11 minute read
6Marketing tips from 3 experienced travel agents
Don’t have much of a budget? We asked 3 agents how they’re marketing right now
By Cindy Sosroutomo
TORONTO — When Kim Paquette first acquired her Sandals-wrapped RV, she did not expect all the “neck-wrenching.” Of course, anyone who drives a “moving billboard” can expect a few gawks on the highway. But Paquette, an Ottawa-based Incentive & Group Travel Specialist and a member of Travel Professionals International (TPI), wasn’t prepared for how amusing all the attention would be. “I watched my husband pull onto the road when a female driver completely turned her head as she drove by him,” she tells Travelweek. “It was quite comical and obvious. The compliments have been constant, too.” The 37-foot, Sandals-branded RV, the first of its kind in Canada, was a carefully thought-out investment, adds Paquette. Believing that opportunity is hidden in every crisis, she took this time of pause in the industry to zero in on her strengths and goals, and set up a strategic business plan moving forward. Sandals’ free Car Wrap program fit in perfectly with that plan. “I made the decision to make Sandals my exclusive AI product and I felt comfortable entering into an agreement with them,” she says. “I chose the photos that connect me to my target market, and the RV was completed late August. Trips have been localized to eastern Ontario but we have plans to also head to Northern Ontario and maybe the East coast. I have already received bookings into my February cruise group because of the RV.” Paquette’s plan certainly isn’t for everyone but it does speak to the value of marketing, especially during this time of crisis in the travel industry. Though bookings may have dwindled and marketing budgets have been slashed, staying visible, relevant and within reach of clients will help agents fast-track their recovery. “Even if agents don’t have the monetary means to invest in their business, they should be investing their time. Nurturing clients is free,” says Paquette. We asked Paquette and two other experienced travel advisors how they’re handling marketing during this time. Here’s what they had to say:
Kim Paquette and her Sandals-wrapped RV
“We’re connecting with our valued clients more than we ever have”
Laurie Keith, President of Boutique Travel Services in Hamilton, ON, tells Travelweek that the global pandemic has drastically impacted the way her agency markets. Before COVID-19, she budgeted around $100,000 in marketing each year, which included attending bridal shows across Canada and hosting a consumer event called The Romance Travel Show in various Canadian cities. But now? Her budget has essentially vanished.
“Dropping the marketing budget was a necessity, not only to be fiscally responsible but also because I found that not many Canadians were receptive to the idea of travel during the peak of the pandemic, especially with travel advisories, the Quarantine Act, government travel-shaming ad campaigns, cancelled flights, the mandatory hotel quarantine and testing regulations in place,” says Keith. But this didn’t mean marketing fell off the radar completely. The pandemic simply forced Keith and her team to pivot their strategy and find new ways to engage with existing clients as well as find new ones. “We started complimentary Zoom presentations in the spring of 2022 and invited our key supplier partners to co-present with us,” she says. “It began with trying to rebuild consumer confidence with the new health and safety protocols, and has now evolved to include live interviews with our travelling team members in destination speaking to wedding coordinators at the resorts, and tourism, tour operator, cruise and resort partners.” In addition, her agency converted its annual print brochure to a digital format, cleaned, updated and segmented its database, and is currently enhancing its existing CRM system by creating automatic drip campaigns, monthly newsletters, lead magnets like landing pages and more. “Retargeting existing customers is truly the least expensive marketing strategy that can yield the best results,” says Keith. “We’re connecting with our valued clients more than we ever have in the past. This, combined with launching our live events and social media marketing again in 2022, will ensure a well-rounded marketing strategy.”
“A sustainable business needs to rely on the value you provide”
Amira Harris, Destination Wedding Specialist and Luxury Travel Advisor at Aisle Travel in Calgary, has been extremely fortunate thus far – most of her business has come from referrals and vendors/suppliers that she has already worked with. Noting that her pre-pandemic marketing budget was modest at best, with priority going towards social media ads and co-promotions with suppliers, Harris says that she has never relied on “traditional” marketing. “A sustainable business needs to rely on the value you provide so that those clients you connect with come back to you again and again,” she says. Throughout the pandemic, Harris has made a point to stay in close contact with existing clients. But she also focused her energy on assisting non-clients who reached out for help, which she says is another creative way to get your name out there.
“During the peak of the pandemic, when we were helping cancel, change, rebook and sitting on hold for hours with airlines and resorts, our clients saw fi rsthand the value and expertise that we brought. Now, most wouldn’t even think about not booking with a travel advisor and risk doing it themselves,” says Harris.
“Take a seat at the table, be part of the conversation”
When asked whether the pandemic forced her to put the brakes on marketing, Paquette says it was quite the opposite. With help from TPI, which provided daily support, Paquette made it her mission to “invest today for increased visibility.” The massive Sandals RV helped, of course, but Paquette took additional steps to “aggressively paint the picture of future travel.” She adds: “I looked at what I had as opposed to didn’t have. All independent advisors have the opportunity to run their business as desired. For me, it was simple – I’m either in or I’m out.” Paquette selected a handful of preferred suppliers that she felt really lent their support to agents during the crisis. She also formed deliberate partnerships with other agents who
were all working toward a common goal. And as many other agents have done throughout the pandemic, she also maximized government grant programs and invested those funds back into her business. In addition to all that, Paquette worked with Digital Main Street, a free service available in Ontario, Alberta and New Brunswick that connects businesses with digital product and service providers. “I took what I wanted and left the rest,” says Paquette, adding that she continues to seek out expertise when treading the unfamiliar terrain of social media. As for what marketing advice she would give to other agents at this time, Paquette says to pick a niche, make a clear core message, defi ne your clients and make an annual plan. “Immediate revenue is not required to set a business plan,” she notes, adding that agent resources are unlimited right now, with suppliers going out of their way to accommodate the agent community with events and free virtual courses. And though fams come with a slight expense, there are still ways to “plant the seed of a vacation” at no cost, says Paquette. “Use Canva to direct business to a landing page with your contact details, read comments made from agents in Facebook groups, speak to others who have participated in fams and relate their experience to your clients,” she off ers. “It’s still painting a picture and developing the ‘know, like and trust’ factor. Use your BDMs, take a seat at the table, be part of the conversation. And keep smiling and believing that success is your only option.”
