One of the bare truths with which travel agents have to function is that a crisis can hit their travel company at any time. We all witnessed what transpired during the Covid-19 pandemic period from early 2020 to the middle of 2021. Widespread panic and loss of life had set a chain reaction that saw people getting locked up inside their houses for a very long period.
This upheaval caused anarchy in the travel and tourism industry as surveys showed that the worldwide revenue for the sector as a whole dropped down by a staggering 34.7 per cent. On the brighter side, the sheer scale of the pandemic taught people involved in the travel industry to prepare themselves for further instances of crisis.
This Pathfndr article has been compiled with the view to help every person linked directly to the travel sector for their livelihood a chance to know some of how they will be able to adjust and adapt their businesses in times of duress. It is no doubt critical that you know how to manage your travel company in the hardest of times.
The next section of this Pathfndr article will talk about the actions you can take to manage your travel company in times of crisis.
Take Care of Your Staff
During the peak period of the Covid-19 pandemic, the hashtag ‘#stayhome’ clocked over 29 million posts and reposts on the social media platform Instagram alone. This was an indication that people the world over were responding to the call to first handle the situation at home base. From the travel operating company’s perspective, a crisis period offers the chance to show care and support for those who work with you. Troubled times affect everyone in one respect or the other.
So, the right thing to do when a crisis sets in is to look after the material and psychological aspects of one’s team members and employees. When the revenue flow goes down, it is only natural that companies will suffer as a result. Notwithstanding the enormous pressure on one’s finances, one must show support to the people who make up the company in difficult times. One of the ways to do this is to bring digital support wherever possible.
These days, you will find SaaS platforms, businesses, and freelancers offering solutions to take care of a company’s staff when the going gets tough. So, the conscientious travel operator owner should make it a point to rope in one of them to manage your travel company in times of crisis.
Get Back to the Basics with which You Started
A crisis provides ample opportunities to take a halt from the daily hustle and bustle of running a company and make the time to sit back and see where you stand with your overall professional goal. You may utilise this phase to readjust the direction you want your company to head and chalk out plans to achieve it.
Since it is during a crisis that people become the most vulnerable, one of the best avenues to manage your travel company will be to keep the employees’ spirits and hopes high. With adequate guidance and support, it is possible to inject a fresh lease of life into a visibly demoralised workforce.
This is a time when you would do great by shedding a few layers in your external communications system as well. Taking the help of a channel manager to chalk up a coherent overview of one’s online channels and outreach is another way you can bring to the fore what your brand is all about.
You can see this as an exercise to remind your clients what love for travel looks and feels like, and why your travel brand is an ideal companion for them. You have to configure this strategy in a way that people associated with your travel company can see that you are here to wage a battle against the odds with a strong desire to overcome them.
Consider Pivoting your Overall Business Strategy
If you are leading a business startup, this is a good time to think about altering your company’s operational philosophy. To do this, you first have to take into account your core team’s flexibility, and then identify the areas where you can inject some energy that got your agency started in the initial days.
Any crisis alters the entire climate for businesses to function. It affects how people think, interact with each other, travel from one place to another, and so much more. Under these circumstances, it is only normal that the aforementioned factors would completely change the path your business has been taking. The smart thing to do at this juncture will be to embrace the winds of change and identify opportunities to steer your business to uncharted territories.
Change is not restricted to new businesses only. Respected companies in the travel sector can also move in to diversify their portfolio when the crisis hits their doors. This is not to say that they would require to amend their time-tested business model. However, they would do good by introducing some new ideas to the table while taking care of the existing services. The underlying target will be to constantly remain agile, and responsible, and keep innovating to resist the ill effects of a crisis.
Make Reaching Out to Your Clients a Priority
Even though your clients would be receiving communications electronically from several brands, you still need to keep that line of contact open at all times. This is because your clients would still want to hear from you even during the darkest times. Always acknowledge the fact that your clients had signed up with you in the first place as they liked what you offered.
They have been following you over social media platforms, downloading your company app if it’s available, and checking out the newsletters they keep receiving in their inbox.
So, keep addressing your community of followers in times of duress. They should get an inside view of the ways you are coping with the tough situation. Remain transparent throughout the run of the crisis, and try to address the situation wholeheartedly. Make an effort in showcasing the reasons why your clients came to you in the first place. This can be done by delivering content at their doorstep that is personal, intimate, and heartwarming.
Never Stop Preparing for Normalcy while you are at it
Even if a crisis takes businesses to the brink, the good news is that no crisis lasts forever. A moment comes when the bad climate disappears, and everything goes back to normalcy. Always remind yourself of this basic truth, and remain on your toes. When the crisis does go away eventually, people will come out of their safety net and visit restaurants and bars like before.
There would be full-house concerts, and cruise ships would ferry hundreds of passengers to exotic locations. The losses you are accruing right now will also begin to wither away, and travel operators will once again sell their services at good rates to willing clients.
With a bucket full of courage and resolve, set about adjusting and readjusting the essentials that run your business. These could be your product roadmaps, team structures, basic processes, marketing communications, content libraries and calendars, automation, and new system implementation. The underlying message is to always hope that the crisis will ultimately make it pass and that your business will flourish again. In the meanwhile, you simply have to keep the basics of the company running.
It is Fine if you Want to Take a Step Back
Despite your bravest efforts, there may arise a situation where you will not be able to sustain your company at all. The financial setbacks could be too much to make up for. Also, if a crisis hits you all of a sudden, you could be left without a backup plan. Under these circumstances, it will be okay if you need to call off the daily operations of your enterprise for a short while.
The most important thing you would be required to do is to ensure the survival of the company. For that to take shape, a temporary stalling of day-to-day activities could save the day. However, it would not be fortuitous to not take care of your workforce. This is the moment when you will shine by letting off the steam and making the welfare of your staff a priority.
You will do well if you appreciate all the things you and your teammates have accomplished all this while, and remain on standby mode for some time. The moment you notice that the crisis has begun to go away, you would be able to make a strong comeback.
Manage your Travel Company with Pathfndr
With that, we have come to the end of our article discussing the ways to manage a travel company when some sort of crisis comes to the fore. You may now make the time to go over the points again to have an even better understanding of everything that has been written above.
To read more on travel and tourism, and its sundry collaboratives, visit the Pathfndr website today. You will also be able to build your travel site using this revolutionary AI-powered travel operating system.