Partnering with tour companies can have many advantages for hotel owners. It can increase occupancy rates, help connect you and your guests with local attractions, streamline hotel operations, and take the pressure off your busy marketing team. In this article, you’ll discover the top eight benefits of partnering with tour companies.

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What Is the Hotel Industry?

The hotel industry provides travelers with accommodation, giving them lodgings to rest and relax. Unlike other businesses in the hospitality industry, such as the restaurant industry, the hotel industry is focused on offering stays for one or more nights.

Any hotel, meaning any business that provides overnight accommodation, is part of the hotel industry. The hotel industry has many unique features, particularly its focus on customer service. Because competition is intense, it’s important that every guest feels welcome and enjoys their stay. Another feature of the hotel industry is its diversity.

From the biggest luxury hotels and upscale resorts to the humble B&Bs and backpacker hostels, hotel businesses suit every budget and traveler. To learn more about the industry, read “Hotel Industry: Everything You Need to Know About Hotels!”

What Are Tour Companies?

Tour companies provide services for travelers. Typically, these will be leisure travelers, but the increasing overlap between business and leisure travel means that some tour companies also provide full-spectrum services for business travelers and corporate organizers too.

The goal of a tour company is to take care of everything that a traveler might need to arrange, from travel and vehicle hire to accommodation. This makes life significantly easier for the traveler, who can let the tour company handle all their arrangements. Some tour operators specialize in trips to particular regions or offer specific kinds of travel, such as winery tours or adventure travel.

Other companies offer a broader range of experiences in different parts of the world. Tour companies often partner with hotels, a mutually beneficial relationship that helps both parties. To learn more about some tour companies, read “10 Tour Operators Hoteliers Should Partner With.”

Video: Tour Operator – Definition, Types | Tourism Notes

9 Reasons Why Should Hotels Partner with Tour Companies?

In this section, you’ll discover some of the benefits of partnering with a tour company for hotels.

1. More Bookings

While direct bookings and bookings through OTAs (online travel agencies) will provide a steady stream of guests for a hotel, partnering with a tour operator can significantly increase occupancy rates. When the company operates its tours, it will need a certain number of rooms available for clients. The company will source these through its hotel partners.

Creating a relationship with a tour company means extra bookings without spending additional capital on hotel marketing. Having a reliable partner who will book a certain number of rooms with you simultaneously each year makes for a more stable cash flow.

2. Access to a Wider Market

As a hotelier, you know that diversifying your customer base can help improve your revenue. It can be tricky to break into new markets without extensive research and publicity efforts. A tour management company can open the doors to these new markets with little effort on your part.

International travelers and groups focused on niche interests often rely on a tour company for recommendations and guidance. You can access these groups by partnering with these companies without creating additional tourism marketing or engaging in extra research. A broader customer base means increased revenue for your hotel.

3. Predictability of Occupancy

Partnering with tour companies can mean a more predictable occupancy rate for the hotel owner. As mentioned, hotel companies often book several rooms at a time to ensure their clients have accommodation. They generally make these bookings well in advance, meaning a steady influx of revenue.

Knowing that a given number of rooms will be occupied for a particular period assists in optimizing hotel operations, including maintenance, inventory purchasing, and scheduling housekeeping duties. By keeping occupancy rates more consistent, hotels can streamline their operations. This facilitates hotel management and enhances customer satisfaction.

4. Better Guest Travel Experience

By working with tourism companies, hotel businesses can offer their guests a more multi-faceted and enriched experience. Tour companies typically recruit local personnel as guides and representatives. This gives their hotel partners access to a wealth of local knowledge, allowing hotels to provide their guests with more and better recommendations for activities in the area.

These personalized tips and insider information can enhance a guest’s stay, making them more likely to return or recommend the hotel to others. Tour operators also help to connect hotels with other service providers in the local hospitality sector.

tour companies - travel experience

5. More Promotion & Marketing

Tour companies invest heavily in tourism marketing. They need to attract customers to their packages and thus engage in a lot of promotion. If you partner with a tour company, this promotion returns to your hotel. Not only will the tour operator’s clients stay at your hotel, but independent travelers who choose not to purchase a package will be aware of your business.

Even if they decide not to buy a package deal, they may still book at your hotel thanks to the tour company’s promotional material. This is hotel marketing with no effort or investment from your team.

6. Long Term Relationships

Tour company partnerships with hotels are typically long-term arrangements. They may persist over many years, even decades. In the increasingly competitive hotel sector, long-term collaboration with tour operators can help give you an edge in the market.

