What is a Travelzoo group purchase?

Recently and Sohu Travel editor had a long talk, on the Travelzoo business model talked more, here sorted out, and everyone to share, welcome to comment.

Travelzoo tourism is the world's largest selection of preferential travel recommended platform for 24 million of global users select the most value-for-all travel ex-gratia products. The company was born in 1998 in the United States of America, founded by a German journalist, with the flagship product "Top 20 weekly selected travel special information" swept the world, and the peak Mengjin, in December 2003 in the United States Nasdaq listing. Today's Travelzoo tourist group has developed into the most trusted online travel recommendation platform for tourists and tourist merchants around the world. We offer local language services in 11 countries and offices in 23 cities, serving 2000 tour operators and 24 million free subscribers worldwide.

First, the current online tourism platform a lot, Travelzoo tourism family The biggest characteristics and advantages of what?

Travelzoo tourism is neither a travel agency nor a travel company, nor does it sell tourism products. At present, our flagship product in China is "Top 20 weekly featured Travel Specials". As a tourist information on the online selection of preferential travel recommendation platform, we from the consumer point of view, with an objective and neutral position, by the professional tourism editors, namely, tourism products experts, the numerous miscellaneous information for the selection of carefully selected intelligence, from a large number of tourism information carefully select top 20 is the most valuable 20 limited-term special information, every Wednesday in the form of concise e-mail sent to subscribers, the most valuable lines and products directly communicated to each user, recommend the value of tourism products.

For consumers, the biggest feature of Travelzoo tourism is: We recommend the travel products have been "order test" to ensure that each recommended product correctness, effectiveness. Expert manual selection, pay attention to the high-end user experience. Our value is to help tourists complete the "last mile", and to facilitate the ultimate action of users with travel intentions and plans, to use the debris time of consumers and quickly deliver valuable information, thereby helping them to dispense with a lot of tedious preparation and help them choose a travel product until the transaction is completed. In this way, travel becomes more relaxed, tourists only need to determine their destination, can find the best value of travel arrangements.

From the company's point of view, our advantages are also demonstrated in a number of countries and regions accumulated rich success experience, as well as with advertisers to share profits of the profit model. These advertisers, including travel agencies, hotels, airlines and other merchants, and Travelzoo tourism to form a profit-sharing strategic partnership, advertisers do not have to pay upfront advertising costs.

Second, the current Travelzoo tourism in China is targeted at what kind of a consumer group? How big is this group now?

We have nearly millions of subscribers in China, of which white-collar groups account for 71% of the total, and 28-40-year-old consumers dominate. These people identify and pursue the mainstream values, stable life, good income, but most of the work is busy, hope to pursue the spirit of relaxation, temporarily escape the noise, to the heart holiday, can be said that Travelzoo tourism is such a community. At the same time, they also pay attention to the quality of life, belong to a planned, passionate middle and high income city white-collar elite class, in the concept of consumption, very concerned about the cost, care about the consumer experience. They will be because of preferential, but not because of cheap and give up the quality of the requirements, very consumer power and the driving force is their common characteristics.

Travelzoo travel around the world, with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Barcelona, Chicago, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Manchester, Miami, Munich, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto. And in 11 countries and regions around the world to provide the use of local language network information services. You can see from our website that we have different language versions for different countries, 24 million loyal online subscribers worldwide. In recent years, we have expanded our business in the Asia-Pacific region and started to work in the Chinese market to develop products and services according to the specific needs of Asia Pacific users. As a result, the recent surge in the number of users in the Asia-Pacific region by the Travelzoo has exceeded the size of 3 million users, with mainland users rapidly exceeding 800,000 per cent, and the figure is growing at a high rate.

What do you think of the status quo of China's online tourism platform?

At present, online tourism is characterized by a significant slowdown in the two major online travel agent platforms (OTA), Ctrip and Art Dragon, and on the other hand, some internet giants such as Tencent, Baidu and Alibaba are in the market layout. Although development tends to be slow, online travel should be said to be one of the most resilient industries. Tourism is the most elegant dream of human opium, is never given up. In an era of economic turbulence and inflation, people will not stop a good holiday, just want to pay less money, to get better price. That's what Americans are doing in China. My judgment is that the online travel market is just looking for a breakthrough in China, where there are too few players in the market, and the pattern of online travel and the pattern of the market will certainly change.

What do you think is the most necessary to pay attention to the problems in the online tourism platform in China?

First of all, do not blindly pursue the all-inclusive platform, find the right market entry point, the core of the part to do a solid, such as Travelzoo Tourism group only do select Travel specials. Second, do not just want to cover all user groups, to find the most accurate users, quantity and quality are important: Travelzoo tourism is currently focusing on high-end white-collar workers in the city. Third, do not blindly pursue the price war, users want is cost-effective. Price/performance is the product trait and consumption experience that our target customers care about most.

What is the special marketing promotion way of Travelzoo tourism family?

