How to get more last-minute bookings

We all know that the work of travel agencies never stops: Christmas trips end and the snow campaign begins, and then the trips to carnival destinations are followed by Easter bookings, which give way to communion and end-of-year trips to get us right into the first trips to the beach. And so on and so forth until we find ourselves making winter reservations again.

Looking at this calendar, we understand that for a medium-sized agency it is very difficult to plan sales and marketing strategies in the medium or long term because the daily work routine often prevents us from taking the time to reflect and execute with the objective set in a few months' time.

Is the last minute a new business opportunity?

Two very important factors are addedtothis reality: on the one hand, the current circumstances of international instability; and on the other, the greater caution in decision-making that prevails globally in the post-COVID era. Both factors are causing many travelers to postpone their confirmations when booking travel or making leisure plans for fear that external circumstances beyond their control may affect them unexpectedly.

As an agency, it is very important that we are cautious and try to be as prepared as possible to face last minute travel campaigns, as this is the current trend.

How can we propose short-term sales strategies that are profitable? Here are some tips to help you to be prepared for all campaigns.

Look for your loyal customers.

If you have missed the Christmas campaign that you would have liked to have started in September, don't panic: play it safe and rely again on those who already trusted you: look for your loyal customers. A sale is largely based on the relationship of trust between two parties, and those clients who have already closed trips with your agency already know the advantages of your work. If, in addition, you are a MOGU user, be sure that they will want to repeat their travel experiences with the app! Target them with a personalized email marketing campaign, appeal to their previous trips and your professionalism and offer them a good product. You will be addressing a very well-defined target audience with a high probability of closing sales.

2.- Focus your proposals.

On the other hand, when making your travel selection for a short-term campaign, choose destinations where you can play it safe: it may not be the right time to try a new receptive of which you barely have any references and with whom it will take you longer to establish the conditions of the collaboration. Rely on your fetish proposals, those that are irresistible and that have always worked well for you. You will have time to launch yourself to offer destinations where you do not have an operational base, but for now stick to what you control. Remember that in the MOGU platform we can help you to advance much of this work, since now you can save in your library the templates of your trips that you can retrieve and modify and thus be more effective when preparing proposals.

3.- Details set you apart.

Pay attention to details and don't get carried away by the rush. The client values personalization, since it is normal to ask for several budgets in other agencies or websites and they are very similar to each other, so the difference will be in the details. It can be decisive how you present the proposal: make it visual, interactive, and very updated. Take advantage of the tools offered by MOGU, such as the preloaded photo galleries, or the direct links to Google business cards that are integrated in the writing of the itineraries to avoid having to upload photos, locations or information of hotels, restaurants or the main places of interest.

Once your itinerary proposals are perfect, you can integrate them into your website or broadcast them on social networks to quickly reach your target customers. Remember that with a little effort you can make the digital showcase that is your website ready to be reviewed and capture those last minute sales.

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