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Covering the Inbound Tourism Industry Since 1996

NTA’s Bob Rouse on Going Solo … with a Group

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“Is it a contradiction—or a stroke of genius—to travel by yourself … but with a group? I was part of a group that explored Utah’s five national parks with Southwestern Adventure Tours this spring, and two members of our entourage were traveling solo: Erin Lekberg, an accountant from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Chris Bell, a native of England who works in Australia as a civil engineer. I had a few questions for them, and their answers were enlightening. They were also reassuring, because even though I was on the job, I was also a solo traveler.” (Read the rest by clicking here.)

 

Solo travelers Erin Lekberg and Chris Bell on their group tour

 

 

 

How Channel Managers are Changing Attraction Distribution By Bob Gilbert

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(At Connect Travel’s recent RTO Summit New York, Bob Gilbert, CEO of Captivation Marketing, moderated a panel discussion on the ways in which channel managers are changing distribution for tour and activity companies. We asked him to synthesize the panel forum’s work and its topical discussion into a single piece so that we could share it with our readers. The multilingual Gilbert is well suited to the task, having served some four decades in a wide swath of the tour and travel industry, including key roles in the hotel, food service, tours and entertainment, destination marketing and travel trade publication sectors.)

Overlooked? No more:  The $190 billion global tours and activity business is coming of age as more focus is given to this industry segment.

The most fun part of planning any leisure trip is deciding where to go. Sounds uncomplicated enough. The travelers will discuss the all the things they want to see or do in the destinations they are considering. They will compare the options. The decision is made and the transport and lodging is booked. Price is a secondary factor where most people’s thought process is made on the emotional side of the equation. In fact, according to an Expedia Media Group survey, price follows activities, bucket lists and cultural experiences in the decision path. Validating this is the fact that at least 97 percent of leisure travelers booked a tour, visited an attraction or did an activity on a trip in the past year, according to a recent Arival survey.

What’s upside down (or back to front) about the process is that the most significant part of trip (the experiences) are mostly not booked at the same time as the transportation and lodging. However, it’s the experiences that are remembered most, not the middle row of your flight or the hotel room next door to the elevator. The fastest growing experiences, according to TripAdvisor, are family friendly trips, then trips with a thirst to learn and engage with the community – one way and another. This includes classes or workshops, wellness, outdoor activities especially water sports and food and wine experiences – even marijuana facility tours in some states! Today’s travelers want to bring home memories not just a tan.

 

Today, booking software dominates: Trip Advisor (Viator’s parent) purchased Bókun; Booking Holdings purchased FareHarbor and rumors of consolidation and other mergers and acquisition abound.

When one studies the core differences between the booking software providers, these days there is little to meaningfully separate their competitive functionality. These differences are narrowing. So what are the key differences?

 

The most important piece of the puzzle is distribution: If we accept that fact that there are mainstream booking software businesses like Rezdy, Fareharbor, Peak Pro, TrekkSoft et als, in one camp, then we see more activity-specific providers who focus on museums, zoos, aquariums etc. Yet another group specializes in booking software for events and catering, the specialist list is getting longer day by day.

Now it gets more complicated. Is your booking software provider owned by an OTA? Does your booking software provider compete with you with a B2C and B2B facing strategy? Does your service provider have a variety of pricing options including monthly subscriptions and commission based?

The point is that you may have a product that you work hard at being unique and provide exemplary service with rave reviews. You work hard at building or licensing the best booking software for the best price point. (Unless you decide to pass the booking fee to the customer, which can be dicey, with a current 81 percent cart abandonment in online travel bookings.) Also check how many countries they operate in. You want reach vis distribution. To me, the most important piece of the puzzle is distribution. Built into distribution is channel management. Channel Management should provide you with a single point of contact for all of your booking agents, large or small.

 

 

 

 

If you want to play in the Big Boys OTA poker game, the cost of entry, (as well as the stakes), are high.

True channel management should allow you to pick and choose which OTA you wish to work with. Yes, it comes at a cost, 20 percent, 25 percent and perhaps 30 percent. But if you want to play in the Big Boys OTA poker game, the cost of entry, (as well as the stakes), are high. How much inventory do you want to offer to OTAs? 20 percent? More? How will you drive more direct or more profitable business?

Better to find a booking software provider that has the biggest list of agents in its marketplace and allows you to open and close inventory agent by agent (or collectively), and allows you to change commission and net rates “on the fly”. This then helps you develop a long tail distribution strategy.

There are thousands and thousands of smaller agents and tour operators out there who are happy to get 10 percent, 12 percent. 15 percent. And you are happy being more profitable conducting business with them as well.

These “long tail’ agents are tough to reach on your own. You also want a channel management platform where you can easily add your own agents. Remember to compare both booking software costs as well channel management costs.

