Helping small tour operators and niche agents with travel ecommerce
Click-Throughs and Flat Annual Rates
My business partner and I are about to make a quiet, small launch of a travel directory site in a particular niche focused almost exclusively on offerings from independent travel operators. Our vision and uncountable hours of labor so far have been to grow to eventually have tens of thousands of listings directed towards an audience from all English speaking countries around the globe.
Without troubling anyone with the details at the moment, we are interested in getting some input from independent operators, who could potentially benefit from our site:
1) As an independent, what are you willing to pay per click-through from a travel site's details page about your travel service, over to your website, assuming that the target market from that site is specifically suited to yours? We have been in the ballpark of prices ranging from USD $.65 to $1. What is a good click-through value to you? (No, we won't be engaging in any Google-style bidding, so the rate will be the same for all vendors.) This may or may not be the same question, but what seems to be the going rate right now?
2) Although our directory site obviously isn't established (because it's not even up yet!), we'd like to learn what you as an independent are willing to pay as an annual flat price to have a good, editable details page with photos of your travel service, again, on a site that is particularly suited to the kind of traveler that you want to attract to your site? (This is assuming that the details page would have your web address prominently displayed.) Or would you not be willing to pay a flat annual rate under any circumstances?
Thank you. I've been reading the posts and replies on this forum -- very informative and helpful, and a very nice community, indeed!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alex Bainbridge on -
Hi Bob
I am not the right person to comment (being a system supplier not a tour operator) however if I were a tour operator I would certainly be more interested in click through payments than an annual fee basis.
On an annual fee basis there is a big question about whether you will be successful in generating bookings (or even traffic). On a click through basis it is shared success.
Also, see this from last year - bit out of date now - as TourDust have tweaked their model
http://www.tourcms.com/blog/2009/01/08/tourdust-launches-can-they-h...
Cheers
Alex
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Permalink Reply by Bob Snowden on -
Thanks, Alex. The click-through versus annual fee certainly makes sense, particularly for a startup with no track record, of course. Although through time the Home Away network has built its muscles and gobbled up competitors based on the flat annual rate for vacation rentals by owners, and has now purchased BedandBreakfast.com, which operates on the flat annual rate (and sans reservation commission, too, btw).
Perhaps since this topic hasn't seemed to draw much interest, some other related questions could also be asked:
As an independent tour operator, do you find value in a second-tier niche based online directory model that offers a non-bid pay-per-click referral to your web site and service? Have you contracted with any such online directories? What has been your experience in doing so? Have they been providing you with leads/traffic that have converted into the kind of sales you seek? Have they been easy or hard to work with? What plusses and minuses would you watch out for in such a directory?
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