Depending on how your tours are structured, you either have tours with high fixed costs or high variable costs.
High fixed costs mean that regardless of the number of people going on your tour, the costs you incur to run the tour doesn't change. For tours like these, usually bus tours, boat tours or even transfers, it is crucial for operators to get as many people booked up to maximise your revenue.
Last-minute discount codes
One way to get those last few seats sold is with last-minute discount codes that only work with upcoming trips happening in the next 24 hours.
With TrekkSoft, you can set expiration dates for discount codes so that codes automatically stops working after a specific date.
You can also set discount codes to only be applicable to selected activities, giving you more control over your promotional efforts.
In-destination targeting with social media
So, discount codes only work if you get to sell your tours directly to customers. However, direct sales hinges on the amount of direct website traffic you're able to generate. The good news here is that you can spend a little money on in-destination advertising on social media and Google Adwords to drive traffic to your website.
If this is something you would like to experiment with, remember that you'll need to create a special landing page for your last-minute campaign. On this page, you can also display your remaining spaces for the next day or two.
Learn more about in-destination sales in this free ebook
Incentivise sales agents to sell those last few seats
Your in-destination sales agents are your best asset.
You could incentivise your them to sell those last few slots by rewarding them with a slightly higher commission. Of course the commission amount will vary depending on your existing business model and cost structure.
The magic of a live inventory connected to multiple sales channels
You can shorten cut-off times with a live inventory that's connected to all your sales channels. A live inventory and booking system can automate your entire booking process. This way, you won't need 24 hours to finalise numbers for an upcoming trip, 12 hours might be enough.
Another way TrekkSoft users take advantage of the live inventory is by releasing unsold inventory that was previously listed online to in-destination sales agents to sell in tourist offices or tour booths.
Regardless of what strategy you choose to maximise sales, be weary of the acquisition costs of each channel. You want to make sure that you're still profitable at the end of the day.
Want to learn more about in-destination sales strategies?
