People going to a tourist destination because they can catch a Pokémon?
Good examples of Mass Tourism or Specialized?
Do you think that this will endure for a long time?
I only hope that when some Touristologists create a dynamic package also appears in the news! Basically, because it will be an example of how Touristology can improve the quality of life, provide international contacts and broader perspectives for the tourist AND take care of the culture and create richness and employment for the tourist destination.
BUT… Jordi.. it is not the case of the small village or Pokémon?
Open your mind Touristologist! Review again the Da Vinci Code story. Review again the story of Chip Conley and JDVhotels then listen to YOUR Touristology’s voice and…change the way we enjoy, manage and define Tourism. You are Touristologists the best minds working in the best sector ever! Time to prove it!!!
Let me be clear once and for all! It is OK to use other people/companies CRS (Central Reservation Systems), OTA (On-line Travel Agencies) or SnS (Social Networking Sites) … As a matter of fact usually it is very convenient, BUT what happens when they realize that you need them more than they need you? What happens when they know that we are talking about their customers and NOT yours? Have you seen this ad of Booking (Genius)?
A loyalty program, a way to reward the most profitable customers. Booking is a very successful company and to keep, and even increase their profits they will do (almost) whatever it takes!
Get more customers? What MY customers want? Lower prices? You got it!
Possibility to make a reservation in any hotel? You got it!
Increase the number of bookings? I got it!
Increase my commission? I got it!
It is perfectly OK to use Booking! BUT in order to be (and remain) competitive you have to create more options. In this way, you will be able to choose between their option or yours!
You can create your own CRS or OTA remember Accor!
You can also define your own segments, aggregate and customize an offer to them and communicate and commercialize it through your chain of value (By the way, a good definition of My Own 1,2,3).
One of the ways of defining a segment is the one followed by Chip Conley. Yes! The one who created 30 hotels based on 30 magazines (a meeting place of the segment in Touristologistly terms!)
So, I repeat… We are Touristologists! We can choose! Can you?
If you can’t, you can always contact any of my Touristologists (the ones that appear here!). At the end of the day, they are the best minds working in the best sector ever!!!
All my life, I have been planning, experiencing, listening to, reading about people creating new start-ups. This background allow me to see patterns, to propose frameworks… using them you can try to predict the future of new start-ups just by watching if they stick to the following three rules or not . As a matter of fact, this is true for any enterprise in any sector!
Rule number 1: The world is OUR office!
Forget about LOCAL tourism. Focus on establishing your business in a global environment. The real one!
Don’t be like some entrepreneurs (sorry, they’re definitely… Copyologists!) that go somewhere, copy an idea and then set up the same in their local country. As they are only good at copying ideas, their great hope is that someday the original enterprise will try to establish in their country and they can sell their enterprise to them (better buy than battle, right?)
Rule number 2: Choose wisely generic or specialized tourism (I repeat, the rules are valid for any sector)
If you do something generic, be sure that you can benefit from economies of scale that allow you to provide the lowest prices. Remember, no low prices, no permanent offers, no discounts… NO customer!
- BUT, Jordi, what if first I seduce low price orientated customers with offers and then they will come even though at a higher price?
Good example of an Oxymoron, my friend!
If you choose to focus on value instead of price (OR If you are unable to provide economies of scale) focus on a segment (a real one, forget about Dr. Frankensteins segmentation) focus on creating and building a community. So, specialized tourism or specialized business. In this scenario, a competitor can appear offering the lowest prices BUT you have something more important and harder to get... The TRUST of YOUR community!
Rule number 3: Define operations and processes and use web 2.0 business model features (you know: syndication, customization and pro-am) to improve them. Then design and implement the technological scheme. Do you really believe that you can do that without a two hands mentality? I doubt it!
Let’s see some interesting case in point…
More than one year ago it was very popular to create mobile apps trying to bring customers to your restaurant. Here, we talked about Resy and Groupon…
The flavor of the month lately it has been on-line start-ups connecting restaurants with people willing to order on-line and getting a menu at home or at the office. Just Eat (the global big gorilla), ClubKviar… just to give some examples
After watching the video… How do you clasifly ”just eat” generic or specialized?
Do you see any opportunities for improving processes using the web 2.0 business model?
At the end of the day, those start-ups dream to become a Super 3 in Touristology terms!
