Coaching calls are a 50 minute phone call or zoom. 

Usually these are held once a fortnight where we run through what’s happening in your business, where sales and marketing activities are at and what the income and expenses looks like. Then we look at what actions need to occur for the next fortnight to keep working towards your goals. 

This is a great option for owners who want to do it themselves and it will help keep you and the business on track. You can ask questions and get help when you need it. 

Before you discount your product or experience to get people in during off or low season, consider creating some packages.

Packages are a great way to provide a saving to the customer without promoting a discount that impacts your brand. 

If you are an accommodation provider consider offering a 3 night package with an experience component like a free river cruise. Then you can market two brands, not just one to help you attract more guests. 

This is just one way to look at increasing sales during the off or low season. 

Every business so my belief is to have a customised approach however for ease of this response I will be general 

1. Create a compelling brand message/story. 

Guests connect with your story. If you can create your story in a way that connects with potential guests then they have a reason to engage with you. 

Start by looking at the values of the business, how it evolved and most importantly why it exists and what it provides to guests. 

Share your story.

2. Leverage social media and your digital content.

Use social media to talk to your audience. 

Create blogs, share stories and beautiful content to engage with your potential customers and existing customers.

Put together a Social Media calendar of content, information and stories that you know reflect your brand and highlight what your business is all about. 

3. Collaborate with your Local Partners

Ever heard of better together? I am a firm believer in working together for the good of all. There I suggest you engage with other local businesses, councils, and tourism organisations to extend your reach. 

Collaborate on initiatives, consider cross-promotions, and create packages can help attract more guests and create a sense of community. 

This approach not only increases visibility but also builds credibility and trust within your local tourism market​​.

Increasing reviews is just a case of asking for them. 

When your guest completes an experience or stay simply ask them to leave a review and direct them to where you want the review. My preference is for google reviews for tourism based business to drive business directly to your website however having reviews on OTAs will certainly ensure the bookings are flowing in. 

Sustainability in terms of the environment is quite simple to get started on. 

1. Recycle  - anything and everything you can.

2. Reuse - stop purchasing single use items and purchase longer lasting items. 

3. Reduce - consider the environmental and cost savings by reducing your purchasing. Look at what you don't need to buy or accumulate and stop buying it. 

Get your team involved and reward them for every sustainable or environmental improvement they come up with and implement in the business. 

There is a lot you can do to make your website work better and into increase direct bookings. 

Here is my top 3 suggestions:

1. Ensure your website is user friendly and easy to use.

Ensure your website is easy to navigate with a clean, attractive design and easy to understand menu items.

Include clear call to action buttons like "Book Now" prominently displayed on every page.

2. Provide Detailed and Engaging Content:

Offer comprehensive information about your products, services, accommodation, and local attractions. 

Use high quality photos and videos to showcase what makes your business unique and why customers need to experience what you are offering. 

3. Streamline your booking process.

Simplify the booking process by minimising the number of steps needed to complete a reservation. 

Ensure your booking system is mobile-friendly and provides instant confirmation.

I suggest no more than 4 steps to complete a booking.

There are a lot of benefits to offering personalised travel experiences in your tourism business. These are not always possible to achieve however when you do get it right there is significant upside. 

Personalised travel experiences increase customer satisfaction. When you tailor an experience then you are meeting and hopefully exceeding the needs of each guest. This will then lead to higher rates of customer satisfaction and more positive reviews.

Following on from increased customer satisfaction you will find that the chance of repeat visits increases, you now have a deeper connection with your guests and you can build long term loyalty.

Personalised travel experiences also provide a competitive advantage. By offering customised experiences you differentiate your business from competitors, attracting your ideal travellers who are seeking unique and memorable experiences.

Head on is the only way to handle negative customer feedback. 

Read it, understand it, investigate if needed and finally own it.

From time to time you will get negative feedback that isn’t warranted and I suggest you say so. 

However when you get feedback you deserve, call the customer. Talk to them, Let them talk it out, then identify what you are going to do to rectify it. Let the customer know the changes you will make so it doesn't happen again. 

If the customer doesn't want to take down the review then respond with what you have done to make changes. Potential customers will appreciate your efforts. 

This is easy and very hard to answer. 

I sold my tourism businesses to save my life. 

That sounds super dramatic I know, however it’s true. I allowed the 3 businesses we bought in 5 years to consume me.

Before COVID-19 I enjoyed being in business, I loved the challenge, I loved growing it and being creative. We bought two businesses in 2 years, it wasn’t easy but it wasn’t hard or demanding. I invested a lot of time and a lot of myself however I enjoyed it and felt like life was balanced and going well. 

When COVID hit, it all changed. I was consumed with worry and stress. The businesses were all I thought about, all I could focus on. My concern was ensuring they survived on my watch.

I allowed myself to be swallowed up, I took everything on, I put way too much pressure on myself and the people around me. I showed up externally but internally I was disintegrating. I pushed the stress and concern, anxiety and darkness down inside with the hope that it would fade away but instead I snapped. 

