September 7, 2021
Planning a trip is no easy feat, especially with the unpredictability of 2021. Travelers are often looking for tours to book in either their downtime prior to their trip, or even once they have arrived to their final destination. Imagine having 20+ tabs open while you’re trying to pack or enjoy your trip! Multi-tasking travelers desire information presented in easy-to-consume ways. Does your website address these concerns of theirs?
Do you have competitors that run a similar tour? Then you need to come out and explain to travelers why they should go with you! It’s not uncommon to have several businesses offering something similar. Multiple boat tours, cooking classes, zip-lining adventures… YOU may clearly see the differences between your experience and your competitors’, but your ideal traveler may need some help to see it as well.
For example, if you search “boat tours” in the Bahamas on Tripadvisor, you’ll see there are 34 pages of results with 30 tours on each page. That’s over 1k results – how overwhelming! Travelers have so many options and they need to be told how to make an informed decision. Of course, reviews help. But so many of these tours have 5-star ratings, it’s not always a clear obvious choice. Cut out the guesswork for them, and state your bold claim.
This may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how often the tour inclusions come last, forcing prospective travelers to spend too much time searching for the details. A bulleted list is the simplest way to communicate to travelers what your tour entails. Don’t leave any detail out, no matter how small! Do you offer complimentary water bottles? That’s one less thing a traveler needs to worry about.
Write down everything your tour includes. Then, going back to point #1, compare your list to your competitors. Is it the same? Then you’re going to have to figure out a way to differentiate so that travelers have a reason to choose you. Oftentimes a few thoughtful touchpoints can win prospective travelers over who are on the fence.
Where is your tour/activity in relation to the hot spot of your destination? Are you right in the action, or are you more of a remote experience? How long does it take people to travel to your activity and what is the best mode of transportation? What do people need to know about getting to you?
This is crucial and often a source of much frustration for travelers. One day on vacation could have multiple activities and bouncing around from one to another can be exhausting. How can you make it as easy and stress-free as possible? Have you considered offering some sort of transportation pick up or drop off?
And while we’re on the topic, why not offer some free helpful resources on your destination to help travelers plan their trip? Listing a few of your favorite complementary tours & activities that are close to you will help a traveler plan their day. Plus, if they know they can do a few fun activities in a row, they’ll be more likely to book with you versus another tour that might not provide this information.
While ultimately you should provide everything your travelers need while on your tour, there are certain things that travelers need to know. Oftentimes footwear and clothing are the biggest issues that go unaddressed on a website. It may be common sense to you, but keep in mind that it might be the first time a traveler is visiting your destination or doing an activity along the lines of what you offer.
Seasons can be unpredictable, making it difficult for travelers to pack appropriately. The wrong outfit or shoes can instantly make a guest uncomfortable. It’s the little things like this that travelers need to be informed of up front.
Especially with COVID not quite in our rear-view mirror, people like to know if this is a private tour or if they will be traveling with others. If other guests are involved, how many? And most importantly, are private/custom tours an option if the guests desire it?
If there is flexibility in your offerings, then don’t keep that to yourself. Let people know that you can customize and personalize their tour experience if they wish. If a guest is willing to pay extra for special requests, why turn that away? Bespoke tours are becoming more and more desirable amongst travelers today.
Of course, addressing flexibility when it comes to weather and other unforeseen circumstances is also important. How many days does someone have to cancel before they get charged? How do refunds work? This is something we can support you with in our booking platform, too.
Of course, you should make it easy to view pricing, contact information, and another other frequently asked questions that we have not covered. Junglebee makes it easy to get all this relevant information across to travelers with our seamless booking software. Questions about how Junglebee works? Click here to sign up for a demo today!
