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Sales and Marketing Activities

Distribution in the Australian/New Zealandmarket

We work with all major and minor wholesalers who provide the majority of market share from the Australian and New Zealand market.

Wholesalers (FIT free and independent traveler)

1. Infinity Holidays Aust/NZ (Flight Center)
2. JTG (Travel Scene, Travel 2 Qantas Holidays Harvey's Choice and Go Holidays New Zealand
3. HOT Aust/NZ
4. Creative Holidays Sydney Aust
5. Blue Holidays (Aust)
6. Fusion Holidays (Aust)
7. Our Pacific NZ (NZ)
8. Island Escapes (Aust)
9. Honeymoon Worldwide (Aust)
10. Pin Point Holidays/Free-style Holidays (Aust)
11. Select Vacations (Aust)
12. Venture Holidays (Aust)
13. Mondo Travel (NZ)

Online/third party operators

SOAM provide feedback and market intelligence to help best position your property with OTAs.

1. Travelocity Sydney
2. Expedia (Issues) Sydney
3. Wotif Brisbane
4. Orbitz Travel
5. Bookings.com
6. Agoda
7. Late-rooms/Asia rooms

The market segments below provide the majority of market share from the Australian and New Zealand market.

1. FIT
2. Family
3. Couples
4. Groups
5. Honeymoon
6. weddings

Most wholesalers do not specialize in the MICE market (meetings Incentives & Conferences and Events). This market segment if relevant to your resort would be serviced by our attendance at AIME with relevant follow up and ongoing communication.

Direct business

SOAM provides feedback and support for

1. Local corporate/leisure/groups
2. The resorts website and pricing policy

Sales tools for the Australian/New Zealand market

To access our fare share of the market from Australia/NZ we need the following critical elements in place.

1. Room allocations/free-sale for major wholesalers
2. Late room release if allotments
3. Industry specials (rates or Value add)
4. Relationship with the all relevant airlines
5. Brochures/sales collateral & artwork (for Tradeshows and wholesale training)
6. Sales Incentive/override targets
7. Brochure/Marketing support to wholesalers
8. Product training
9. Sales calls (relationship building)
10. Familiarization trips by retailers and trade journalist
11. Advertising/promotions
12. Tradeshow/consumer shows participation with the NTO/Wholesalers
13. PR capabilities to facilitate media interest in travel publications and editorial
14. High resolution images for publications and easy access to them
15. A facility to directly reach travel agents with update/specials

Details of Sales tools functions

1. Room allocations for major wholesaler or Free/sale

1. All major wholesalers need room allocations/free-sale to facilitate sales with our resorts. Allocations secure sales from their advertising and promotions investment are realized.
2. Major wholesalers need allocations/free-sale to secure there productivity in relation to their incentive override and return on advertising oppertunities.

2. Late room release

1. Wholesalers need a room release that matched the profile of the booking patterns of the destination.
2. With growth of the online booking engines the booking patterns have become later and later.
3. We have to match sales requirements and needs against the operational expedience of the resorts.

3. Industry specials

1. Most industry specials are driven by the airlines discounting airfares in shoulder or low season. Suppliers then discount their land component to support the airline and destination to secure early/late room nights.
2. Resorts can also initiate specials if there forward bookings are slow and not performing to budget.
3. Most specials take the format of either directly discounted net contract rates, or a value added format such as stay 7 pay 5 or a derivative of same. There can be bonus offers added to the deal such as FB credit.
4. Wholesalers will filter through the deals presented and pick out the best value and then advertise that special and that resorts.
5. The best special gets the best promotion

4. Relationships with the Airlines

1. We must have good relationships with the Airlines to facilitate communication regarding Airline initiatives.
2. To work with them as partners to gain positive outcomes from Airline driven cooperative advertising campaigns such as the Flight center campaigns with NTO and all major airlines .
3. We need airline to be included in offshore tradeshows such WTM (World Travel Mart) that normally would be cost prohibitive.
4. To sponsor and contribute to journalists familiarizations which gives us the opportunity to showcase our resorts in articles written as a result of the famili trip.
5. PR opportunities that come up from time to time which usually involves the resorts giving away a prize to support the Airline in its promotion of the destination in return for good exposure via media outlets.