Got a story idea? Questions or comments? Write to us at editorial@travelweek.ca
Kim Paquette Amira Harris
Laurie Keith
TRAVELWEEK
130 Queens Quay East, Suite 512, Toronto, Ontario M5A 0P6 Tel: 416.365.1500 Fax: 416.365.1504 Toll-free: 1.855.392.8820 Web: www.travelweek.ca
SUBSCRIPTION RATES (PER YEAR)
Canada: $85 Canadian + $4.25 GST per year United States & International: $100 US per year
SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENTS COPYRIGHTED
We acknowledge the fi nancial support of the Government of Canada.
REDISCOVER ATLANTIC CITY The Story Continues
Excitement awaits in Atlantic City, including miles of sandy beaches, our world-famous Boardwalk and the thrilling Steel Pier. Enjoy tax-free shopping, award-winning dining, live entertainment and other great attractions. Here you can experience the ultimate getaway and create a lifetime of memories.
Atlantic City Expert Heather Colache is available at 609-318-6097 or hcolache@meetac.com to make sure you enjoy Atlantic City as it was meant to be experienced.
Service fees, airline outlooks, upfront commissions and more: ACTA 2021 Summit
By Kathryn Folliott
TORONTO — Airlines, tour operators, retail travel execs who took part in the ACTA 2021 Canadian Travel Industry Summit off ered an optimistic and, at the same time, realistic look at the way forward, after more than a year and a half of the pandemic. The 2021 edition kicked off Sept. 30 with a keynote session from Lucie Guillemette, Executive Vice President and COO, Air Canada, and President, ACV. “Our industry is in recovery mode,” said Guillemette, adding that “while it's not a straight up trajectory, signs of recovery are all around us.” While still fl ying a fraction of the number of passengers that it would have carried in 2019, Air Canada welcomed over 75,000 customers on its strongest day in August, she noted. “And you can only imagine how pleased we were.” Having Canada’s borders open to fully vaccinated travellers - the new policies came into eff ect Sept. 7 for all international travellers - is a big step forward, says Guillemette. “That might not help Canadian agents with their domestic point of sale focus [but] it does go a long way to instilling in people's minds that things are getting back to normal,” she said. “The message is clear. It's now okay to travel.” Travellers heading out in the near future say they will travel next for leisure purposes, according to Air Canada’s stats. Business travel outbound from Canada is still soft - lagging behind the U.S., as Guillemette notes – with only 29% of Canadians planning travel for business purposes. “But some sectors and SME businesses have shown signs of resiliency throughout the pandemic,” she said. In June 2021 Air Canada announced services to 50 Canadian airports. Then in July, the airline announced its summer schedule. As for international travel, “we’re already observing healthy demand signals for Europe into 2022.” Air Canada’s international schedule, released in July, included the resumption of 17 routes and 11 destinations, including a return to Vienna, Dublin, Zurich, and new services to Doha and Cairo. To winter sun destinations, Guillemette says Air Canada is optimistic about its recovery to those markets, based on early bookings for the remainder of 2021 and early 2022, both for Air Canada and ACV. “In some instances, we've seen demand for sun that is above 2019 or pre-pandemic levels.” Among other initiatives, Air Canada relaunched its Travel Ready hub on its website. Says Guillemette: “I cannot emphasize enough how useful we believe this tool will be for our customer and agents. It puts in one place a great deal of information about testing, vaccine requirements, needed documents, helpful travel advice about things like checking times, and even details about where we fl ying as well.” Also at the ACTA Summit, a panel discussion hosted by ACTA President Wendy Paradis, ‘A Look at 2022 Travel Trends, Challenges & Opportunities’, included insights from TPI CEO Zeina Gedeon; American Express Global Business TravelCanada’s VP and General Manager, Patrick Doyle; Transat’s Chief Distribution Offi cer (and President, TDC), Joe Adamo; and TL Network Canada VP, Christine James. Adamo says that TDC retail locations started to get busy over the summer, with advance bookings for 2022 and 2023. But it’s not all next year and beyond. Last-minute getaways are ticking up too: “A lot of pure leisure bookings, very near in. We are taking 30 day in bookings like I’ve never seen before.” Paradis noted that there’s a concern that strong forward bookings could be misleading, since many Canadians are still cancelling travel plans amid pandemic concerns. James says TL Network Canada hasn’t seen too many cancellations: “There is concern about drop-off , but we haven’t seen that drop-off yet.” Gedeon said TPI’s strongest message to its advisors is to make sure supplier T&Cs off er maximum fl exibility. Adamo stressed the need for commissions to be paid upon fi nal payment, at a minimum, as opposed to upon departure. The need for upfront commission payment, as agents hit the 18-month mark with no real revenue, has become a key issue during the pandemic. With wait times for supplier call centres still sky high, Adamo also urged agents to resist the urge to make a phone call to a supplier if something can be done online instead. At the same time, said Adamo, “we as an industry need to do better with putting the right online tools into the hands of agents,” to help them do their jobs and avoid hourslong wait times on the phone. Gedeon noted that she’s hearing from TPI advisors enduring call wait times of six hours or more. It’s a topic that CATO chair Brett Walker addressed as well, during his keynote session, ‘Restarting and Rebuilding Your Relationship with Tour Operators’.
