Travel Protection is an important piece of booking the perfect trip. If guests want to protect their vacation investment, they should strongly consider purchasing travel protection. Property Managers are the subject matter experts when it comes to booking a trip to your local destination.
Since your website or reservationists are the trusted advisers in this transaction, the guest is depending on you to help them navigate the process and protect them.
Smart property managers offer travel protection to their guests, so it protects them from the unforeseen.*
Smart property managers also give their guests every opportunity to buy travel protection for the previously discussed reasons as well as the related compensation that can be earned for making the offers.*
The primary ways to offer travel protection include:
1. Offer travel protection within your website’s checkout page (as part of the booking process);
2. Offer travel protection through your reservationists;
3. Offer travel protection via a microsite;
4. Offer travel protection via follow up emails;
5. Offer travel protection via follow up texts.
Offer travel protection within your website’s checkout page (as part of the booking process).
When property managers add travel protection within the booking path, they can achieve much higher conversion rates. It’s best to offer it as a step within the checkout that is required to be made before completion of the booking.
This offering but be “opt-in”; it cannot be made as “opt-out” where the travel protection is already pre-checked. Its best to have two selections (both unchecked): purchase travel protection or choose to decline travel protection.
Your travel protection provider should offer you brief descriptions to use on the checkout page. Some property managers also offer three options: purchase travel protection, purchase travel protection with cancel for any reason benefits, or decline travel protection. Having three options rather than two increases your conversions even more.
Offer travel protection through your reservation agents.
Your reservation team is typically the first person guests connect with when making a new booking. These team members advise guests on accommodations, restaurants, things to do and much more.
Reservation agents should also make travelers aware of travel protection and why it’s so important to purchase. Most travel protection providers have small scripts that reservation agents can incorporate into their conversations with guests.
Offer travel protection via a microsite.
Some travel protection providers offer simple microsites that only offer travel protection. These travel protection microsite links can be incorporated into many places. Use the travel protection purchase links within your guest follow up emails or on a travel protection tab within your website.
These can be gentle reminders on why they should reconsider buying travel protection in case they first declined with the original booking.
Offer travel protection via follow up emails.
Most property management software platforms offer messaging systems where property managers can remind their guests on the many reasons why travel protection should be considered. If the travel protection provider also offers a microsite link, you can include the link as an immediate “buy now” button for even more travel protection sales. Some property managers also include their reservation hotline if they want to make the purchase by phone.
Offer travel protection via follow up texts.
A cutting-edge new way to offer travel protection is via text. Property Managers can deploy new software applications being offered in the industry to send text messages to their guests about the advantages of travel protection. These texts can be set up to only message those that initially declined travel protection.
Property Managers that enable all of these methods ensure their guests get the protection they want. These property managers also create another strong revenue source for their company.
To learn more about travel protection and cancel for any reason options, please contact your RentalGuardian account manager today at 888-885-5550.
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Article written by Brady Stump, CEO @ RentalGuardian (NPN 16336177)
Per InsureStays, only licensed agents holding travel insurance lines of authority, or authorized retailers of a licensed Supervising Entity like InsureStays may offer or disseminate travel insurance.