 

The next part of the journey is revenue management (AKA dynamic pricing): This, as it was back in my hospitality days, will become increasingly relevant as suppliers “Channel Manage” with a well thought out pricing and distribution strategy. But remember, you can’t have a pricing strategy and dynamic pricing without a channel manager and its distribution. Today’s challenge is not about the lack of great tours and attractions, not the lack of booking software, it’s identifying which provider has the largest most comprehensive channel management platform. Today, huge distribution channels are easily accessible—you just have to do a little digging.

Centralized Channel Management is the future, existing methods are outdated, time consuming to manage & prone to errors. Channel managers offer two-way connections to the best booking sites & channels globally and locally. They can easily manage all your products online to increase revenue. Eliminate guesswork and use data to drive your decisions. Here is a guide to come key players (note that these companies often change options and pricing:

TrekkSoft (Established in 2010, Independent) https://www.trekksoft.com/

Highlights: A suite of tools to connect your front and back of house.

Channel Manager: Connects with leading OTA’s including Viator, Expedia, Get Your Guide, and more.

Pricing: Plans start from under $60 per month for their entry package and $225 a month for enterprise accounts. Offline booking fees start from $0.60, and online 2 percent.

 Rezdy (Established in 2011, Independent) https://www.rezdy.com/

Highlights: Good solution for tour & activity companies of all sizes. Tailored to the type of business. Solid suite of customized reporting. Zapier and TOMIS integrated. Winner: Capterra Best Ease of Use Award 2018

Channel Manager: Most comprehensive Channel Manager with over 14,000 booking agents including OTA’s such as Expedia, Get Your Guide, Ctrip, Trip Advisor Experiences, Klook, Musement, Reserve with Google and more. $3.5 million in booking revenue daily.

Pricing: Rezdy pricing start at $49 a month for their entry plan up to $249 for Expansion (Enterprise accounts) and includes Developer API. Custom plans available. Offline booking from 0.70 cents. Online bookings from 1.75 percent.

FareHarbor (Established in 2013. Acquired by Booking Holdings in 2018) https://fareharbor.com/

Highlights: Pay as you go models. Scale could be a challenging. No Zapier integration and unable to bundle multiple products on one package. Suitable for smaller businesses.

Channel Manager: You can connect with Booking.com and other larger OTAs.

Pricing: Suppliers are charged a credit card processing fee and supplier passes fees to customers as a suggested 6% “convenience fee.”

Peek Pro (Established in 2012. Independent) https://www.peek.com/pro/

Highlights: Peek has both a B2B as well as B2B offerings. Acquired many Zozi assets in 2017.  Good shopping cart. Limited Reseller program.

Channel Manager: You can connect with Expedia and Viator with this solution. This could limit or restrict your audience, or increase admin time and costs to manage.

Pricing: $199 supplier set up fee, then 2.3 percent per transaction plus $0.30. Manual booking fees are also 2.3 percent per transaction plus $0.30. There is a commission charged for business booked via Peek B2C website (similar to OTA commissions)

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(Full disclosure: Mr. Gilbert’s company, Captivation Marketing, handles business development for Rezdy)

Five Ways to Stay Productive on the Road as An Entrepreneur

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“You simply must stay productive while on the road.”

by Faisal Sublaban*

President CEO of Bonotel Exclusive Travel

 

As the CEO of an international travel and hospitality company, I travel more than most would care to. Over the years, it’s become increasingly clear to me that, even when you’re traveling for business, it’s very easy to lose sight of your greater business goals and fall behind — whether that’s due to jet-lag, being out of pocket on a plane, in meetings abroad, entertaining clients or just plain carelessness. Due to improvements in technology and changes in workplace environments, recent studies have shown that you can be far more productive in your job while in a remote location away from your office. A 2016 survey of 509 Americans who work outside an office found that about 91 percent of them felt more productive while away from their office.

You simply must stay productive while on the road, because what are your other options? Stop traveling and watch your entire business fall behind? No way. It’s something of a catch-22: The core of my success has been mixing exploratory passions and finding ways to expand a global network. I want to get out to the far corners of the world that others are too hesitant, or perhaps too lazy, to reach. But, I know that in order to do that and grow my business, I need to stay incredibly focused, healthy and disciplined while on the move. I need to push myself.

Here are five techniques I’ve picked up over the years that have helped me stay productive and ahead of the curve while traveling.

 

1.Accept the power of your phone.

It honestly makes me chuckle that I have a laptop I never use, mainly because I’m barely ever at my desk. I’ve come to realize and accept that I do 95 percent of my business on my phone. Yes, that even means the occasional multimillion-dollar deal, where I’ll sign the digital dotted line using my SignNow app. Check that one out.

