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THE PROBLEM

Group  bookings  involve:  Ø  getting  everyone  to  agree  on  the  booking  Ø  building  con3idence  people  will  pay  Ø  chasing  people  for  money  Ø  Testing  relationships  with  the  stress  of  money  owed  

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The marketplace

No  Group  Bookings  Expedia  

Self-­‐Serve  Group  

Bookings?  

Manual  Group  Booking  STA  

Travel  Republic  Thompson  

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The Users

Teachers  booking  school  trips   Hobbyists  booking  for  teams/groups   Young  people  on  budget  holidays   Stag/Hen  Trips  

For  details  of  personas  please  refer  to  the  relevant  appendix  

The Effected customers •  PART  OF  A  MEDIUM/LARGE  GROUP  •  ORGANISED  •  MOBILE  •  BUDGET  CONSCIOUS    •  TIME  POOR    

Their priorities

•  EASY  /  CLEAN  /  QUICK    •  FLEXIBLE      •  SAFE    •  ABILITY  TO  ‘CHASE  UP’  PAYMENTS  •  ITINERARY  BASED    

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The opportunity Based on analysis on appendix p24-25

Ø  The  holiday  booking  industry  is  worth  £45bn  in  the  UK  and  this  increasing  every  year.  This  is  coupled  with  a  steady  decline  in  the  rate  of  solo  bookings  (as  seen  on  Google  Trends).  

Ø  No  one  offers  a  simple  self-­‐serve  group  payment  booking  site.  

Ø  There  are  currently  no  services  that  allow  for  safe,  transparent  and  trackable  group  payment  systems.  

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The ProbleM

Group  bookings  involve:  Ø  getting  everyone  to  agree  on  the  booking  

Ø  building  con3idence  people  will  pay  

Ø  chasing  people  for  money  Ø  Testing  relationships  with  the  stress  of  money  owed  

The Solution

ü  A  group  payment  mechanism  integrated  into  a  simple  to  use  holiday  booking  website  

ü  The  booker  pays  the  deposit  ü  Each  member  pays  for  their  own  share  

ü  Payments  can  be  tracked  online  

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Group booking made easy.

We provide a simple, efficient service for splitting group holiday payments, so you can focus on the trip,

not the budget.

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The Strategy

Product  Leadership    

First  to  market  with  a  unique  payment  mechanism  allowing    groups  to  manage  payments  for  holidays  and  avoid  aggravation  over  the  use  of  an  individuals  card.  

Operational  Excellence    A  travel  website  which  is  easy  to  navigate  and  feels  intuitive  to  today’s  independent  travellers  who  want  quick,  reliable  and  ef3icient  group  holiday  bookings  online.      

The  product;  a  competitive  online  travel  agency  targeted  at  group  booking  with  an  integrated  as  the  group  payment  mechanic.  

Value Discipline Strategy

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Product Development Timeline

Pre-­‐launch  development:  •  Extensive  market  

research  *  Mechanic  design  &  tesEng  

*  Alpha  &  beta  builds  

   

FY1    One  product,  one  campaign  :  sun  

 Final  version  build  

       

   

FY2  Two  markeEng  campaigns  –  ski  and  sun    

     

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The Mechanics Mechanic  Structure:  Modular  architectural  approach  –  allows  diversi3ication  into  other  industries  for  group  payments  

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The Operations

Small  customer  

service  team  handle  account  /  payment  issues  

Analysts  site  analy;cs  macro  trends  

Sales  /  markeAng  promo;on  customer  

engagement  

3rd  party  relaAonships  tour  operators  

payment  gateway  

SMS  gateway  

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The Branding / website

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The Branding / website

Mobile  option  

Must be: •  Fast  •  Multi-­‐browser  •  Clear  on  price  &  charges  

 

Must not: •  Show  errors  •  Confuse  the  user  •  Vary  layout  on  different  pages  

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The Marketing Plan

Ø  Primarily  digital  but  with  outdoor,  experiential  and  traditional  PR  components    

Ø  Precise  market  focus  on  a  single  market:  18-­‐25  year  old  group  holidays  (school  leavers,  uni  friends)    

Ø   Efforts  will  be  concentrated  on  London  and  other  big  university  towns  

Ø  Core  messaging  is  built  around  sharing  experiences  and  making  the  most  of  being  young.    

Ø  Heavy  focus  on  retention  and  reactivation  in  FY2  

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Sales Goals & Expected Revenue

Sales Goals: Ø  15 group sales a month &

increase to 60/month in 1st year. Ø  15% to 18% margin in the first 6

months to increase to 20% later in the year.

Ø  Double the sales during the peak period in the year. i.e. April till August.

Revenue Streams:

Ø  Direct Sales on the website and through inbound/outbound calls.

Ø  Advertising on the website. Ø  Commissions From airlines, hotels, car

rentals etc.

Average  sale  value/person

30  Sales 45  Sales 60  Sales

£150 £4,500 £6,750 £9,000£200 £6,000 £9,000 £12,000£250 £7,500 £11,250 £15,000

*  The  average  sale  value  was  derived  from  the  primary  research  with  travel  agents  considering  DomesEc  and  InternaEonal  Eckets  

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Finances / Budget

Ø  Startup  costs:  £40K  Ø  Monthly  cost:  £85K  Ø  Balance  at  release  of  MVP:  (£450K)  

Ø  Projected  monthly  revenue  Y1:  £2750    Ø  Estimated  break-­‐even  (monthly):  Late  FY  3  Ø  Estimated  break-­‐even  (cumulative):  Late  FY  4  

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P&L Forecast

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The Considerations?

Ø  Group  payment  feature  easily  replicated  by  existing  players  in  this  market  

Ø  Need  to  integrate  with  enough  tour  operators  to  make  it  viable  

Ø  Large  numbers  of  regulations  to  protect  consumers  

Ø  Entering  a  well-­‐established  market  

Ø  Delayed  payments  and  multi-­‐currency  transactions  could  lead  to  losses  

For  details  of  PEST  and  SWOT  analyses  please  refer  to  the  relevant  appendix  

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Some possibilities…  •  Schedule  Payments  /  Installments  •  Patenting  /  Renting  the  patent  •  Expansion  into  International  markets  •  Additional  services  (theatre  tickets,  gifts  etc.)  •  Sales  to  clients  in  industries  of  the  above  •  Advertising  on  the  site  •  Group  promotions  and  exclusives  •  A  group  travel  blog  with  recommendations  for  groups  

The Future

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FOR more Information, please view our appendices deck on slideshare. if you have any questions, Come and join the discussion on the squared online forum.