5. Brochures/Sales collateral

1. Brochures/sales collateral are the basis of all resorts sales tools and should be created to reflect the various market segments the resort is targeted towards. These are important as a give away sales tool to read and remember services and facilities of the resort. Above all imagery contained in sales collateral should be of the highest quality and have a "wow" factor.
2. They should reflect an aesthetic and accurate presentation of the resort through high quality images and professionally written copy.
3. Brochure/Sales collateral should always be budgeted for in the marketing plan
4. Sales collateral should include artwork (ads) that is ready to be used at any opportunity to advertise and promote all market segments the resort is targeting.

a) Families
b) Couples
c) Weddings
d) Groups
e) Honeymooners

6. Sales Incentives/Overrides

1. Incentives are used as a reward for productivity for major players.
2. They are used to encourage sales whilst maintaining a same rate for every body policy. This way all wholesalers are on the same net rates and therefore will sell at the same rate. Major performing wholesalers are getting there cut in the rate via a sales base rebate at the end of the year.
3. Targets are set around March April for the following contract year
4. Incentives should always be budgeted in the marketing plan

7. Brochure/Marketing support

1. Brochure/marketing support is an accepted practice among the major players.
2. Brochure support is the payment in cash or contra of money for brochure space. The more money you pay the more space you get.
3. Brochure support generally ensures the resort has the choice of images used to promote the resort.
4. Brochure support should always be budgeted for in the marketing plan

8. Product Training

1. Product training is a member of the resorts staff or representation staff getting access to wholesaler's product and reservations staff and updating them on the resorts major selling points, or points of difference between us and our competitors.
2. Training has to be booked well in advance and access depends on the relationship the resorts has with the wholesaler. It generally much easier for representation staff to do training as they have the daily relationship with the wholesaler.
3. It is important that all training is conducted with up to date information and the latest images of the resorts.
4. Training is usually done with a power point presentation with rolling images of the resorts followed by question time.

9. Sales Calls (relationship building & maintenance)

1. A sales call can be a face to face meeting with our suppliers, or a phone call checking on how things are going.
2. Greg and I talk to our major suppliers on a daily basis. This way we manage to get first choice of what promotion is on offer.
3. By talking to our suppliers we get good MI on what happening around town and who is doing what to whom and who is coming out with what deal.
4. We also maintain the relationship on behalf of the resort with the NTO and all airlines relevant to our resort. Healthy relationships give us the opportunity to facilitate positive outcomes.

10. Familiarization trips by retail travel agents & Journalists

1. These activities (fam trips) are generally facilitated by wholesalers, NTO or airlines.
2. For retail travel agents they are done so the agent can get an education of the destination and therefore feel more confident in selling it hence better sales conversions.
3. They are always done subject to getting seats with the Airlines. We should see it as an very important part of showcasing the resorts and promoting the destination.
4. There is usually some form of Q & A or report that is completed by the agent and the end of the fam. This report is usually followed up by the fam organizer and forwarded on to participating resorts.
5. Journalist fams are usually organized by the Airline or the NTO and done in conjunction with a market segments they want to promote. We usually provide accommodation in return for a mention in the completed article.

11. Advertising & Promotions

1. Advertising and promotion fall into two forms.
2. Paid advertising through magazines such as Holidays for Kids, in flight magazines with Air NZ or Virgin. Airline based cooperative advertising contribution whereby we contribute a percentage to the total cost of which the airline pays the majority
3. General wholesale campaigns where we get asked for a contribution to advertising where the wholesaler pays the majority.
5. For any paid advertising the GM has final sign-off for non paid advertising its generally get it if you can.

12. Tradeshow/consumer shows participation with the NTO road shows

1. Trade shows are either consumer limited or trade as per AIME, and relevent NTO participation.
2. Consumer shows are general, time limited to discuss product, where as trade is more focused and targeted.

13. PR capabilities to facilitate media interest

1.. With PR it is imperative that any new information on the resorts is reported to us to see if we can get a story from it. PR will also give us the opportunity to get journalists up to do stories which will include the selling features of our resorts.

14. High resolution images

It is always imperative that we present the best possible images to the public and trade alike. We have to make sure we select our hero shots and images that we feel will suite artwork for the market segments we are promoting.

Communication with retail agents

1. SOAM have developed an agents base system that can get to 4,500 retail travel agents please refer to
2. Via agents based training programs and NTO roadshows.
3. Attend NTO road-shows and Flight Center Expos