by Travel Trade Marketplace
Create Own Package or Program (C. O. P. P.)
Create new exciting products and programs or enhance existing ones.
Made easy, hosted, marketed and fulfilled by Equator
The dragon's power in business
The popular Chinese concept of "yì tiáo lóng fú wù" means every service from start to finish is provided for seamlessly, like a single long dragon covering all its needs in sequence. ​Today's travellers generally expect: 1. Convenience - able to purchase different products on one platform in preferred currency and payment method. 2. Consistency - uniform presentation of different products' information. 3. Reliability - bookings can be confirmed and payment successful even when last minute. 4. Simplicity - loyalty points can be combined from different products. 5, Online - available online on their preferred device.
Single product operators benefit most
Operators with single line products, and whose products are lower in the supply chain, spend much more in marketing to stay forefront in customers' minds. Unused loyalty points continue as a liability because customers cannot collect enough to redeem. Operators' websites have become more a channel for price comparison with third parties' sites. Marketing spend to promote websites becomes unjustifiable as sales conversion don't correspond to site traffic. All these pain points persist for many operators and majority of the cause is related to the lack of a long dragon's structure.
Single product operators benefit most
​C.O.P. P. system lets operators incorporate the "dragon concept" into its business. It is an integrated platform for operators to assemble different products, host, market and fulfil bookings without burdens of additional resources and operational stress. Importantly, operators' identities are maintained as their brands front their products and customer ownership is ensured. ​
Benefits of C.O.P.P.
C.O.P.P. helps sellers create deals as comprehensive as desired, deals that attract customers and save them search and book times. Airlines can select hotels or activities as add-ons or as a bundle. Hotels can combine rooms with flights since most travellers search and book flights first or add land activities to differentiate from competitors. Tour operators can enhance existing packages with more products as add-ons without interfering prices of own products; a subtle way to generate incremental income. Or build a comprehensive 10D9N tour program with various options. It could also be very well a tactical move to gain more eyeballs by using a market leader's product. Add these creations to your website to increase traffic, sales conversion and more online income.
Equator helps onboard your preferred suppliers if they have not joined the marketplace. Connecting Brands (in C-Series) further lets operators negotiate better rates with other operators and set negotiated prices into the system for exclusive use. All booking details, revenue, cost breakdown by suppliers and other useful information are in your admin account for analysis and reconciliation.
C.O.P. P. eases the "dragon culture" into your business to reap all the values of business and profit optimisation. It raises the bar for seamless collaboration intra industry and offers a more cost efficient and sustainable selling and marketing.
Illustrations
Hong Kong hotel launches full businessman's package
Hotel in Hong Kong central district uses COPP to create a businessman package targeted at SMEs and Associations in Singapore. The hotel selects certain flights for Singapore and Hong Kong sector operated by Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific, adds airport limo transfers operated by a transport operator, to combine with the hotel's different room types. The transport company agreed to offer a lower than standard B2B rate because the hotel is helping to promote its brand into Singapore. The operator loads the special rate into Equator which only the hotel can apply to the package. Equator promotes the package to SMEs and Associations in Singapore. When customers book, Equator fulfils the airlines and transfer portions and sends the selected room type booked to the hotel. Equator collects from the customer and pays the airlines, transport company and the hotel including any markup or commissions due to the hotel respectively.
Two sister hotels operate in Singapore (city state) and Bintang (island resort about 45 minutes ferry ride from Singapore). Both hotels target South East Asian markets and know many visitors would stay in Singapore pre or post Bintang visit. However they had never collaborated until COPP. Both hotels created a flexi stay package consisting of flexible stay periods in both hotels, return ferry tickets (supply from a ferry operator) and return transfers (from local transport company) from ferry terminal to hotel. They selected Equinox platform to market to SMEs and Association in the region qnd Equator platform to promote to travel agents worldwide with a sales commission. Finally for the same package, they also allocated a special industry staff rate for all travel and tourism personnel using the Tourism-ID platform.
