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| Doing business with The Travel Crew | WHO ARE WE?
The Travel Crew is an umbrella company spanning a group of well established, diverse and successful individual inbound DMC travel specialists. Combining over 25 years of industry experience, our strength, resources, skill and common strategy for optimized partner relationships, marketing and professional business handling sets the tone for both our individual and combined success strategy. Each partner company continues to trade independently under its own respected brand name, retaining its creativity, flexibility and the ability to focus on its particular niche markets. At the same time, each member company also benefits from the support of group resources and expertise, and a common group purpose with appropriate business tools.
TTC is a major player in the Southern African Travel Industry. We are strong, resourceful, focused and together, yet we are also flexible, independent, diverse and personal. Destinations covered include South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Vic Falls, Zambia, Mozambique and others.
We work to achieve maximised support for both suppliers and clients, thereby facilitating a win-win business relationship for all. The following guidelines support positive product and service partner relationships:
PRINCIPLES:
| 1) | we believe in strong supplier relationships - partners for mutually beneficial business | | 2) | we cannot deliver good support for suppliers without appropriate and effective rates, specials, terms and conditions. Hence we need your commitment to enable ours, your protection to ensure you keep us in the market. | | 3) | we prefer to work with less rather than more partners - to have a smaller preferred supplier base where more business is done for less partners, rather than less business for more | | 4) | we trade as independently branded companies, each with our own client base and niche markets - however draw from common group resources, skill and experience. Any rates and terms you supply must thus be common to all members of the group. | | 5) | we work with you to optimise your results, always provided we have competitive advantage. |
SUCCESS CRITERIA:
A number of components contribute to a successful relationship aimed at maximising both of our businesses. It is the mix of these that enable positive support for you:
| 1) | COMPETITIVE nett and gross pricing and associated terms and conditions | | 2) | PROTECTION by you of our nett price structure, together with some exclusive specials and or arrangements for TTC | | 3) | PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE, support material, and enthusiasm to recommend your establishment | | 4) | mutually agreed MARKETING SUPPORT where deemed prudent, practical, and cost effective. | | 5) | RESPECT and understanding for each others particular circumstances - the will and flexibility to make it work | | 6) | CONFIDENTIALITY on all arrangements | | 7) | SIMPLICITY of all price structures and arrangements | | 8) | AVAILABILITY of your rates and product/service throughout the year | | 9) | APPLICCABILITY of the agreed nett rate structure also to specials and promotional rates. |
LEVELS OF INVOLVEMENT with TTC:
There are 3 possible levels of involvement with The Travel Crew:
Provided we are satisfied with the suitability, quality, retail pricing and location of your product / establishment - as regards others in your area or already on our books (remember we prefer less, rather than more - so we can foster stronger relationships), the criteria determining our inclusion of your product/service in our database are as listed below. If for any reason we feel we would have difficulty in meaningfully supporting you, we would rather be honest and say so - not lead you down the garden path.
1)LISTED STATUS
Listed status implies that you are incorporated in our database, and implies:
 | acceptance by ourselves in terms of the above - a product we can use and recommend to our widely based client base | | nett STO rates at WHOLESALE LEVEL (and we are regularly in the habit of verifying rack levels as offered by suppliers, as also these are listed in our online database). As a wholesaler we deal with many trade based clients both domestic and international to whom we pass on commission, hence it is important that we have adequate wholesale leeway. | | a 30 day account facility, not for the sake of running up credit - rather to avoid the hassle and costs of individual bookings being paid piecemeal. | | A supply of brochures and other relevant information, also good quality pictures. | | acceptance of our standard terms and conditions. | | a minimum of 1 complimentary room night per year for staff/agent/client educational purposes (utilised sensibly as agreed with you when suitable/available) for all establishments with 30 or less rooms - 2 complimentary nights for larger establishments. | | The same rates and conditions made available to all partners in the TTC group, irrespective of individual volumes or past support |
2)PREFERRED STATUS
The essential difference of this agreement is that in return for preferential terms, we strive to support you as a preferred partner in preference to others, also aiming to influence our clients accordingly. All of the above criteria as stated above for LISTED SUPPLIERS apply, as well as the overall suitability of your product/service. Only a limited number of suppliers can have preferred status.