I continued to run the businesses for another 12 months as well as adding one more to make 3 businesses. Christmas 2021 I knew something had to give, I tried making structural changes in the business but I didn’t have the support to do that so then I had one option. I had to get out. 9 months later I walked away.

There are so many apps, platforms and helpful pieces of technology that will make a difference in your business. 

Top choices:

1. Online booking system so you have bookings on your website

2. Chat GPT for assistance with creating content 

3. Accounting software that is cloud based and accessible by mobile so you can keep an eye on your finances at all times. 

4. Google Suite - Calendar, Docs etc will make you and your team more collaborative and work better together

5. SEMRush, Later or similar to handle all your social posts.

6. Google Analytics to track what your website is doing and how well you are doing from a website traffic perspective.

Cash flow management in tourism can be really hard as we have high peak periods and very low off-peak periods with no change to hard costs and expenses. 

I suggest you have a cash flow spreadsheet or tracker in your accounting software. Look at it every month, adjust it to reflect actual expenses and know how much money you have in the bank and ensure you can cover your costs.

If you are struggling with large bills, pay them monthly while you get on track. Manage your staff rosters to ensure you can retain staff but are not overspending when you don't need to. 

Put your Tax, PAYG and GST (or your country’s version of these) aside in a separate account each month no matter what then you always have money when you need to pay the tax department.

I have seen everything you can imagine to personalise and enhance guest experiences. 

Look at what you are offering in regards to your products and services and look at what low cost or not cost options you can offer. 

Apartment Building / Holiday rentals; 

• Offer blow up toys for families to play with in the pool. 

• Set up a sunscreen station by the pool.

• Provide pool/beach towels 

• Add some groceries to the fridge before guests check in; consider bread, milk, fruit, jam, butter/margarine. 

If your customers often have kids, look at providing something that they won't have to travel with. 

• Stroller or cot rental 

• TV stations with kids appropriate shows.

• Beach huts and mats for rent

• Easy games with no small pieces

I suggest you reach out to businesses that have a similar target market to you but do not compete with you. 

You can partner with them to cross promote your products and services to each other's customers. 

There are an abundance of ways to work together:

• Cross promotion on your socials. Share images and stories, tag each other. 

• Create links back and forth between each other's website and maybe even do a blog on each site about the other business. 

• Provide a special offer that your partner business can promote to their customers and vice versa.

Look at front of house points of sale material like brochures, posters, screen displays and more. 

You will see that posts are getting less and less engagement and interaction on social media. The reason being is we have so much on our feeds these days. So many ads and so many promotions grabbing our attention, we tend to scroll faster and not necessarily look at what we are seeing or bother to like, share or comment. 

Building a Social Media audience takes a long time so I suggest you share your content regularly 2-3 times per week across multiple platforms. So when customers do come looking for you that you have a full feed. This builds trust and credibility. 

Social Media is a great way to share reviews, create imagery for your tourism experience or accommodation. Show people how good you are essentially. Also provide them with helpful tips and information on how to book with you, why they need to book with you and what happens when they do book with you. 

Being adaptable is a skill and not everyone can do it.

Someone who is adapting to meet changing travel trends is someone who stays informed about the changes, understands and researches what customers want and identifies and uses improvements in technology.

Educate yourself, identify what you can do in your business to improve and meet changing trends and continually adapt.

Talk to your customers, know what they like about your offering and what they don't. Read reviews of your experiences and follow up. 

When you understand your customers and their needs you will deliver a product that connects with them. That is how loyal customers or even advocates evolve. 

In travel and tourism we don't always have returning customers so look at ways you can encourage people to keep coming back. Maybe offer different incentives or experiences for repeat visitors. 

At the very least ask them to recommend your experience to their visiting family and friends.

There are quite a few steps in accessing new markets, so I will be as brief as possible and highlight where to start.

1. What product are you hoping to sell to these new markets?

2. What do you know about the market you are targeting? Get as much information as you can to ensure you understand the customers?

3. Then ask yourself how does the product meet the market needs and cultural considerations?

4. Does your product operate in the seasons this market travels to your country or destination?

5. Which agents will you work with to get your product to market?

6. Speak to your local tourism organisation to get information and contact for agents you would like to access. They may even provide an introduction. 

Start there and remember going into a new market takes time and persistence. It doesn't happen magically, it takes a commitment. 

If you need help please do get in touch.

My immediate response is why do you need to make your destination more appealing? Maybe more saleable?

Working with your local tourism authority is step one in making your destination more appealing. 

If you don't have a local tourism authority, talk to your local council or government to see what they are doing to build tourism to your destination. 

See how you can work with them to help promote the destination. I suggest you pull any and all business owners who may get tourism customers and talk about how you can work together to promote your destination.  

Then look at what flights are coming in and from where. Those are the low hanging fruit in terms of target markets. Start there in promoting your destination.