The trend for last-minute travel during the COVID-19 recovery has meant it has been hard to build a pipeline. Many agents have simply been run off their feet coping with the business already on the table and, with smaller staff complements, they might have been too busy to plan marketing campaigns, which could have repercussions down the timeline.
But now, savvy agents are managing to fill their pipeline with forward bookings by thinking ahead, focusing on repeat business and targeting emerging or opportunity markets as diverse as remote workers or conference delegates.
“I use mainly social media, especially Instagram and Facebook, to encourage people to think about the holidays that are coming up,” said Angie Whitehead, owner of The Expat Travel Shop. She said two major advantages of booking ahead were better prices and more availability.
Very few agents in South Africa seem to have experienced trip-stacking, a new industry term for leisure customers booking a back-up itinerary (or multiple itineraries) in case of COVID-19 border closures or other sudden disruptions. Whitehead said she had never had clients book more than one trip at a time. “People don’t have the disposable income that they used to, so it’s a real shop-around game.”
Bianca Mazur, Flight Centre GM, reported: “Our repeat business has been consistent and customers are booking one to two trips for the year. I would not say that they are booking at the same time for the year’s trips, but that 50% are booking more than one trip a year.”
She added that Flight Centre was encouraging customers to start their travel plans early due to delays in the issuance of visas as booking in advance helped to secure availability and the best price. “Due to lower capacity, it is always easier and convenient to book in advance, so that our customers are not disappointed.
“Booking in advance also allows for better pricing, unless airlines bring out last-minute specials, which is not necessarily the case as demand for travel is high and flights are quite full.”
Corporate agents and conference specialists are finding they can build their pipelines by helping customers plan ahead.
Sure Maritime Travel in Gqeberha, a corporate agency, has introduced face-to-face client meetings where the consultant will create a spreadsheet and diarise the customer’s future travel dates for a year. This also helped to ensure visas and any other necessary travel documents were secured ahead of time, the agency said.
The agency has also asked its frequent travellers to get a second passport so that they can travel on one and leave another behind for visa processing. “What we are seeing is that more people are booking to travel and becoming more confident to travel,” the agency said.
“There are also a lot of conferences, especially in Africa. We also have quite a few university clients. I have face-to-face meetings and we do a spreadsheet of when they need to be where, and then we will work on a timeline, which we have never had to do before.
“When you build your timeline, the first thing you have got to do is to work out the entry requirements. We have picked up a lot of new clients, but I think that is because of our expertise. There are a lot of word-of-mouth referrals.”
The referral business and skilled forward planning have beefed up the agency’s pipeline considerably. The agency said it was seeing lots of conference business, other corporate business and still a great deal of leisure bookings. “I would say 50% of that business is from people that I don’t know. Even if a conference is in six months’ time, I am already looking at forward dates and sending e-mails to my clients to say that they need to make preparations.”
Gaynor Neill, MD of Cruise Vacations, said: “There is a strong repeat trend at the moment. Some clients aren’t even waiting until they get home (to book); some are booking their next cruise while still on board their cruise!”
Neill’s advice to agents was to be strategic, plan and be pro-active in building their pipelines. “Consider very targeted marketing pieces, even to a smaller number of clients with the most potential. Work closely with suppliers on campaigns. We have beautiful images and marketing materials and are always willing to work alongside agents.”
When agents sold cruises, she said, an emphasis on inclusions and experiences would also help to convert business. “Run through with a client all the meals, drinks, excursions, gratuities, etc and highlight, firstly the convenience of this, but also the incredible value for money.”
Neill concluded: “Trends are difficult to determine. We are still handling what we would call last-minute bookings that are still for travel in 2022. However, we are also handling a lot of advance bookings. It is an ideal time to promote voyages exactly that way, letting the market know that there is still availability for clients who wish to travel in 2022 but also excellent options for those who wish to plan ahead. Bookings are open right through until 2025 on some of our cruise lines.”
