Host Resources

The Importance of Surveying Your Community

Group travel success starts with a TrovaTrip survey

 

Most things in life don’t have a magic formula for success. If they did, every movie would be a hit, your team would never lose, and kids everywhere would be perfect angels all the time. Total fantasy. But what if we told you that when it comes to group travel there is actually something that can send confirmations soaring and help grow your brand? That’s right, we’re talking about our tried-and-true tool, the TrovaTrip survey. In this blog we’ll discuss why it matters, how to maximize its effectiveness, and how it can make your trip a success before you even launch. Read on to learn all the not-so-secret secrets about surveying like a pro!



Key takeaways


What is the survey?

To put it simply, the survey is the foundation of your group trip. It’s what all the good times and exciting travel content will be built on! But in order to get there and officially qualify as a Host, first you’ll need to gather at least 50 qualified responses (a fancy term for people over 18 years old who are willing to spend at least $2,000), though more are strongly recommended. That might sound like a lot but really all you need to do is post a link to your Host Profile Page on your social channels and invite your audience to check it out. From there, they'll be able to easily take the survey. In fact, why not get a head start and grab your link from the portal.

TrovaTrip Host survey to confirm rates.

The survey gets your audience excited and involved

One way to think of the survey is as your trip’s soft launch. It’s a chance to give your audience a taste of what’s to come and get them thinking about travel–including the big questions like scheduling and finances–without the pressure of a deadline. Instead they can focus on the trip itself, which means you’ll know for sure (without spending money and time) whether your audience is really interested. Hopefully they are, in which case the survey also helps include them in the process from the very beginning. Giving folks a say in where they’ll go and how much it costs makes the whole prospect of group travel feel a lot more personal and important.

The survey helps you choose the right trip

As the old saying goes, “You can sell people what they don’t need, but you can’t sell them what they don’t want.” Fortunately, with the survey, you’ll know exactly what your audience wants because you’ll have their honest answers right in front of you. Using the Survey Results dashboard in the portal, you’ll be able to see their top destination and travel budget. You’ll also be able to see runner-up destinations which can come in handy for future trips! (More on that in a little bit 😉)

TrovaTrip audience survey data view in portal.

This information, combined with what you already know about your community’s interests, will take the guesswork out of picking the perfect itinerary. It also enables you to price trips correctly so you can hit that sweet spot between value and affordability. And don’t worry, if you have any questions about activities, pricing, or other details, just contact your Account Executive or email host@trovatrip.com for help with recommendations and advice.

The survey is a data goldmine

As we mentioned, runner-up destinations are kind of a big deal. Even though you can only go on one trip at a time, chances are you’ll want to start planning your next one when you get back. (💡Trova Tip: Don’t save it all for #Latergrams. Post regularly during your trip to chum the social media waters.) As you become a more experienced Host, you may even want to juggle planning multiple trips. Either way, with info from the survey, you’ll be able to cater to all the different segments of your audience with destinations chosen just for them. You’ll also have access to valuable data about age, gender, budgets, activities, and preferred time of year to travel so that you can choose itineraries with near-telepathic precision.

TrovaTrip audience survey data view in portal.

TrovaTrip audience survey data view in portal.

In addition to detailed stats, the survey also helps build your mailing list. Each person to submit a response opts in, so when it comes time to promote you won’t just be relying on social channels but can market directly via email.

With that in mind, while the minimum number of qualified responses (QRs) to become a Host is 50, the more you get the better your chances of confirmation will be. How much better, you ask? We’ve found that among new Hosts:

  • Those who gather 100-199 QRs are 83% more likely to confirm a trip than those who gather 50-99
  • Those who gather 200-299 QRs are 110% more likely to confirm a trip than those who gather 50-99
  • Those who gather 500+ QRs are over 300% more likely to confirm a trip than those who gather 50-99

In terms of the confirmation rate itself–while there are proven techniques to help confirm and sell out trips–more QRs generally mean better odds, rising from about 20% at 50-99 responses to 77% at 500+.

Survey says…

Long story short, the survey is a critical first step for every TrovaTrip Host, and will continue paying dividends well after the final response has come in. It might not seem like the most exciting part of the process but, after booking over 21,000 people on over 1,500 trips, we’re confident that it works. After all, what better way to kick off your hosting adventure than by asking your community the same question Travelers have been asking for hundreds of years: where do you want to go? Get your Host Profile Page link and find out!