Global | 3 Steps to Avoid Losing Travelers Trust

Travel uncertainty is spreading. What can we do to make sure we don’t lose travelers' trust?
A new variant and a chain reaction of flights cancellations and borders closing at the eve of the peak season, this wasn’t welcomed at all. 

So when travel restrictions kick in so fast that our clients – whether they are boarding a flight or check-in in their hotel have zero time to move to plan B – these are the 3 steps you can take to avoid losing:

• the trust of your travel agency clients
• the next booking of your most loyal hotel guests
• or just the prestige and the appeal of your tourism destination to international travellers

 

SIGN UP TO THE #TRAVELREBOOT Masterclass! 

 If you are losing your loyal guests to your competitors, your hospitality or hotel content strategy is not engaging anymore as it used to and your business visibility is low and it's impacting your market share... 

 SIGN Up the #TravelReboot Masterclass and you will: 

In my next masterclass I am sharing HOW to communicate with your travel audience with authenticy and originality so that you trigger REAL influence over their travel choices

 HOW TO put them  - not you - at the centre of your marketing message and you do it with compassion, so that YOU tailor their journey to become your next guests based on their needs. 

 And HOW to build an unbeatable visibility-kit that supports your brand you basically future-proof your digital presence and your content becomes evergreen

#TravelReboot Masterclass
DATE: 14 of December 2021
TIME: 12:00 GMT
TICKET: $67 

 REGISTER HERE: https://thetravelrecoverymethod.com/masterclass

 About Dolores Semeraro

Hello! I am a Hospitality and Tourism Communication Expert with 15 years of industry experience.

For the past 20 months, I have helped tourism organizations and travel professionals restore travel confidence and restart their tourism business. 

I focus on tourism marketing strategies, hospitality digital marketing and communication, and tourism innovation in every keynote, training, or coaching session I deliver across the industry.

You can learn more about me by listening to my travel reco

Dolores Semeraro is an internationally recognized tourism keynote speaker and trainer who has inspired thousands of people in the tourism industry to build a stronger, more sustainable, and more resilient future of travel.

In her keynotes, Dolores shares with her audience how to develop sustainable marketing thinking through her action-oriented thought process, which observes the interconnectivity of the stages in the travel product life cycle.

By applying this process, operators in the tourism, travel, and hospitality sectors can visibly enhance the longevity of their marketing strategies, effectively rendering them more sustainable in the long term for the well-being of all stakeholders involved.

Dolores is a passionate advocate for responsible travel, sustainability, and innovation. With her signature Mediterranean warmth and straightforwardness, she encourages audiences to challenge their "Business As Usual" status and strive for the improvement of the tourism industry and the well-being of all stakeholders.

Through her decades-long experience in the industry, she has motivated hoteliers and tourism professionals to take action, enhance their communication, and create a purposeful and innovative tourism ecosystem.

She also advocates for slow travel, exemplified by her extensive travels with her husband and beloved dog in their campervan. When not chronicling ...

Transcript

Tell me something: TRAVEL UNCERTAINTY IS SPREADING AND…

• You are losing your loyal guests to your competitors 
• Your hospitality or hotel content strategy is not engaging 
• Your business visibility is low and it's impacting your market share

 Over many podcast conversations and panel discussions I hosted recently, I hear these concerns from Travel Agents or Independent Consultants  and destination managers over and over again:

1. I feel like I am talking to a wall when I post on your social channels and I am at a loss for creative content options
2. My competitors are always a step ahead and my clients are booking with them now
3. My clients don’t trust traveling now, they don’t want to hear from me.. 

So Do you want to know HOW To 

• Don’t lose your customers to your competitors
• Your content strategy is engaging and relevant
• And you are top of the mind of your travel audience when they are ready to travel again. 

 You are in for a treat!

 In my next masterclass, I am sharing HOW to communicate with your travel audience with authenticity and originality so that you trigger REAL influence over their travel choices

 HOW TO put them  - not you - at the center of your marketing message and you do it with compassion so that YOU tailor their journey to become your next guests based on their needs. 

