tbex15 asia thailand lily heise

CONTEXT TRAVEL

Building personalized travel experiences

for big market partners

Scaling the Boutique

Context Travel

Twitter & Instagram: @ContextTravel#DeepTravel

Lily Heisewww.contexttravel.com

http://www.contexttravel.com/

The ProductOur tours are boutique:• small group (6 pax)• scholar-led• personalized

The MarketThe market we want to target is large:• large volumes (mass)• regular supply• standardized

merchandising

How do we scale the boutique without changing its nature?

The Conundrum

Filtering & Matching

1. Voice2. Price3. API

Finding the r ight cl ient

Matching product to

partnerFinding the r ight

tour

1. Nail your brand2. Flexible

development process

What makes a good product for a partner?

1. differentiated2. matched to

partner3. scaleable4. personalized

Some Examples

Flight CentreCity Insider(our “Welcome To”)

“If you haven't been to a city, the City Insider is a must. It prevented us from wandering about aimlessly following maps... After the interaction with Hilary, we almost felt like we were native to the city and allowed us to maximize our time in Rome.”

Paul Bennett

I think these bullets should be in the notes (I started incorporating them). Instead we might want to leave this blank (less reading) or put bullets in that relate to the tour: meet a local, 2-hr "chat with map", something like this

http://youtube.com/v/HVZKt5k7Hoc

FlytographerTravel Photography

• like-minded partner• cross-selling• docent training

Carolyn Macuga

[email protected] can you give me a few points here about how we are working with Flyto to sell our walks through their brand?

Natalie Holmes

Hi Carolyn. Flytographer is setting up a landing page on their website to promote the partnership. They are also going to train staff to have them up- and cross-sell our walks to their clients. Eventually we will also be able to market our joint package to their partners, such as Fairmont Hotels. Let me know if you need more info.

Travel Planners• white glove service• champagne conclusions• after hours visits

Carolyn Macuga

[email protected] [email protected] Do either of you want to weigh in or comment on how we scale our regular walks for the VIP?

Lily Heise

[email protected] sure, here are a few other examples, is this the sort of thing you're looking for here:- private luxury riverboat in Paris- behind the scenes access at Versailles- consulting session with their trip planners to better understand their clients needs (and once even a three-way call with their client) - coordinating with local hotels

Paul Bennett

These aren't really scaling mechanisms. They are quality mechanisms. But, what is the system that allows us to do this regularly, over and over again, without having to touch it each time?

Petulia Melideo

Here are some ideas:-training docent to " VIP the walk" by adding extra sites, special behind the scenes. -Deep knowledge of the city and its venues (changing something as small as the start time. For example, the British museum has a private, exclusive feeling to it when we schedule it at 5pm on friday when the museum is open late and virtually empty.)-Recommending the unexpected. We always have a pocket full of alternative choices for people who are interested in the truly different/unique.

Personalization• Customization vs.

personalization• Culture of continuous

learning• Empowering staff at every

level"Leadership is no longer about one inspirational leader, it's about making everyone beneath them inspirational."

-Chris Roebuck, professor of transformational leadership, Cass Business

School.

Continuous Learning• internal staff

communication• feedback from

partner• QA

Customer RelationshipWhat can we know about our client?• web experience• newsletter engagement• prior history• social

Personally tailored, group scaled

Solving the Middle Man Communication Problem

• Information Gap• Miscommunication• Setting Expectations

Paul Bennett

Let's be careful with this word. We're using it to mean "to grow exponentially" throughout the presentation, but here you're using it to mean "to climb" or "overcome." This may confuse people.

Expanding Horizontally to Grow Vertically Global Expansion = Global Partners

• new product possibilities• listening to partners

Product Replication and Innovation

• geographic challenges• converting to

advantages

TakeawaysS t r a t eg ie s f o r su ccess

1.Filter Client

2.Match Product

3.Systemize Personalization

4.Continuous Iteration/Learning

5.Expansion

Context Travel

Twitter & Instagram: @ContextTravel#DeepTravel

Lily Heisewww.contexttravel.com

http://www.contexttravel.com/

tbex15 asia thailand lily heise

Social Media