Personalize Your Travel Program

Transcription

1 Personalize Your Travel Program Presented by: Chris Armstrong, director of group travel, Travel Leaders/Sunflower Travel Susie Hoffmann, director, Washburn Alumni Association

2 Why have a travel program? First and foremost, it s great way to engage alumni and friends of the university. Opportunity to reach alumni who live outside of the area. A way to showcase your university president by having him/her travel with the group.

3 Advantages of group travel Leave the planning to someone else. Price is typically a better value. Sightseeing is prearranged. Skip the lines at popular venues. Meet people and make new friends. It s FUN.

4 Where to begin? Work with a travel agent or travel company to make the necessary arrangements, book airfare, hotels, cruise, motorcoaches, guides, take reservations, accept deposits and final payments.

5 Travel agent vs. tour company A private travel agent can customize any program to fit the needs of the group. Tour companies typically offer a standard program, with no deviation. ie. Go Next, Gohagan, Alumni Holidays, Collette

6 Where should we go? Pick your destination(s). Do you have a specific place in mind? Does your travel agent have any ideas? Have any of your alumni made suggestions? England, France, Italy, Greece and Ireland are all perennial favorites. Will any of your athletic teams be traveling internationally in the coming years?

7 How many trips should we offer? Many associations offer dozens of trips a year, often with overlapping dates. Consequently, not many sign up for any given trip.

8 We suggest offering fewer trips. The Washburn Alumni Association offers three trips per year. Up until four years ago, Washburn only offered two trips annually. Offering less trips will increase the number of people who sign up for each trip.

9 What s a reasonable price point? Attempt to keep price less than $4,000 p/p, including roundtrip airfare. If a trip costs more than $4,000, make sure another trip offering costs less. Pass a good value along to your travelers rather than increase the price to generate revenue.

10 Announce travel a year in advance Many prospective travelers plan international trips a year or more in advance. Seasoned travelers plan ahead and may book a trip on their own if they don t have ample notice of Alumni Association sponsored trips. Some travelers need to set aside money for several months to save up for a big trip.

11 Itinerary Cover the basics. Include something special. Allow free time for travelers to explore on their own.

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14 Marketing and Promotion Advertise trips in the alumni magazine. Post information and downloadable brochure on your website. Share information in an electronic newsletter. Send a targeted to previous travelers. Mail a printed brochure.

15 Non-profit bulk mail status You can share information about your travel opportunities in the magazine as long as you don t mention the travel agency. Advise alumni to contact you for more information or refer them to your website.

16 Member benefit Make your travel program a benefit of dues-paid membership. At least one person sharing a room must be a member.

17 Staff member accompanies group Typically the travel agents build in one free trip per a certain number of registrants. Send an alumni association staff member to serve as host for the trip. A familiar face from the alumni association gives travelers piece of mind.

18 Make travelers feel special A staff member is on hand makes sure everyone has an enjoyable time, answers questions, introduces travelers to one another and helps keep track of the group. The host is NOT to tour guide.

19 Stay in touch until departure date Send periodic s to travelers once they ve signed up for the trip. Update them on any changes, possible concerns, etc.

20 Host a pre-trip travel meeting Get your travelers together approximately one month prior to the trip. Distribute their travel documents. Share travel tips and answer questions. presentation to those who can t attend.

21 Provide some give-aways Luggage tag Travel document holder Handle grip A discount coupon to the bookstore to buy a school logoed shirt or hat to wear on the trip.

22 Name tags and photo album Provide a name tag for each traveler. Give everyone a photo album to help put faces with names.

23 Take lots of photos Make sure and take pictures of everyone. Get a group photo or two. Post photos on social media. Publish group photo in alumni magazine.

24 Survey your travelers After conclusion of the trip, determine traveler satisfaction by sending out a survey. Ask about: Flights Hotels Cruise line Meals Tours Where they d like to travel in the future