How to seduce restaurants? You can increase your sales 25% selling through me! Or you can get to know your customers better thanks to the tools I give you (a kind of loyalty program, a kind of big data system…)
How to seduce customers? Your menu at your finger tips! Get a customized service and access to special discounts in any restaurant inside my system.
Does it sound interesting? Sure! Is it a possible disruptor? It can be!
BUT…If they don’t follow the previous rules (international approach, specialization and two hands mentality) this is the usual outcome…
A lot of new start-ups will appear and at the end (after many broken dreams and loss of money) a few (or just the one) ones will control the market!
Touristologists! Be sure you are part of the winners (the future leaders OR the ones that sell and get the money) Review Touristology rules and keep working, keep dreaming, keep enjoying Touristology!!!
A few days/weeks ago I shared on my Twitter account this article about Mystifly...
If you don’t feel like reading the article (which I strongly recommend!) Here’s a summary… In a nutshell, cross-selling is a good way to increase revenues (and profits, I Touristologistly add!), Airlines practice this selling flights and hotels. So, you can do the same: sell hotels and flights! Mystifly’s APIs allow hoteliers to offer their customers the possibility to make a flight reservation. How is that possible? Does the word “syndication” ring a bell to you?
Eager to learn more? Let’s see this video from Mystifly itself:
In this video the target were travel agents. Now, they are targeting Hoteliers. When I read the article I said to myself, “Hmmm… hoteliers giving support to the customers in the airline company? Using APIs? I have to write a post about that!
As you know, I love mixing together Touristology and Web-Engineering and this is an excellent case in point.
After the tweet, I got some responses..
“Jordi, I’m an hotelier! Why on earth do I have to sell airline tickets?” My answer? Let me clarify this once and for all… your business it is not ONLY to sell rooms, food and beverage and meeting spaces. Your business is to satisfy your customer, providing what they need, when they need it, in the way they need it! In this way, the tourists will choose you, as THE accommodation provider, OR even better, as my-trusted-partner-in-all-I-need-during-this-trip. On the other hand, you will increase your profits. This is what Yield/Revenue Management is all about!!!
I got another one.... “What? This is NOT Revenue Management? I have been a Revenue Manager for X-years and I never did that.” My answer? Have you been a Revenue Manager for X-years or have you repeated the same year X times?
OK, Jordi stop talking with the past and start talking with the future:.... YOU!!!
Do you have some ideas about how to use Mystifly APIs in an intelligent way (so, the Touristology way, of course!!!)
Can you use the Web 2.0 Business Model?
By the way, do you think that it is possible to connect this post with this one? Where we talked about Beacons, IoT, smart cities, smart chains of value…
Do you think that the web 3.0 principles (integration and synchronization) are beginning to materialize in the tourism sector? It is a great moment to be a Touristologist!!!!
Applications like this (I am sure that, in the near future, hundreds of them will appear) will help to set up chains of value giving support to the tourist from the beginning to the end of the trip. Something, that I strongly believe is the future of the Tourism sector (together with the evolution of specialized tourism and the emphasis on group creation).
Do you realize (as usual) that this enterprise is focused on low price? Can you add something to the business model? Can you think of a way to improve it?
If not you... WHO? If not now... WHEN?
WHO IS THE BEST MIND WORKING IN THE BEST SECTOR EVER???
Not long ago, China was a communist country, nowadays it is in transition to becoming a capitalist country but, habits die hard! So far, they have being very successful combining freedom economy principles with control over them (by the way, another good example of an oxymoron!) For instance, China’s exchange rate is determined by a central authority not for the free market (is it really a free market when people with more money that entire countries exists AND no limitation, whatsoever, in the amount of money they wish to move? Well, this can be the subject of another posts!). We saw this in action this August! Another example, happened this January. When the stock exchange went down, the government created a new rule: If the market is down by 7% we will close the stock exchange. Did it work? You know, in Economy we have the same problem/reality than in Touristology, we are dealing with human beings and we are logical, emotional and gregarious. So, what appeared to be a good idea ended up in a failure! Some traders thought “if at 7% I couldn’t sell… I better sell it when it is 2% down!!!” Well China, welcome to Bonaparte’s fantasy!!! Napoleon was a great warrior BUT he, REALLY, thought that ruling above everything all would be fine. Well…keep dreaming Napoleon! Not in economy, not in the education, not in Touristology!!! When you regulate everything people try to avoid the rule NOT getting better results for them and for the rest of us. Let me be crystal clear: Rules (the excess of them) kill creativity, innovation, LIFE!!! If you want to get great things, there are only a few rules: 1) Choose the best people 2) Motivate them (if they are, really, the best, it would be enough if you don‘t demotivate them!!!) 3) Give them a good framework. 4) Don’t bother them with XXXX rules! 5) Then wait for results and if they are good... Continue. It they are bad... Adapt! Do you want your Tourism destination, hotel, any tourism enterprise… To detect new segments. Create new products. To define better servuctions processes Find and try new countries of origin, Set up the best chain of value in order to provide backup to the tourist from the beginning to the end of the trip? Follow those rules, then look at Adam Smith into his eyes and said to him: Invisible hand! What a genius you were and ARE!!!
