Extend the product offering:
A flight is usually the first purchase point for a traveller, so flights and the associated products (baggage, seats, upgrades etc) are obvious initial revenue streams for airlines.
However these products are just the start, travellers are also likely to need hotels, travel insurance and car hire at the very least.
Travel brands are actually in the prime position here as they know details of a person’s travel plans before anyone else in the travel process – but they have to use their data effectively.
Although travel brands should own the travel space, many of these services are also offered as part of added value accounts from banks.
The banking sector can provide strong learnings for travel brands regarding innovative revenue initiatives, with £874 million coming from positive fee incomes in 2007 alone.
Travel brands though, are obviously more suited to selling travel products than banks, so they should aim to extend their reach – the customer expects it!
NB: This How To series is authored by Janet Titterton of Collinson Latitude
Related posts:
- Day Five of Ten – Understanding and boosting ancillary revenue
- Day One of Ten – Understanding and boosting ancillary revenue
- Day Three of Ten – Understanding and boosting ancillary revenue
- Day Two of Ten – Understanding and boosting ancillary revenue
- Day Four of Ten – Understanding and boosting ancillary revenue
About Special Nodes
Banks are an excellent example of bundling — up until you get to the point of the consumer outrage at the proliferation of fee types.
Bank co-branded credit cards are a terrific place to start learning about banks. Companies poo-poohed Shell Oil, the first credit card, arguing that consumers would use their Shell Master Card at an Esso. That is…until they realized the treasure trove of data that came out of the card relationship, and how those insights could be used to create new value bundles that provided new ways to either offer price incentives, or shape capacity utilization.
Likewise, the hotel guest folio holds the promise of a similar experience, if you are willing to rethink your definition of “checking in” — does this happen when you book, or when you show up on premises? A guest that uses their hotel folio to make purchases throughout their travel experience has a “higher authority” that they can appeal to if their experience is bad. Don’t like how your airline trashed your guitar? Your hotel brand could be there to help fill in the gaps in your experience, helping you source alternatives while helping you in your negotiations to get your guitar fixed.
It is not dissimilar to the experience of sharing your experience at a local restaurant — good or bad — with the hotel staff. If anyone is attending the Travel Innovation Summit next week – this is a great thought-starter for ancillary revenue!