Welcome to the NEW Group Sales business!

It’s been an interesting five months, and a very busy one!  That’s why I’ve been absent from this blog.  I’ve been focusing on helping develop some strategies to deal with the changes in our business.  It’s been fascinating (upsetting perhaps, disheartening yes, but still fascinating!).

Groups are dwindling as the older generation begins to leave us.  But the Booomer generation is not ready to take their place on the coaches. What will we do?

The groups that are still traveling are now wanting to book later and later…even adding more people the day before arrival!  What will we do?

Traditional destinations for groups are being asked for new options and opportunities, both places to visit and experiential tourism ideas.  What will we do?

Attendance and income are down across the board.  What will we do?

What will we do?  We’ll find a way to make it work!  The properties that plan ways to survive will do so.  Later deadlines, or more friendly policies, or more flexibility somehow.  Everyone I speak with seems to agree…the problem we’re facing is really something new to us all.

“Group Sales”, in it’s present form, has really only been around for 20-25 years.  Bus companies have been around longer, but the way we currently do things is relatively new.  So we’ve never had to deal with what’s facing us now…a generation shift.  Sadly, the “Greatest Generation” is leaving us, and the “Boomers” are not ready to retire and start traveling in their place yet.  My generation is retiring later, and is still independent.  So what do we do?

Reach out to them!  The Operators that are having success are offering a chance for boomers to ride the coach to a destination at a reduced price, or even for free.  In the process, the boomers are realizing that “taking the bus” is not what it used to be! We have wi-fi, and satellite television, and satellite radio, and DVD’s, and a lot of the comforts of home.  And they don’t have to worry about driving, directions, reservations, planning, or any of that.  The Operators I’ve spoken to who have done this have seen their boomer business increase.

Slowly? Yes. It may even take another year or two! But I truly believe that, once they start getting on board, the Boomers will be even more active than their predecessors were.  We’ve just got to entice them to give us a try.  And it takes all of us, promoting what Motorcoaches offer, how environmentally friendly they are, and how convenient it is to “leave the driving to us”!

Thoughts?  What works for you?  C’mon…share!  We’re all looking for answers, so don’t keep it to yourself!

This entry was posted on September 10, 2009 at 3:43 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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