Operator’s co-founder talks to Lucy Huxley about progress in supporting customers with additional needs and challenges for agents
Ocean Holidays is to expand its focus on accessible product beyond its Florida stronghold, as it hailed the impact of its specialist programme on conversion and retention rates.
The Florida specialist launched the programme to support travellers with disabilities and their families in November 2022 and has taken £11 million worth of bookings since its introduction.
It is now in talks with stakeholders in California to extend the programme and is looking to embed it further in its offering across the US, Canada and Mexico.
Programme development
Speaking on a webcast to mark the second accessible travel themed edition of Travel Weekly, Ocean Holidays co-founder Harry Hastings said the company continued to invest in and develop the programme, including the introduction of an airport meet-and-greet service based on customer feedback.
Ocean Holidays is co-sponsor of this edition alongside Experience Kissimmee, which has also increased its focus on improving information and product for travellers with accessibility needs.
Hastings said 93% of customers who had booked and travelled after receiving specialist service from trained Ocean Holidays staff had reported positive experiences, with increased retention and conversion rates for those using the programme.
“We launched the accessibility programme as we knew that huge numbers were having a really bad experience on the holidays they were going on,” he said.
We’re learning more and more to allow us to plug any gaps where people aren’t having the best experience
“So while 7% of people reporting that perhaps they’ve not had the best time might sound high, 93% is actually a really, really good number.
“It’s giving us a really strong base and we’re starting to learn more and more to allow us to plug any gaps where people aren’t having the best experience.”
Hastings said bookings made through the accessibility programme had accounted for just under 10% of total bookings since November 2022, with sales a mix of new business and enhanced service for existing clients.
“A year ago, I said that conversion rates for those telling us they had accessible needs were roughly four times higher than for a typical enquiry, and now those people have travelled with us we are also finding they are roughly four times more likely to repeat with us,” he added.
Kissimmee’s strategy
DT Minich, chief executive of Experience Kissimmee, said the tourist board was working with accessibility specialists including Travelability and Wheel the World to assess and promote partners’ efforts.
He added: “We want to be very careful that if we say something’s accessible, we make sure it is accessible. It’s a long journey, but I believe we’re making really good headway on it.”
Ocean Holidays: We’ll hold your hands on accessibility
The success of Ocean Holidays’ accessible travel programme through direct channels has yet to be replicated via its agency sales channels.
Hastings said there had been “a lot of buy-in” at head office and consortium level for the product, but distribution of accessible holidays through frontline agents remained “a challenge.”
Hastings said: “We are yet to see as much success through our travel agent distribution, and that’s on us as much as the agents as we need to make sure they have that reassurance around the customer experience.
“A year ago, the challenge was to get the word out, but the word is now out and I think everyone recognises the commercial opportunity. What I hope now is that in a year’s time agents will be turning that commercial opportunity into a reality.”
Support for trade
Hastings encouraged agents to let specialists such as Ocean Holidays “hold their hands” through bookings, with in-house experts helping them answer questions and curate itineraries.
“I would encourage agents to introduce the question into the sales process: ‘Does anyone in your party have extra needs?’ And once you introduce that question, don’t be afraid. Your customer isn’t going to expect you to be an expert or expect you to know everything about a particular condition. If you’ve not had accessible training with us, we’ll hold your hand through that process.”
He added: “Every time travel agents ask the question, they should see much higher conversion rates than if they hadn’t asked it.
I would encourage agents to ask clients during the sales process: ‘Does anyone in your party have extra needs?’
“It’s going to take a bit more time to get that booking over the line, and a bit more effort, but it will be worth it and we’ve seen you’re much more likely to retain that customer as well.”
Hastings said Ocean Holidays had “embedded accessibility in its culture” so staff throughout the business were engaged with the product and it wasn’t solely the preserve of its “accessibility champions” and accessibility coordinator.
He added: “Every quarter we are doing all sorts of training and updates and making sure our teams are up to date. Sometimes it’s not easy, but when you embed something like this into your culture you create a constant feedback loop of learnings.”
Embedded commitment
Minich agreed it was key to embed a commitment to accessibility, adding: “It is now part of our culture. When our partners see how important it is to us at Experience Kissimmee, there’s the trickle-down effect.
“So it has to start at the top, and at every board meeting we report on accessibility issues or advances that we’ve made so [stakeholders] understand the importance of it.”
Tourist board reports leap in attitudes
The past three years have been “game changers” in relation to attitudes to catering for travellers with accessible needs in Florida, according to Experience Kissimmee chief executive DT Minich.
Minich said the tourist board’s efforts to identify and promote accessible products had been met with initial suspicion by some partners, who feared they may be criticised for any shortcomings.
But he said more suppliers were engaging with the process and seeking advice and guidance as they recognised the commercial benefits of getting on board.
“When we first started rolling this out, some people didn’t want us coming to their properties as they thought we were going to turn them in,” he said.
“We explained we were not looking to fine anyone or give them citations, we just want to help them create a better experience for their customers and our customers.
“The last three years have been game changers, and there has been so much more engagement.”
Ocean Holidays’ Harry Hastings agreed there had been a real shift in attitudes in the state, with major theme parks and attractions leading the way and more accommodation providers now engaging with the programme.
“People have really responded in the past three years since we came out of the pandemic and are looking at how they can provide the right filters for the programme,” he said.
“We are getting to the stage now where the conversation around accessibility is becoming a normal part of our contracting.”