Your tourism partner can help you gain insight into guests’ needs and expectations to craft comprehensive packages for your guests, incorporating everything from sightseeing excursions to adventures and unique dining experiences. Long-term partnerships help you discover what types of offerings work best and can contribute to the sustained success of your business. A great package often translates into repeat custom and positive word-of-mouth.

7. Gain Industry Trends & Insights

Nobody has more insight into travel than a tour company representative. Your tour company partner can help you stay on top of the latest tourism trends and changes in the travel industry, things that hotel owners need to be aware of.

They will be able to give you insights into everything from the most popular activities and attractions in your area to new hotel technology your guests will appreciate. This industry insight can give your business an edge over the competition.

8. Continuous Feedback Source

Tour operators form close connections with the travelers they serve. They collect valuable feedback regarding every client’s experience. Through a partnership with a tour company, you can access a great deal of meaningful, actionable feedback about the guest experience at your hotel.

If guests particularly like something about your hotel, you can play up that feature or expand upon it. If there’s something they didn’t enjoy, you can use feedback from the tour company to make any necessary changes. A tour operator is a great source of information that you can employ across every hotel department.

9. Streamlined Booking Process

The easier the booking process is for your guests, the more likely they will complete their booking with you. By facilitating the booking process for prospective guests, tour companies can increase the chance of interest in your hotel converting into an actual stay. This streamlined booking process is also beneficial for your hotel.

It lightens your administrative burden, as the tour company will handle more inquiries and reservations. Tour companies’ reservation systems and other technology can also be valuable data sources.

Hotel Package Deals

Crafting the perfect package deal isn’t easy. It would be best to consider the kinds of guests who use your hotel, any target markets you want to attract, and the activities or services they might seek.

Hotel packages are a great time-saver for guests who don’t want the hassle of booking everything separately while representing an opportunity for hotels to upsell and make guests aware of the services they offer. In “Hotel Packages: Tips to Optimize the Use of Hotel Package Deals” you’ll discover how hotel packages work and how to optimize your packages for maximum effectiveness.

Hotel Websites and OTAs

Hotel websites are often the first port of call for travelers when planning a trip. An effective presence on these platforms is crucial to optimizing bookings for your hotel. You can use several tactics to make your hotel stand out from the competition, including package deals.

In “Hotel Websites Where Hoteliers Can Sell Packages (Including Examples),” you’ll learn about the best websites for creating and selling packages to your customers. You’ll learn which platforms are best for your target demographic and get valuable tips on presenting your hotel to its best advantage.

Staying Up-to-Date with Travel Trends

Every sector is affected by its customer base’s changing tastes and needs, and the travel industry is no exception. As a hotel owner, you must stay ahead of the latest trends in the travel industry to meet your guests’ expectations. Falling behind can negatively impact your business.

In “Travel Trends: Opportunities for the Travel Industry” you’ll discover some of the most critical trends in the industry that you need to be aware of. From new hotel technology to eco-travel rise, this article is a deep dive into travel trends’ opportunities.

Tour Companies FAQs

Tour companies will take a look at various aspects of a hotel, including its reputation, location, services, and aesthetic quality. They will often select hotels that offer facilities or services that are compatible with the tours they sell. Other elements to consider include the hotel’s main target market and typical room rates.

A hotel partnering with a reputable tour company can boost its brand image through positive associations with the tour company itself and the experiences provided. It can also function like an endorsement, indicating that the hotel has met the standards the tour company looks for in a partner.

Feedback from tour company clients can help hotels understand where their service is meeting or exceeding expectations and where their service is falling short. It can provide valuable information on what aspects of the hotel need to be improved and can also help hotels to better tailor their services to tour company clients.

A tour operator creates travel packages and sells them to travelers. These packages will often include accommodation, travel, and itineraries. By contrast, a tour agent will sell travel packages and services created by tour operators.

Tour companies help to link customers with a variety of hospitality services, making them a crucial part of the hospitality industry. Tour companies can help to connect travelers with accommodations, attractions, activities, and tours. The partnerships they form can often provide a significant boost to businesses, increasing visibility and sales.

Partnering with tour companies has multiple advantages for a hotel business. This kind of partnership helps attract additional bookings, provides more stable and predictable occupancy rates, increases revenue, and connects hoteliers with other hospitality services in the local area.

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This article is written by:

Martijn Barten

Hi, I am Martijn Barten, founder of Revfine.com. With 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, I specialize in optimizing revenue by combining revenue management with marketing strategies. I have successfully developed, implemented, and managed revenue management and marketing strategies for individual properties and multi-property portfolios.