 And HOW to build an unbeatable visibility kit that supports your brand you basically future-proof your digital presence and your content becomes evergreen

 This is not a mega-webinar, it’s a paid event and seats are limited! So, waste no more time in scratching your head while watching your loyal travel guests switching sides – to join the #TravelReboot LIVE Masterclass – happening Tuesday 14 of December 2021 at 12:00 GMT. 

 The ticket is 67USD and the link to join is: thetravelrecoverymethod.com/masterclass 

Now let’s get started with Episode 43 of Season 2 of Truth Behind Travel Podcast! 

 For the past two weeks, in the tourism industry, many have held their breath in the wake of the discovery of a new variant and therefore a chain reaction of flights cancellations and borders closing. 

 Needless to say, on the eve of the peak season, this wasn’t welcomed at all. 

 So when travel restrictions kick in so fast that our clients – whether they are boarding a flight or check-in in their hotel have zero time to move to plan B – if they have a plan B at all, the question is 

 What can we do to make sure we don’t lose their trust? 

 Travel today is no piece of cake and those who are actually packing up their bags and booking ‘holidays’ knowing that things can change in the blink of an eye, are not just travelers, 

 So on today's podcast, we are going to talk about why is vital that at times like this we operate our businesses with the travelers in mind – with the traveler at the center of our strategy so we don’t lose their trust. 

 We are going to look at what are the 3 steps you can take to avoid losing 

•  the trust of your travel agency clients
• the next booking of your most loyal hotel guests
• or just the prestige and the appeal of your tourism destination to international travelers

1. Let’s start with INVEST IN BUILDING TRUST IN TRAVEL

For months, people weren’t quite able to travel as freely as they used to be. This caused an important shift in understanding what matters to them. 

Their families, closest friends, themselves. 

 A revamping of how important and precious is to be able to spend time with the ones they love. Time, the only thing that you can’t refund. 

 So when planning a trip with to reach those families members or friends turns into a living nightmare and they are stranded in an airport or even worse – in a quarantine hotel – 

it is crucial to reach out with clear and transparent information about the current events, options, and potential solutions. 

 So these are some of the things you can have on your hands when something happens to your clients while they are on the move:

• An emergency contact list with the country

Trusted partners 

Embassies 

Medical facilities 

And

As we navigate a pandemic time

The nearest quarantine hotels available with their manager contact number

 Sounds like a lot of admin right? You’ve got to collect all the info, put it together, keep it up to date… and why? There’s something called google that your client can use, why should you do it for them?

 So imagine how would client feel, when he or she is told that the flight is canceled because of another travel restriction and ..ta da…

He or she got options! They will treasure your support in providing extra help and going the extra mile in gathering all this information for them. 

 This is how you build trust, one step at a time, looking into the details that can turn a nightmare into just a bad moment. 

•  A direct line with you or your appointed person in the company

It’s nothing new right? But I am not talking about a general number to call, I am talking about a person, an actual person – a guardian angel – let’s call it, that is in charge of answering the phone -- if it rings. 

There is nothing worst than having to call a number while in need of assistance and having to repeat over and over again what the issue is to a new person that doesn’t know what has happened. 

 This creates accountability and accountability builds trust. It might take an extra resource or a bit more training behind the scene – I said INVEST in building Trust in Travel for a reason! – 

It’s funny that in many cases we know what annoys us when we travel, how we would love to be helped and supported – yet we fail to bring that level of care into the way we serve our clients. 

 So by putting ourselves in their shoes – we take the very first step towards building a traveler-centric mindset. 

Step 2 Leverage on your Credibility

In other words, walk your talk. 

How do we build credibility?

• We bring in trustworthy and official resources to help us improve
• we partner with businesses that support and amplify our vision and values
• we support causes that are aligned with our purpose 

 As a hospitality and tourism business, you are most likely competing with hundreds of businesses at the same time. Can you imagine how does it feel like for a traveler to choose one from the pot? 

So how can we help choose?

