Package pricing, step by step

A tourist package is a set of at least two services at a global price sold by a single intermediary. A package generally includes accommodation, meals, visits to attractions, and participation in activities. Package pricing, which consists of offering a combination of complementary tourist activities and services as part of a package, has the following advantages:

• Attracting and retaining visiting customers and/or new customer markets;
• Distribute traffic flows across the country or over all periods of the year;
• Improve the attractiveness of its offer and that of the entire region;
• Reduce marketing and promotion costs;
• Improve the customer experience and increase their level of satisfaction.

A package should offer something that would be impossible or difficult to obtain if you booked each of the products separately: simplified reservation, advantageous prices, exclusive products, special products, small attention, etc.

Here are the steps to follow.

The creation

1 — Determine your needs and assets

State clearly what your goals are. Do you want to attract more customers during the week? Extend visitor stays?

Also, think about what you can give. What services do you offer? Do you want to develop a main theme? Romantic, country, gourmet package, etc.

Remember that packages can also be organized around annual events (Easter, Mother's Day, spring break, etc.)

In Montreal, Guidatour offers a Fall Legends package including a city tour on local legends, a themed dinner at the restaurant and a visit to the thematic exhibitions of the Grand Pumpkin Ball and Lantern Magic at the Botanical Garden.

2 — Define the target customer

Who is your package for? Families, couples, athletes, gourmets? You need to define the customers you are targeting, whether by socio-demographic segment or by area of interest. Creating personas can help you identify their expectations and needs, which will be different from one segment to another.

With his package” In remote working mode ”, the Eastman spa is aimed directly at remote workers by focusing on the site environment that is conducive to concentration. The offer includes accommodation, a wifi connection as well as access to the trails and the thermal experience. In the context of a pandemic, what packages can you offer to local customers or remote workers?

3 — Create partnerships

A tourism company can offer a package that includes only its services, but it can also combine them with those of other businesses as part of a partnership, choosing them according to the target clientele. To work, the partnership must be a win-win: everyone must benefit from it. To do this, be sure to clearly identify and formulate what you can contribute to the other party and what you can gain from it. List businesses that can complement your offering. Make sure of the quality of what they offer. Do you share the same values and goals? Is the quality of your offers similar? Are you targeting the same customers?

The terms of the partnership must be negotiated in a way that is fair for the parties. In your contract, consider the following elements: commitments and responsibilities of each person, service rates and details of inclusions, reservation and cancellation conditions, terms of payment between partners, dates and times of validity of the offer, capacity (size of groups or sales limits), etc. Test the services of your partners to ensure that they meet your expectations.

4 — Design the package: from development to description

When drawing up the package, it is necessary to ask the following questions:

• What makes my package original, unusual?
• Does it meet a need or an insufficient supply? Consult the sites of destination management organizations and specialized travel agencies to see what is already being done in your region or for the target market segment.

• Why will the customer choose my package over another? Make sure you clearly define the added value of your package (e.g.: gift, basket of local products, gift card, gas voucher, VIP experience, etc.).
• Also consider developing an offer around existing call products to benefit from the traffic generated by these attractions.
  

For the description, focus on emotions! Find a catchy and original title, and take care of the visual elements so that everything makes visitors want to live this experience.

Examples : Take It Relaxed, Breathe Fresh Air, and Pull the plug on the establishment packages The Mountain Man (QC)

To facilitate decision-making and reduce the necessary interactions with your staff, anticipate all customer questions in the description or FAQ section of your website. Your description should contain all of the following information: rates, validity periods, terms, conditions, partner presentations, duration and, if necessary, the itinerary, which is NOT included to avoid misunderstandings.

Commercialization

5 — Set a rate

The advantage of a package is often associated with the price (cheaper than that of services booked separately), but this is not necessarily the case. The important thing is that the customer finds an advantage in it: a gift, a surprise, etc.

example : The packages Stay & Play are for residents of Fredericton: the purchase of a package of at least one night includes a gift voucher to be used in several restaurants in the city.

It is also possible to present a basic package while leaving the possibility for visitors to add options when booking (e.g. a massage, a bottle of wine). Remember to adjust the package price according to the target clientele by offering discounted rates for families, for example.

6 — Market

You have two main choices depending on your needs and abilities: market the package yourself to your customers or use an intermediary.

Direct sales: Booking is done through your own touchpoints, either your transactional website or your sales and reservations staff. You don't pay commission and you can give better service before the sale.

Indirect sale: Booking is made through marketing platforms for a commission (e.g.: online travel agency, destination management organization). Using these intermediaries increases your visibility and reduces the burden of customer relationship management, over which, however, you lose some control.

7- Communicate

Proud of your package? Now is the time to promote it to your target customers! To do this, rely on the various digital platforms:

• Promote it regularly on your social networks and in your newsletter;
• Add a “Package” section to your website and keep it up to date;
• Check the possibilities of collaboration with your tourism associations (ATR, etc.)
• Ensure that the package is also presented on the networks and platforms of the partners involved in order to extend the reach of communications.
  

The assessment

Keep in mind that a package is never frozen in time. It must evolve and remain relevant for customers, for your business and for the partners concerned. It is therefore essential to carry out an evaluation to see if the performance is satisfactory for you and your partners and if the objectives defined in point 1 have been achieved. Gathering customer feedback through satisfaction surveys is a good way to keep things that work best and remove irritants.

Partnerships and co-opetition at the heart of the process

Forfetization is above all about combining complementary forces to promote a sector of activity or a destination. So, bet on partnerships and coopetition! Encouraging collaboration between operators and creating partnerships with other actors who are not necessarily in the tourism sector remain the best formula for an attractive package. This collaboration can give rise to packages, but also to other forms of marketing, such as itineraries or thematic routes such as Taste of Nova Scotia Trails.

Article written in collaboration with Experience Acadie. Updated on February 27, 2023.