The Surfpreneurs community has always been a supportive place where people share their insights and offer advice to others.
The last few weeks have been hard for the majority of Surfpreneurs, especially those operating hospitality or travel businesses. Everyone is facing similar issues and the situation is changing from one day to the next.
It's hard to prioritize which fire needs to be put out first 🔥
In an ideal world, now would be the time to meet in person and discuss everything but that's not possible with quarantine and strict travel restrictions in place.
But we don't live in an idea world. Luckily, Gonçalo from Time to Surf came up with a fantastic idea to organize our first “virtual meetup”.
We quickly made a simple sign up form 👇 where people could share their main challenges to help shape the discussion and keep topics relevant to the issues being faced.
After some quick organization and a few days, a dozen Surfpreneurs met on Zoom to start the discussion.
Plenty of ideas were shared and we decided to write a few down to share with you here. Of course, not all of them may be applicable to your business but we hope you find some inspiration.
The best-case and the worst-case scenarios
We’re not certain how long this will last so as a starting point, it's absolutely crucial to draw different scenarios about how the situation is going to evolve:
Write down the worst-case and the best-case scenario and then brainstorm 1 or 2 more scenarios in between
Try to predict how each scenario is going to influence your cash flow, customers, employees, landlords, partners, etc.
Review these scenarios on a weekly basis and adjust
Expect the best, prepare for the worst.
Cancellation policy - Refunds, vouchers, postponing
Most hospitality businesses are reactive and wait until the customers contact them about cancellations and refunds - at this stage customers have usually made the decision already.
"Loyalty in travel during a time of fear starts with the refund."
Being proactive builds trust with your customers, they appreciate your efforts and are often more open to suggestions like postponing their booking:
Always be responsive to your partners and customers - the worst thing you can do is stop communicating (remember, this crisis will end but your reputation will be remain long after its over)
Consider cultural differences - in the Netherlands its very common to receive vouchers but this might not be the case in other countries
40% of travelers say they plan to postpone their trips
If you’re a small business that can't afford refunds, you can try to be honest about it with your customers and explain the situation to them - they might more likely accept a voucher
Offer additional value to convince people to postpone - free surf/yoga lessons, BBQ or pick-up/drop off to and from the airport
You can offer additional credit of 10-20% in the vouchers
Don't push too much - always remember that the person on the other side might not be asking for the refund because they don’t like your business but because they might have lost their job or simply can't afford traveling in the next year
Be flexible in conditions about postponing trips - allow people who booked in the low-mid season to rebook even in busier seasons and/or give them an extended time frame to find new dates (some hotels in Amsterdam offer vouchers that are valid for 5 years)
Contact your booking partners for advice. They may have more experience dealing with this situation in different locations - for example, the guys behind surf package OTAs like SurfaWhile or SurfHoliday have plenty of resources and helpful tips
It’s important to note, these tips don't always apply if your bookings come from big OTAs like Booking, Expedia, and Airbnb.
In these cases you’re more dependent on their global strategy and how they decide to deal with this situation and may be more restricted in your options when it comes to cancellation policies.
Online content during COVID-19 outbreak
Think about what your customers are doing. They’re staying at home in quarantine and may be dreaming about where they might travel once things go back to normal.
Bruno from Swell Consulting says: “Maintaining a relationship with your clients is essential.”
It’s a zero-sum game - this means that you won’t lose anything by putting yourself and your skills online:
Your customers are spending more time on social media and are likely overwhelmed with depressing news - show them some positive content
Repost the best content and memories from the last year
Your clients are active people and they now have a lot of free time to learn new things or improve the skills they already have
They will remember you because you tried to teach them something - consider showing them how to improve their surf techniques or exercise at home
Eduardo Costa, the founder of Mojo Surf Canarias offered surfers to send him their videos and he offers them feedback in return
Create collaboration with businesses that are in the online field (ask for a discount or try to get the service for free in exchange for a service you can provide them)
Don't try to compete with established content creators - businesses that are already in the online learning field are better than you because they have had time to master and refine their strategies
Your advantage is being authentic, there’s always something unique you can share with your audience
Do you offer amazing food at your place? Share some recipes on social media and teach people to prepare them at home
New business models
This is the right time to think outside of the box when it comes to your business model. Being creative can make a real difference.
Most of your competitors will just wait or run some social media promotions.
1. Ghost kitchen
Remember Uber's founder Travis Kalanick? He founded a new startup and they’re building ghost kitchens. These are basically virtual restaurants - they have a real kitchen but no place people can come to have dinner. All the meals are sold on food delivery platforms like Uber Eats, Glovo or Deliveroo.
Some hotels are jumping on this wave as well. Some are operating on online platforms under their real name, while others are creating new names so customers don't know that their meal is coming from a certain hotel.
2. Mid-term accommodation
This was the first business model shift that we saw on the hospitality market and it's mainly visible with Airbnb rentals - they’re all switching to mid-term and longterm rentals.
Hospitality chain Selina was one of the first to start offering rooms for mid-term accommodation in Lisbon.
Besides mainstream rental websites where you can publish your rooms, there are plenty of more international platforms where you can try this model.
3. Quarantine hotels
Quarantine hotels started to pop up in Asia first, targeting people who are looking to self-isolate. The first hotel in Europe to try it was a Swiss upscale hotel that even offers a corona testing kit and onsite medical personnel as part of their packages.
Many others started to repeat this model, including this hotel in Lisbon. In Los Angeles, pre-screened guests are invited to a "retreat" in a luxury villa, where they can "participate in open mics, fireside chats, daily yoga and parties without worry of infection".
What has started as a business opportunity can also become something necessary in the pandemic hubs where there is not enough capacity in hospitals.
4. Convert your rooms into private offices
Imagine all parents working remotely from home while being surrounded by screaming kids. If your hotel is located near a residential area, you can consider offering your empty rooms as private office spaces.
The guys from Smartbnb built a platform in just a few days where you can rent out your Airbnb apartment as an office. It's called Footshake.
Hotel V in Amsterdam already mastered this concept and is offering different free services and paid add-ons in addition to rental of their space.
Recovery of the market and new bookings
Right now, during Covid-19 outbreak, it’s best to try to avoid aggressive marketing towards new bookings when people are still scared, it can create a negative perception of your brand.
This “2 for 1” promotion of Macaronis Resort Mentawai is a strong offer but may not be the best timing considering many of your clients are in the middle of the pandemic in their countries.
So what should you do when things start to go back to normal?
The first is growing domestic travel - be prepared for it with your marketing strategies, most of your competitors are going to be reactive and you can leverage it
In some countries, for instance, Portugal, the domestic market is very small, but even there, with a smart strategy you can fill your rooms
The UK, USA, and France already have the majority of their tourism from domestic travel - check out the domestic market share in your country to learn more
Even with a small domestic travel share, there are still many foreigners (expats) in your country who desire to travel - target them with special packages (example: surf lesson + cultural immersion/language lesson)
Think about the countries that are going to start traveling internationally first because of their cultural and economic situations - in Europe, this might be the Netherlands and UK
Group travel will have a slower recovery but people will probably be keen for full buyouts for hygiene purposes, as opposed to sharing accommodation with other guests
When life gives you a storm, try to find rideable waves 🌊
If you’re not a part of our Surfpreneurs community, join us now.
It's free and the only requirement is that you need to own or manage a surf-related business.
Stay strong đź’Ş
Written by Peter Fabor, the founder of Surf Office.
Surf Office helps surf houses, hotels and villas boost their group bookings by hosting retreats with tech companies searching for productive team building experiences.
Learn more about how to become a property partner of Surf Office.