Here is how I see it. Months of no-travel time have left millions of people with a lot of time in their hands, too much time, I’d say.

We have observed how brand loyalty has had a considerable shock – people switching from a brand to another – all while NOT traveling – how is that possible?

Here is why, 

They had the opportunity to reflect on priorities – like never before – and had the chance to make a difference. Many – MANY – are making that difference. Ok, they might not set out to plant a tree during the holiday right away, but we know that being a purpose-led business is now more recognized and supported than before.  

 So any choice you make towards building credibility around your brand is a living part of what you communicate to your travel audience. And they know it, they want to read it across your marketing message. 

 So make sure it shines through – call-in your brand ambassadors – and for brand ambassadors, I don’t mean travel influencers – but pioneers of purpose-led travel, scientists, experts, heroes of the fight to the climate emergency. 

Let them speak for you, of you, with you. 

 Step 3 – Loyalty recognition. 

 In my previous episode, episode number______where we talked about how to get ahead of travel trends, we mentioned that one of the trends in travel for 2022 – which is by the way included in the travel trend report which you can download I will leave the link in the show notes – is a growing sense of community. 

People have grown fond of their neighborhoods, they buy local more than ever, they travel domestically – not just because they can’t go abroad – but also because they have reignited that local community spirit and want to support one another. 

 It’s loyalty, to their homeland, their country, their people.

 So loyalty is a key step when it comes to developing a traveler-centric mindset in business. We are so obsessed with our competitors so we can get more customers, that we forget to reward those who have already chosen us! 

 Our duty – especially at this time – is to serve that 1 % of travelers that have chosen us over many MANY other options. This is the time to thank them, and not with a thank you note on a voucher, but with thoughtful actions that matter to them. 

 So what does matter to them, you may ask. 

It’s about understanding their demographics, their family status, the place where they live, the causes they support. 

Join them, 

dig in, 

do your research,

 If it’s about education, conservation, nature, green energy, people, culture, and literature.. the list is endless,

And then initiate a project on their behalf! Reward them by investing in a legacy that carries their name. How amazing is that?

 Imagine Mr. and Mrs. Jones – who have come to your hotel over 27 times, they practically know every pot, every chair, and every sofa of your building. They consistently spent their money and their time with you, over and over again – is that loyalty? How do you reward that? 

Imagine how Mr. and Mrs. Jones would feel knowing that – thanks to them – now there is a new boy at the local school near the hotel, who gets to go to school there’s this new charity project sponsored by the hotel – in the name of Mr. and Mrs. Jones! Or in the name of the loyal guests of the hotel… 

 Legacy stands the test of time, reward them by building their legacy on their behalf. 

 All right, here we are – 

There is so much we can do to rewire our mindset in the travel and tourism industry and remember that we are the industry of people and for the people. So developing a traveler-centric mindset when it comes to the way we run our business is the way forward to restart tourism. 

 Let’s recap the three steps we discussed today to avoid losing your travel customers when travel restrictions change beyond our control:

Step 1 - INVEST IN BUILDING TRUST IN TRAVEL

Step 2 - Leverage on your Credibility

Step 3 – Loyalty recognition. 

 If you feel that today’s episode brought you value and you would like to hear more, go ahead and subscribe to the podcast. 

 If you have appreciated today’s tourism marketing steps, share this episode with an industry colleague or a friend that needs to hear this, take a screenshot of the podcast, and share it on your social media 

Tag @truthbehindtravelpodcast if you want 

But share, share it. 

It’s the best way to keep helping each other to get out of this industry mess and 

 if – after listening to this podcast you want to take action and dig in the way you Don’t lose your customers to your competitors anymore and your brand shines digitally so much that you stay ALWAYS to the top of the mind of your travel audience when they are ready to travel again. 

 Join my #Travelreboot Masterclass 

90min 

live

 the next one is Tuesday 14 December 2021

 say no more 

 register here: the link is thetravelrecoverymethod.com/masterclass

 thank you and see you soon for another episode of Truth behind travel podcast.