Being able to book a trip and make payments on a schedule rather than upfront opens up the door of travel opportunity. While everyone values travel for the life-changing experience it is, covering the entire cost of a trip at short notice can present a challenge. People often need some time to save the amount, even at the risk of the trip selling out or prices fluctuating further down the line.
That is where paying in installments can be beneficial to both travel organizers and sports tour participants. A schedule gives more freedom, meaning that more people can plan to join the tour. From making travel more accessible to improving your cash flow, here are some of the perks of offering a payment schedule to your sports tour participants.
Benefits Of Giving Tour Participants The Freedom To Book A Trip and Make Payments On A Schedule
Travel Becomes More Accessible
As you know, booking a tour can be a considerable upfront expense. Splitting the cost over several, more manageable installments can make the trip more accessible and be the difference between participants being able to book the trip or not. A set schedule of smaller payment amounts means that people can better budget their money, and lessen the financial impact on their livelihood.
Of course, it is not to say they can't settle the full amount in one go if they wish to – this approach simply offers greater flexibility on the terms. If you organize sports team tours, you probably want the entire team on the trip so that they can play fixtures as a unit. In this case, the added flexibility can work in your favor allowing all or more of the players to sign up.
Even if you plan sports fan tours, offering a payment schedule can be the difference between filling the available trip spaces or not quite booking out in full.
Get Early Sign Ups
Early sign-ups help you to plan better, as you have an idea of how many people are joining your sports tour, giving you more time to make travel arrangements. You can hunt around for the best rates from your suppliers, and secure the reservations of your choice without having to compromise.
Because there is less of a financial commitment required to book a trip and make payments on a schedule, you can encourage early sign-ups. Instead of having to wait before they can secure their spot, participants can register and join the tour right away.
Based on how quickly the trip fills up, you can get a better idea of where to focus your energy. This may be to rank up marketing if registration is happening slowly or get started on securing booking confirmations from the vendors who will be supporting the tour if the spaces fill fast.
Offering early sign-ups can also lead to you filling more spaces in less time. With spots selling out early on, the perception of demand is created. Rather than missing out, people then look to secure their booking sooner to guarantee their attendance.
Aside from the usual marketing tactics to promote your trip and get the news out there, you can offer up an early bird discount to sports tour participants. The discount incentive is an enticing one, as it means that travelers can adjust their budget to allocate more money to another aspect of the upcoming trip.
Improve Your Cash Flow
As the tour organizer, there are timely payment commitments you have to fill with your partners, vendors, and suppliers. You will have deposits of your own to pay to secure things like accommodation, transport, and flights for the tour participants. Doing this early means there is a better chance of securing the options of your choice and providing a better tour experience.
Receiving part of the money upfront from your participants means you can fulfill these commitments without having to access funds really intended to cover your business overheads. This can be risky as you don't have final numbers on the tour participants yet, and should you not receive the sign-up numbers you were hoping for, it can result in you being out of pocket later down the line. Newer companies may not even have that sort of liquidity yet, which leaves the alternative of applying for a loan to cover this.
Accessible travel and early sign-ups mean that there is money in your bank account from the time you start promoting the tour or open it up for registration. It goes without saying that this is better for your business cash flow. Just be sure to set up a cancellation policy that is fair to both you and the participants in the unexpected event that someone can no longer make the trip.
Manage Payments More Efficiently With WeTravel
Allowing sports tour participants to book a trip and make payments on a schedule sounds great, but it will add to the growing list of things you need to keep track of while organizing a tour, right?
Not at all!
If you using WeTravel to manage your tours, you can offer payment plans to your clients without adding to your admin. When setting up the trip on the platform, you decide on the number of installments you'd like to offer and the dates on which your clients need to pay. The system will automatically send payment reminders to the participants who have registered, as well as a late notice email should they fall behind.
Overall, giving your sports tour participants the option to book a trip and make payments based on a schedule is beneficial for everyone. You ensure that your tours are more accessible at no extra cost while filling up more spaces and improving your business cash flow at the same time.
For more information on how WeTravel works for group travel organizers, watch the short video clip below or contact us directly on our website.
