Making the long tail of travel distribution work for you:
As a supplier. As an agent or tour operator.
WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT AFRICA:
Diverse inventory:
• Few large hotels.
• MANY smaller, independent properties.
• Difficult to find, book and pay them.
WHY ARE THE INDEPENDENTS POPULAR?
Immersion travel: “Live like a local”.
It’s all about the experience.
Immersion
Travel
TIME IS MONEY:
The Travel Agent Dilemma
•
•
•
Sourcing
Phoning
Email ping-pong
www.bestppt.com
Travellers focus on experiencing a particular place
by connecting to its history, people and culture
Tour Operator Quotes
•
•
•
Planning itineraries
Quotes & availability
TIME
The Corporate Traveller
•
•
•
Contracting
Travel approval from management
Bill-back & invoicing
The long tail…
[…a high volume of a few popular items
and low volume of thousands of
niche or unique items
…]
Chris Anderson
https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/4723/6-Ways-to-Leverage-the-Long-Tail-in-Your-Marketing
Head
Long tail
Accommodation
Head
Hotels
R5 billion
Long tail
B&Bs; Guest Houses, Apartments
Marketing Channels
Head
OTAs
Long tail
Local sites; Agents; LTOs; AirBnB
Activities
Head
Table Mountain; Red Bus
Long tail
Meerkat Magic; Lindt Chocolate Experience
The long tail…
[…a shift away from a focus on a relatively
small number of "hits" …and toward a
huge number of niches in the tail. …
less need to lump products into
one-size-fits-all containers
…]
Chris Anderson
http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/about.html
Building a long tail…
•
•
•
•
•
6000 properties
30 countries
NEW: Nigeria & Ghana
Realtime booking
Easy payment options
Connecting the long tail
WHITE
LABEL
BOOKING
LINKS
API
INTEGRATION
EXTRANET
UPDATE
1
2
3
4
www.bestppt.com
TRAVELBOOK.CO.ZA
ACTIVITIES, EXCURSIONS
Solutions for Operators & Agents
TRAVELBOOK.CO.ZA:
•
•
•
3700 properties
10-15% commission
Online payment & disbursement
OR
•
Set up your
contracted
properties.
v
TRAVELBOOK.CO.ZA:
OWN SITE:
• Booking Links
FULL INTEGRATION:
Agent & Operator Tools
•
•
•
•
•
•
Tourplan
Travelogic
Travelport (Rooms & More)
GDS: Travelport (Hotelzon)
GDS: Pegasus
Booking.com / Expedia
Benefits for agents & operators
PAYMENTS
AVAILABILITY
PEACE OF MIND
For properties:
•
•
•
Instant notification of bookings.
Sync bookings with front-office system.
Booking & payment support.
For properties:
•
•
Full property
management
system or
connection to PMS.
One system
updates all
channels.
Channel Management
And many more…
Your Booking Engine. Your rules.
Activities;
Day trips;
Excursions
Secure online
payments with the
gateway of your
choice.
Booking & Payment
Channels
Concierge
Review Collection
Facebook
Web &
Mobile
Grabbing the long tail…
[…the internet has allowed us
an unprecedented opportunity
to pursue our very individual tastes
…]
Mark Jones
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/long-tail-tourism-indulging-our-travel-tastes-10033626.html
Grabbing the long tail…
•
•
•
•
Be unique;
Explore a niche;
Focus on a market;
Connect through technology.
nightsbridge.com
@nightsbridge