contacts across?+
Yes. RepBud ReRoot imports contacts and companies from CSV, Excel and most major CRMs, matching people on their email address, or on name and company where there is no email, so importing again updates those contacts rather than adding them twice. Moving across does not mean starting from a blank contact book.
Does RepBud do everything Dynamics 365 does?+
No, and it is not trying to. Dynamics is a broad platform spanning far more than sales, and organisations choose it for exactly that reach. RepBud is a focused companion for travel trade sales — narrower on purpose, and shaped around one job.
Does RepBud replace my own judgement about a relationship?+
No. RepBud is designed to assist, not replace, your professional judgement. It captures the conversation, matches the contact and surfaces what needs attention next — the call on what to do about it stays with you.
Have a look for yourself
Start free on Economy, bring your contacts across with ReRoot, and log your first meeting today. No card needed to sign up.
Start free →Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a trademark of its respective owner and is not affiliated with, or endorsing, RepBud. This page describes RepBud and is based on publicly available information as of July 2026; it makes no representations about Microsoft Dynamics 365’s current features or pricing. Both are good tools built by people who care about their craft — please compare them against your own needs before deciding. RepBud is designed to assist, not replace, your professional judgement.