In addition, preferred status entails:
| a PREFERRED wholesale rate structure better than above, however dependent on the establishments rates, competitive rates, norms for what price levels are generally offered etc - individually negotiated with you seeking to maximise the returns to you as the product partner. | | in addition, and/or in the alternative, volume concessions on rates and or overall business either on a regular monthly, periodic, but minimum annual review structure, again individually negotiated to suit each individual set of circumstances. | | preferential specials or packages, unique to ourselves, which assist to drive volume. | | a fixed room allocation, where appropriate, with reasonable release periods |
3)PROMOTED STATUS
Promoted suppliers should preferably be preferred partners, however exceptions can be made if circumstances warrant. The difference between this and the LISTED relationship is that active marketing strategies are in place to promote business, marketing tools seeking to push business for you through mutually agreed strategies.
Two types of marketing activities may be utilised:
TTC's own marketing tools
A feature write up / picture printed in any of TTC's individual company brochures, dependent on individual situations - for example, in a glossy image brochure.
A variety of marketing tools are employed either by the individual member companies in the group, or by way of joint marketing platforms. There is often no cash cost for this - it is frequently based on a trade exchange, however clearly depending on the nature of the marketing activity. In addition, it is optional - each instance individually negotiated.
| Product listing in all group offices, staff awareness and product loading in automated back-office reservations systems is automatically inclusive. | | A feature write up / picture printed in any of TTC's individual company brochures, dependent on individual situations. | | publishing a product/service with rates on any of the company's web pages implies a trade exchange of 1 room night pa, per TTC company where active - always providing a minimum level of support is achieved. | | loading and distributing the product through an online booking engine linked to clients and members of the trade implies a trade exchange of 1 room night pa, per TTC company where active - always providing a minimum level of support is achieved. | | click through of such listings to the products/services own web page implies 2 room nights on a trade exchange basis. | | individual company newsletters with product feature distributed to 5000 or more clients, with or without your web site references - is individually negotiated per edition. Frequently this may involve a product feature/prize giveaway promotion. | | TTC newsletter to 5000 plus clients, also individually negotiated per edition | |
| A variety of other marketing tools, also including show participation, joint advertising etc |
Contact us should you wish to participate in any of the above marketing tools.
Third party marketing tools
Through its close involvement with major suppliers and clients, TTC will from time to time negotiate inclusion of selective products or services in client publications and media, including major brochures, mail shots, web pages etc, ensuring widespread exposure. Such marketing could be either on a cash expense, or trade exchange basis, depending on each individual case. No guarantee of inclusion can be given, but each case will be individually motivated and agreed by TTC together with the supplier principal.
All are optional, subject to medium acceptance, and some typical examples include:
| Best of Africa brochure | a EUR based cost factor - or alternatively on trade exchange at a 20% premium - subject to acceptance | | British Airways Airmiles | UK based promotional mail shots to major client lists (min 20,000 clients) - specials and trade exchange based. | |
| Trade brochures | TTC members are featured with programs and properties in a wide variety of internationally published brochures and programs. Each such published feature, if specifically product/service inclusive, will be either cash or trade exchange based - depending on the brochure. | | Trade web pages | increasingly TTC's database of products and services is linked to international trade websites and booking engines - each such link and consequent feature may involve a room night trade exchange with the company in question. |
These are just some of the many examples of how TTC and its group members can involve you in marketing drives, at often very limited cost. Importantly, it is all about partnership, about you assisting us to achieve good booking results for yourselves. Each opportunity will therefore be assessed on its merits, and details individually negotiated.
"strength through partnership"
info@thetravelcrew.co.za |
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