Some media say we are from the Web1.0 era to date the classic mail marketing success stories, the so-called "an e-mail to conquer the whole world", some media said that our website cattle cattle in "in addition to advertising nothing", but it does tell us what the cheapest flights are, the most affordable hotel where, The most cost-effective travel packages where to find. We do not make large-scale marketing promotion, all rely on word-of-mouth dissemination. This is related to the business model of Travelzoo and the entry strategy of each market, in my opinion there are several reasons: 1, from the business model, Travelzoo tourism as an online referral platform, we help tourists in a large number of heterogeneous information carefully selected, fixed weekly recommended the best tourism products. Because today's high-end travellers do not have much time and energy to find a good product, and found it is not reliable. After all, travel you are not satisfied is not returned goods. A bad experience can be a lifelong regret, sloppy. So you can see how to stand in the user's position, objectively and neutrally find the real good products, is the key to our business success. With the satisfaction of the happy users, you will not worry about willing to use our platform for the business. Therefore, our experience in more than 10 years is that this is a slow-working malt business, not fast, not rough. Users do not rely on large-scale marketing bought, user access to cost and conversion rate is very important, large-scale access to users is not so important, relying on word-of-mouth, by experience, to go more stable, such a virtuous circle of business.

2, from the entry mode, our habit is to enter a market, all want to have a market development process. As a service platform between tourist merchants and travel users, we are walking a balance beam, customer satisfaction, only the satisfaction of businesses. Now after a period of quiet work, we have accumulated nearly millions of free subscribers, serving nearly thousands of travel businesses. It can be said that we have accumulated a lot of valuable experience in the Chinese market. Now, we have the East China version and the North Chinese version of the two editions of the weekly Top 20 special offers, the highest mail opening rate in the industry, customers are basically in Shanghai and Beijing, this is the Chinese white-collar gathered two places, travel is their basic needs, But the nature of their work is very difficult to do their own backpackers.

Six, Travelzoo is an American listed company, for its localization, what do you have those aspects of consideration?

I hope that the Travelzoo tourism in the Chinese market can still adhere to the user value and the perfect unity of the value of the merchant, to find a binding point. For example, throughout the current group buying industry did not succeed, is because too impetuous, anxious, but ignored the user experience, in fact, users need both cost-effective, but also need to be true and reliable, so must not simply lower price routes. For the current online tourism industry, I am most worried about this point, than the good industry prospects, a little noisy and impetuous competition environment, too concerned about the quick money to earn, in fact, every business is going to face how to grow green. Customer loyalty and stickiness will be challenged in an unprecedented degree.

Travelzoo Tourism is a wholly foreign-funded Internet enterprises, small but very flexible, I am more concerned about how the headquarters of the accumulation of resources and experience to bring into the Chinese market, but also with the mentality of entrepreneurs to deal with China's complex and huge market, to seek the best combination point.

Are there any big plans for Travelzoo in the future?

We will launch the "Travelzoo-style group purchase", that is, "light Group purchase" service mode.

"Top 20 Weekly Specials" is our flagship product, but not the only product. The service model recommended by our premium tourism products is constantly deepened and diversified. Travelzoo Tourism Group will officially launch the "local deals le Hui" service at the end of March this year, which is a kind of online sales form of domestic tourism and leisure ex-gratia service, different from the previous Top 20 weekly featured travel Special recommendation, "Local deals le Hui" Instead of jumping to the merchant website or phone hotline, order directly from the Travelzoo tourist website. From the business model, it is online sales, not just advertising services, so it can also be said to be a form of group buying. But people understand that group buying and China's large number of group buying sites, in the business model and Groupon, and Travelzoo tour group, can be said to be a "light group" form.

Eight, can you talk about some of your personal experiences and observations of this line?

My fate with the internet originated from Alibaba. 2000 I was very optimistic about the Internet, when Alibaba in Shanghai open recruitment, one of my colleagues said to see, I and the past results accepted me.

The challenges of the Internet industry, there is accumulated to thick thin hair, at the same time you are a versatile, at any time the situation is constantly changing. 2001 Ali was very difficult, as the general manager of Shanghai, I managed to retain the team of 7 people, both to save the cost of Ali, but also won the competition time, while creating 0 budget marketing Department, buyer Services, etc., experienced the Internet at the lowest ebb and then the team to 84 people.

The Internet industry for many years tempered, let me be decisive and sharp. Know how to develop a business in a difficult environment. In many cases, employees want more than just a job, but a path to creating a career. I moved from Ali to a multinational company like ebay and PayPal, exercising the obsession and strategy of coping with globalisation and local integration, so getting into Travelzoo is also a step, but more challenging. Trends and patterns of online tourism The Giants flocked in, the traditional enterprises in transition, but at the same time the new technology and ideas will bring a lot of market opportunities, the lack of 400 million of tasteful consumption and smart white-collar and middle and high income class tailor-made products and services, I believe that online tourism will be very promising.