Advantage to cap number of cruise champions

Sunday, 29 Sep, 2011 0

Advantage Travel Centres will become increasingly time sensitive in its marketing to the general public while it seeks to cap the number of cruise champions at 100.

Speaking at its first Cruise Champions Conference on Tuesday, sales and marketing director Colin O'Neill said the consortium had undertaken a study of 43,000 of its members' customers' booking habits over the last three years.

While it revealed an average repeat booking rate of 23%, it also showed repeat customers follow the same patterns when it comes to what time of the year they make the booking.

As a result, O'Neill said the consortium will increase its direct marketing on behalf of members when customers are most receptive to it in order to further drive bookings.

He added: “We will be time-targeting. It is probably not different to anything that the supermarkets and other brands are already doing but as far as travel is concerned it is.

“If you look at the previous data over the last three years, consumers have been very consistent over when they book their holidays.”

O'Neill added time-targeting would also be used for the cruise market while Advantage postcards, which list general deals and are sent to Advantage customers, have proved so successful that a new mail shot targeting to cruise customers will coincide with the winter peaks market.

Meanwhile, Advantage head of commercial John Sullivan said currently 65 agencies have qualified as the consortium's cruise champions.

He believes this number will be capped at 100, adding: “We've got to be realistic about it.

“Not all of our members are going to have a cruise market or operate in the cruise market.

“To have an impact and to have something credible it needs to be managed and if you have something too big then you water down your offering.

“You need some volume to get the added benefits but if you spread it to far you water the advantages down.”

By Ed Robertson

Linsey McNeill

Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk

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