A lot of people these days will urge you to take time away from your phone, and I’ll agree that every now and then it’s healthy to do a digital detox, but you need to accept how important your smartphone is to streamlining your work and staying connected across time zones when you’re traveling. A study by Salesforce even found that 86 percent of the 1,400 surveyed corporate executives and employees say that ineffective communication is a large reason for failures in the workplace.

If you do international business, I can’t stress enough how important WhatsApp is for communicating with your clients, customers and partners quickly and efficiently. Emails will always be a part of business, but having the opportunity to send a WhatsApp message to a customer saying, “Hey, we’re looking for your feedback here,” or “I’m seeing this problem,” offers the kind of immediate connectivity you can’t find anywhere else. Organize your phone like you would any other part of your business, and don’t just see it as a distraction. You’ll be far more productive in the long run.

 

2.Articulate your vision.

One of the more difficult challenges when it comes to being a leader, especially one who travels all the time, is articulating a consistent vision to your team. Don’t ever be afraid to rely on your employees to keep everything in motion. For myself, this often gets distilled down into what each person on your team’s area of focus and expertise is. Once you know that, you can gauge who to assign items to and design a process around that.

One of the things that I’ve had to learn over the years is to never assume people know what’s in your head, and instead be very clear and crisp around what the expectations are from the onset. When you fail to do this, people start to deviate. That’s when things can get messy when you’re not around the office for days or weeks on end.

Also, make sure you have strong leadership beneath you. Trust that those people are going to execute on your vision and what you put in front of them. Trust is lost not earned! Ensure you don’t leave an open feedback loop that two months later will leave projects half-finished. Communication is everything in both life and business. Lastly, empower your team to make decisions, and be there to help them learn and improve along the way.

 

3.Start early.

Traveling, especially when overseas, is undoubtedly exhausting. Don’t let this slow you down when you need to be on top of your game. What I like to do first thing in the morning is get up, get in a workout and then, while I’m having breakfast and coffee, I start catching up on everything. When you’re traveling, by the end of the day a deep mental fatigue often sets in.

Sometimes you’re in a different time zone, entertaining clients or running 12 hours straight in back-to-back meetings. In these instances, it’s often difficult to be fully engaged. If you have that steady cadence every morning of dialing in on your goals and deliverables, you’re going to buy yourself a lot of valuable time. This might mean just clearing out a massive chunk of your inbox so you can stay ahead of your office, depending on what time zone you’re in. Conversely, you may have to delegate to your team and prioritize what is critical to your business and necessitates your involvement.

 

4.Leverage your downtime.

Getting the most out of your downtime is incredibly valuable — whether it be 20 minutes in a cab or an hour in your hotel room. Georgetown University professor and author Cal Newport has a theory of “deep work,” where peak productivity boils down to the time spent working multiplied by the intensity of focus.

Take your downtime to intently catch up on emails or take important calls; these are the windows where you can “gain back” moments lost in the mix of traveling. If you try to do everything at once and push the limits of multi-tasking, you’re going to get hit with email fatigue and, eventually, pure and utter exhaustion.

I like to look at things in threes: What are three things I need to get done today? When can I slot them into my schedule when I will be most clear-headed and efficient? Answering these questions will alleviate a lot of stress and make you feel less overwhelmed.

 

5.Water is your friend.

People ask me a lot about tricks to kicking jet-lag, and time and time again it comes down to staying hydrated. I don’t drink alcohol on long flights anymore, but instead ask the flight attendants to bring me a liter of water that I have them refill constantly. Maybe I look silly, but in the end, I feel ten times better when I get to my destination.

Second, the minute you leave your initial destination, you have to put your mind in the time zone you’re going to. So, if you’re going on a 10-hour flight from Europe back to Los Angeles, for example, try not to sleep the entire 10 hours, or when you land you’ll never be able to sleep. I sleep a maximum of four hours on the flight when coming back from Europe to the U.S. On the contrary, if you’re going to Europe, force yourself to sleep as much as you can so when you land you’re awake and refreshed. When you get to your destination, you need to stay awake. Don’t listen to people who try to sneak in little naps — it doesn’t work. Also, try to work up a sweat in the gym or on a run around a new city. And eat healthy! It all helps. In fact, studies have shown that workers who exercise before or between meetings and other tasks boost their productivity up to 15 percent.

This isn’t rocket science, but I’ve seen so many people on trips do the opposite and become a total wreck. Don’t be that person.

*This article first appeared on Entrepreneur.com on Jan. 31, 2019

How Attractions Can Prepare for Chinese New Year’s Visitors

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Happy New Year! For Asian countries, the new year is not only celebrated on January 1st, but also on the traditional Chinese New Year which occurs between the end of January and middle of February each year. Here is a link to find the date and corresponding Zodiac animal for each year through 2030.