A long time ago a wise man (one that appears here Mr. Almodovar to be precise!) told me. “Today (it was Friday) I had a strong argument. I will be very disappointed on Monday”
This wise man teaches me a lot of things about intermediaries in the tourism sector, but that day the lesson was about mental control!
The rule is simple and obvious, if you can put off your worries (or any emotions) you kind of control them!
Control is not only for Touristology (Do I have to repeat again how important it is that you control your chain of value? I know that it is not necessary! At least, not for My Touristologists, the real ones!), control is for your entire life.
So, this it the gift that I asked to The Three Wise Men (I recommend you to do the same!!!)…
Allow me to control my emotions, give me the will to put off when to worry, give me the creativity to pretend that “the-thing-that-happened” was a movie and I’m the director, able to change roles, sentences… in order to show me that I am in control. Mental control is the name of the game!
Just remember, Touristologists! Put off your worries, BUT don’t put off your dreams, your duties (learn a new language, how to code, more about YOUR SCIENCE...) that you know you have to do in order to get them!
In life as in entrepreneurship, put off your worries NOT your dreams, Touristologists! Are you ready? So am I!!!! Happy New year 2016!!!
(I know, I know, I’m a little bit late. I’m really focused on OUR thing, remember?
As I always say to My Touristologists, all good answers begin with three words… It depends ON…then you have to explain the “ons”!!!! How is it possible that most of the new startups dealing with tourism and relying on technology are low value orientated? Low value orientated, Jordi? What do you mean with that? I mean that… 1) They are focused on providing a solution to mass tourism. So, basically, something that allow tourists to find cheaper prices and (apart from, sometimes, offering discounts for customers aggregation) not appear any possibility of groups creation! 2) They provide a partial solution. So, they don’t offer support for the tourists from the beginning to the end of the trip. Is there anybody providing those kind of solutions? YES! Do you remember Worldmate that we talked about here.
So, why this low value orientated addiction? One of the reasons is because they are products designed for developers NOT Touristologists. Software is eating the world and the only ones able to create disruptive new, new enterprises are the ones able to code (or able to convince someone else to code for them…. BUT remember you need him/her and not the other way around). So, Touristologists you need to learn to code! Developers thinking about Tourism… you need to learn Touristology! Otherwise, your supposed new, new things are… 1) Not new but part of the forgotten set. 2) Are just temporarily new… Because sooner or later they will be eaten or surpassed or destroy by economy of scales suppliers! As happened with wehotels (Studentuniverse) . As happened with Gydsy (getyourguide). As happened with blink (Groupon)… Did they earn money in the process? YES! But you will remember them in the future as you remember Apple (Steve Jobs) Joe de vivre (Chip Conley)… I doubt it! Can you use your Touristology skills to analyze this new startup? Its name is Experitus and here you have a video
and here an interview with its founder… Can you improve it? Do you see the possibility of groups creation? Do you see possible buyers? Can you list its competitors? Can you analyze their mobile app and web sites? Do you think that they are very similar? But Jordi, in specialized tourism other companies also can buy or destroy us. YES! But you would have learnt to define segments, to build a community, to create chains of value, to define operations and processes inside this chain of value, to create (or buy) the right software and to use the right devices… So, you will become… A TOURISTOLOGISTS!!! … nobody can take those skills away from you! Once you create one enterprise you can create thousands. You will become master and commander of the Touristology framework!!! The answer to the question in the title? I try to reply with another question! Developers? Touristologists? Which is the difference? In 1500 who was more important people able to read and write or any member of any science? So, this is my message for Christmas… Touristologists of earth… Learn to code! Developers of earth… Learn Touristology!!! Everybody needs two minds!!!
