Written by Guy Besley, Latitude Travel Services,
OK, I’m not happy, and its not like me to keep quiet!
The one thing that really gets up my nose is disrespect for your customer! No, I’m not talking about high room rates, restaurant prices or tour costs (capitalism deals with that). I’m talking about something completely avoidable and instantly fixable.
No room for corporate bullies!
There is a mafia style underbelly within tourism marketing that WONT allow all products to be show cased to YOU, the customer! Although this has made me disheartened for many years, it is now making my blood boil as it seems to be really stepping up!
My intention is not to name and shame, but to reach out to the accommodation providers and tour operators in the hope that they take heed to the stupidity of this situation.
Let me explain.
K-Star Walking Tours
In the last few days a small tour operator, K-Star Walking Tours (and you can gather by the name, its cheap and cheerful) has been attempting to promote his product by doing the rounds of accommodation houses with his new brochure. This is a standard activity of course. How else can the “supposed” expert FREE tour desks advise you of what all the good things to see and do are if they don’t know about them.
Anyway, back to the topic; as Kevin was doing the rounds he was constantly met with, “no, we are with DCM” (woops a name dropped out), Now, I’m not having a go at DCM, in principal the service they provide has value (to the hotel), and it does make life easier for them. My problem is that if you are with this organisation you cannot display other products on your property. So who is missing out?
Well this Ante just got upped yesterday, as Kevin approached a small property to “show case” his new brochure he got told, “no we have Morgan Freeman”; a little history, my mate Charles from Tour Dex had a great little business providing tour stands to complexes and charged a small fee to tour operators for getting the brochure stands into the properties; about 6 years ago Morgan Freeman came into Port Douglas doing the same, and they signed up properties to remove the Tour Dex board and put their own in. To be fair, the Morgan Freeman board was better presented so there was a big switch. BUT, this does not mean that a hotel cant still have any brochures or promote any products they choose. The “brochure wars” have been going for years and is not an issue to the hotels, only the tour operators (I wont go into that).
Latitude Travel Services
So where does this leave things? In short, if you have a low priced tour, like K-Star walking tours, no one wants to know you, why? NOT ENOUGH COMMISSION for the hotel! So who misses out? Not K-Star, he makes very little from it anyway, but the guest (remember them, the customers that put food on our plates). Port Douglas is an expensive holiday destination, and finally there is a cheap option for a few hours entertainment, while gleaning some great knowledge of the town from a very experienced tour operator.
So why doesn’t he just advertise in Tour Dex or Morgan Freeman? Simple, he cant afford it. That would be his annual income!
Just to top this off, check out the Port Douglas Community Garden this is where Kevin spends his spare time, helping out the local community, yet the greedy business operators cant even be bothered helping promote his low cost tour because there is not enough commission in it!
My whinning is now complete, but please everyone take heed. Port Douglas is better than this! Its about customers, not dollars and the sooner you all see this it will get back to its hey day! Or we will continue to battle the over services off shore destinations, and for good reason.
To point out, Kevin is a mate of mine, although we have never really socialised together I have not encountered a person that always puts in! And takes very little. I also know Charles who owns Tour Dex well, I know the people at Morgan Freeman, however I don’t know the DCM people, but know the product well. This post is not meant to be a finger pointing exercise, but a call to lift your game! For Tourism sake! Its not too late!
Port Douglas, Open your Bloody eyes!
Written by Guy Besley, Latitude Travel Services,
OK, I’m not happy, and its not like me to keep quiet!
The one thing that really gets up my nose is disrespect for your customer! No, I’m not talking about high room rates, restaurant prices or tour costs (capitalism deals with that). I’m talking about something completely avoidable and instantly fixable.
No room for corporate bullies!
There is a mafia style underbelly within tourism marketing that WONT allow all products to be show cased to YOU, the customer! Although this has made me disheartened for many years, it is now making my blood boil as it seems to be really stepping up!
My intention is not to name and shame, but to reach out to the accommodation providers and tour operators in the hope that they take heed to the stupidity of this situation.
Let me explain.
K-Star Walking Tours
In the last few days a small tour operator, K-Star Walking Tours (and you can gather by the name, its cheap and cheerful) has been attempting to promote his product by doing the rounds of accommodation houses with his new brochure. This is a standard activity of course. How else can the “supposed” expert FREE tour desks advise you of what all the good things to see and do are if they don’t know about them.
Anyway, back to the topic; as Kevin was doing the rounds he was constantly met with, “no, we are with DCM” (woops a name dropped out), Now, I’m not having a go at DCM, in principal the service they provide has value (to the hotel), and it does make life easier for them. My problem is that if you are with this organisation you cannot display other products on your property. So who is missing out?
Well this Ante just got upped yesterday, as Kevin approached a small property to “show case” his new brochure he got told, “no we have Morgan Freeman”; a little history, my mate Charles from Tour Dex had a great little business providing tour stands to complexes and charged a small fee to tour operators for getting the brochure stands into the properties; about 6 years ago Morgan Freeman came into Port Douglas doing the same, and they signed up properties to remove the Tour Dex board and put their own in. To be fair, the Morgan Freeman board was better presented so there was a big switch. BUT, this does not mean that a hotel cant still have any brochures or promote any products they choose. The “brochure wars” have been going for years and is not an issue to the hotels, only the tour operators (I wont go into that).
Latitude Travel Services
So where does this leave things? In short, if you have a low priced tour, like K-Star walking tours, no one wants to know you, why? NOT ENOUGH COMMISSION for the hotel! So who misses out? Not K-Star, he makes very little from it anyway, but the guest (remember them, the customers that put food on our plates). Port Douglas is an expensive holiday destination, and finally there is a cheap option for a few hours entertainment, while gleaning some great knowledge of the town from a very experienced tour operator.
So why doesn’t he just advertise in Tour Dex or Morgan Freeman? Simple, he cant afford it. That would be his annual income!
Just to top this off, check out the Port Douglas Community Garden this is where Kevin spends his spare time, helping out the local community, yet the greedy business operators cant even be bothered helping promote his low cost tour because there is not enough commission in it!
My whinning is now complete, but please everyone take heed. Port Douglas is better than this! Its about customers, not dollars and the sooner you all see this it will get back to its hey day! Or we will continue to battle the over services off shore destinations, and for good reason.
To point out, Kevin is a mate of mine, although we have never really socialised together I have not encountered a person that always puts in! And takes very little. I also know Charles who owns Tour Dex well, I know the people at Morgan Freeman, however I don’t know the DCM people, but know the product well. This post is not meant to be a finger pointing exercise, but a call to lift your game! For Tourism sake! Its not too late!
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