Sister hotels in Singapore and Bintang co-market with twin destination package
Bangkok agent enhances holiday getaway packages into various Thai destinations
A travel agent in Bangkok creates staycation packages targeted at Bangkok residents for an upcoming long holiday period. It used to curate transport, sightseeing and attraction operators in Chiang Mai, Phuket, Krabi and Koh Samui and feature only one hotel in each destination as it becomes too tedious to work on marketing materials of too many hotels.. With COP, it can use the same operators without the need to process bookings to them. It can also more than one hotel in each city to give customers more options as all the hotels' fact sheets are already in Equator's database. The travel agent no longer needs to administer and process bookings nor to handle collection from customers and payment to the other operators. Furthermore, this travel agent uses Equator's enterprise whitelabel solution to further promote to its own customers in Bangkok and overseas via its website and Facebook account.
Airline's instant rewards for its flights Kuala Lumpure to Taipei
An airline launches a flight promotion targeted families living in Malaysia to visit Taiwan. Created on Equator's C.O.P.P. module, customers upon booking its KUL - TPE flights will receive Cash Vouchers that can be redeemed at selected family class hotels in Taipei. In addition, as the airline knows there is a very popular theme park amongst families in Kuala Lumpur named SuperPark, they use C.O.P.P. to offer SuperPark entrance tickets to families who book their flights to Taipei in the first 10 days of the promotion. Equator issues the theme park tickets to customers once they complete payment for their floight booking together with the Cash Vouchers. Both Cash Voucher and theme park tickets can be redeemed immediately making it a very strong call to action. An instant gratification that surpasses other forms of motivation. Travel agents that are given access to sell this offer are most happy to broadcast to their customers as it increases their sales opportunities.
Hotel's F&B & room division teams co market rooms and restaurants
A 5 star hotel in Bangkok tried to improve its capacity utilisation rate by engaging more inhouse guests with posters, ads on tv, leaflet in key card holder and so on. But noticed guests seldom notice these messages and majority still venture out for their dining. The F&B team discussed with rooms division and found that C.O.P.P. can cross market hotels' inhouse services. After discussing with Equator, the hotel adopted the 1st mile engagement strategy. Customers who book guest rooms will receive Cash Vouchers that can be redeemed at its restaurants. There are no costs if no vouchers are redeemed. For higher room categories, guests receive a voucher for one free meal on every two persons' dining. Instead of discounting the room rate, the hotel maintained the BAR rate and value added with the free meal. When redeemed, the F&B department charges the room division a special rate for one meal. Equator promotes this offer to its SMEs, clubs and associations database, features the offer in Connecting Tastes and added a reminder in booking confirmation emails sent to customers. The hotel reminds guests during check in as a last mile engagement.
Hotel group deploys enterprise solution for new customers and staff
A four star hotel group of 10 hotels in Thailand activates Equator's enterprise solution. It uses its corporate brand to front the portal for 1st mile engagement activities. Their hotels created flight + hotel and hotel + activity on selected popular airlines' routes into Thailand as new packaged options. In addition, hotels also used land transfers, day tours and attraction tickets as add-ons when customers book its hotels' rooms. It also roped in hotels' neighboring restaurants as value added services. For last mile marketing, hotels actively promote the portal during check-ins and subtle reminders are placed in guest rooms and common areas (all materials provided by Equator). To stimulate conversion, hotels activated the E-Vouchers for guests to redeem against bookings. For remarketing efforts, guests during check out are invited to register to the portal with a Cash Voucher reward for redeemed at any of its hotels in the next 12 months. Equator further supports by adding E Vouchers for guests to redeem when booking other products in other destinations. All hotels are rewarded for bookings regardless of destination. Since the hotel group owns the customer database, it decides its own email communication frequency and content to stay engaged with registered users. The hotels are able to publish its lowest rates into this portal because the portal is based on User Private Group format. The hotels maintain healthy profit margins despite selling at lowest rates because no sales commissions are involved. Customers are delighted to find the best prices on this portal as there is no markup on sellers' prices. The hotel group is able to increase direct online sales through this portal, offer more product variations and enjoy a new ancillary income stream whenever customers book products and services in other destinations. It now plans to invite more partners create new enterprise portals for different business segments. Their IT team will co-ordinate with Equator on the industry personnel travel portal (Tourism-ID) for staff, their families and friends. Staff can now book online on instant confirmation at own hotels (instead of sending written requests to sale office). It frees the sales offices from needing to check availability at each hotel and processing staff's bookings manually. The HR department will join the ID-SWAP program to partner other hotels and operators across other cities in Thailand and other countries for reciprocal staff deals to offer their 1000+ personnel more travel benefits worldwide.