Also known as Spring Festival, it is becoming increasingly popular to take long-distance trips during this two week period. This bump in tourism in the winter is great for many of us. It is a slower season when we are happy to see any visitor come through the door! Over the years I have leveraged this business through some simple actions that anyone can take.

 

Decorate

Chinese New Year is a festive occasion with red lanterns, banners, and the Zodiac animal featured prominently. This article gives some great information on the most popular decorations.

I have been able to travel to Chinatown in NYC to get decorations at pop up shops that are sandwiched everywhere on the busy streets. I usually am lucky enough to get one of the office staff from my favorite tour operator to come with me and help me figure out what to buy.

One time when I went shopping alone, I ended up coming home with a poster that was particularly colorful and festive. I placed it prominently at our group check-in area, only to be told by a tour guide that it said ” Happy Marriage”! I ended up taking it down and giving it to a woman in my office who was getting married later that year. So unless you read Mandarin, its best to bring someone with you or choose items with no writing!

If you aren’t located near a major city, there are plenty of places online to shop for Chinese New Year decorations. We buy some that are generic and can be re-used, and then some that feature the Zodiac animal of the year. This is an inexpensive way to make Chinese guests feel welcome and special.

 

Offer Asian food

If you offer food, consider offering an Asian specialty during Chinese New Year. It is a good time to experiment since it typically isn’t busy, and your cafe can develop items that you might be able to offer full time as your Chinese visitor market grows.

One easy option- noodle cups. They are easy to display and there is a great sales margin on them. You will also see that customers tend to stock up- they will buy multiples so they can have them in their hotels. You do need to provide plenty of hot water. We learned quickly that the demand for noodle cups made it necessary to upgrade our hot water supply. But for starters, you can just use several urns that have never been used to hold coffee (that leaves the water with a coffee taste).

I have learned that the noodle cups that are popular in the U.S.( like Oodles of Noodles) are not what Chinese want. It is worth the effort to find noodle cups that are Chinese. We have gotten samples from our suppliers and asked tour guides to give us their opinion on which would be most popular. They appreciated being asked, and we got expert taste testers!

 

Try Something New

This can also be a good time to see if there is an activity that this market might enjoy – and pay for. Is there a hands-on element of your attraction that you can try? The Chinese tour operators are always eager for DIY projects (DIY is a more common term than ‘hands- on’ for the Chinese market) that they can sell to customers. The key is to make it easy, quick and something that won’t take up much room in the luggage. Pricing is important as well. Look for a future post on tour costs and the Chinese market.

 

 

Red money envelopes

These small envelopes traditionally contain money and are given out to friends and family. This article gives a great background. I have seen retailers such as the Mall of America give out Red envelopes that contained coupons for discounts, free passes to the rides, and other items. So smart! This small gesture shows that you are China ready. It would be easy to produce a discount card for your retail outlet and place them in an envelope. Red money envelopes are even available for digital distribution through WeChat! (If you aren’t familiar with WeChat, check out these posts.)

 

 

 

Retail products in form of Zodiac animal

Highlighting items in your gift shop that feature the zodiac animal of the year is another way to increase revenue. It is even better if your products can contain your destination or attractions name which will make it a great souvenir. Can you offer a product that has all the zodiac animals as options? I have seen people that would like to buy products that feature the animals of their family members. Or a whole set. Keep in mind that they have to be lightweight and easily packed.

 

Photo Opportunities

Social media is very popular with Chinese and everyone takes photos and posts them for friends and family to see. First, off, make sure you offer free wifi. That should be a basic amenity. Second, are there photo ops that also include the name of your destination, your logo or your website? Let your guests promote you at no cost. Make it special for New year by featuring the Zodiac animal as a photo opportunity!

 

Final thoughts

I have been offering workshops on becoming China ready, as well as trainings on how to use WeChat. As I often say, you don’t have to be fluent in Mandarin, but you do need to know WeChat to be successful in this market. Email me if you would like more information on the training and workshops.

I am looking to grow my subscriber list to 1000 by June 1. Can you forward this to a colleague or friend who might enjoy learning more about the tourism industry? Thank you!

The post Chinese New Year- a winter boost for Tourist attractions appeared first on The Attractions Coach.

 

(Sally Berry is tourism sales and marketing manager at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York. A veteran tour and travel industry marketing professional, she launched The Attractions Coach nearly two years ago. A frequent speaker and program panelist at industry conferences and workshops, she will be making a presentation on “How to Market on WeChat” at the upcoming Active America-China conference March 25-27 in Atlanta. For more information, visit www.activeamericachina.net.)

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