The Company
Gray Line is an iconic brand. Since its founding in 1910, they’ve grown to operate a massive fleet of high-end motor coaches that provide guided tours to some of the world’s most popular tourist destinations.
The Las Vegas division of Gray Line is highly active in selling through Online Travel Agencies. (OTAs). They rely on accumulating reviews from customers in order to get pre-bookings from travelers to the Vegas area. This requires a team of customer service staff who encounter many operational questions - requiring training and knowledge of the Gray Line booking system. It is an understatement to say they have garnered the accolades of tourists worldwide- the company won Trip Advisor traveler's choice award in 2020 and 2021.
The Challenges
Coordinating Pickups and Drop-off's
One of the key benefits that Gray Line Las Vegas offers to customers, is their hotel pickup and drop-off service. Coordinating this, however, used to be complex and time consuming. Customers had to call Gray Line Las Vegas to reconfirm their location. But in this day and age, who likes to make phone calls anyways? On top of that, these phone calls also take staff time and attention away from delivering memorable experiences. In summary: Gray Line Las Vegas was spending way too much time in logistics, and the process was also affecting their customer's journey experience.
Few Touchpoints with the Brand
As an international hotspot tourist destination, sightseeing tours in Las Vegas are often booked through a reseller, hotel concierge or an OTA like Expedia. This is a terrific way to capture additional demand for Gray Line tours without additional marketing spend but can be a hindrance to any cross-selling and upselling. In many cases, the day of the tour is the first time that a customer will interact with the Gray Line brand – as they are directed through a booking process that never shows a customer the Gray Line website. As studies show, not having a brand recognition directly affects customer satisfaction.
In summary: When a customer books through an OTA, Gray Line does not have the opportunity to lead them to their site and provide relevant offers to drive additional revenue.
Asking Clients for Reviews
Sightseeing tours rely on a steady stream review from thrilled customersto attract new interest. The data is clear that customers trust user generated reviews more than communications directly from a company. However, the collection of these reviews can be tricky for a company with a volume like Gray Line.
It is almost impossible to personally remind each one of your customers for a review after their trip or for these clients not to forget such requests when they are on vacation.
In summary: Getting customers to write reviews is simply not in the control of tour and attraction operators.
The Solution
Once connected with Tour Opp's automated messaging platform, not only did Gray Line's reviews increase by number, but also by quality. Customers were so impressed by the company's personalized messages that 28 of them wrote a "thank you" message to TourOpp's chatbot (that's how satisfied they were by the service!).
Logistics Automation
Gray Line used TourOpp GO! to automatically send a text message to customers with a link where they can enter their hotel information and immediately get their pick-up time. Hence, making it easy for the customer to provide this information and eliminating the need for human intervention on Gray Line's end.
In summary: through TourOpp's automated messaging system, Gray Line was able to digitalize their pick-up information service. Enhancing customer service and spending less time and resources on logistics organizations.
Showcasing the Brand from the Beginning
After connecting to TourOpp, Gray Line Las Vegas was able to automate a message that goes out to any new booking. In this confirmation message, the company's brand is portrayed front and center so there is no confusion as to who is operating the tour, regardless of what channel they used to book.
In summary: Through TourOpp's SMS communication, Gray Line Las Vegas was also able to link back to their own website, giving them another chance to capture pre-order excitement and present a relevant offer of additional services.
Review Requests Automated
Reviews give you credibility and help your website get more visibility in search listings and OTAs. With TourOpp GO!'s automated messages, Gray Line Las Vegas was able to ask for feedback at the end of the tour and depending on the rating, ask for a review or direct them to a customer service agent. If the customer rated their experience highly, Gray Line Las Vegas sends a direct link of their TripAdvisor and Google listings. This makes it extremely easy for customers to post a review.
In summary: Instead of having tour guides ask for a review or manually text customers individually, Gray Line Las Vegas is now automating this.
The Results
As a result of the TourOpp GO! implementation, Gray Line Las Vegas was able to achieve the following business outcomes:
Gray Line's monthly reviews increased by an outstanding 131%.
Gray Line Las Vegas is saving over 10.5 hours in customer service time per month.
Gray Line's recommendation links were clicked on by 14% of customers. This traffic generated an increased on the amount of direct booking on other Gray Line activities and tours.
The direct traffic of quality leads which resulted from the SMS recommendations linking to their website, was equivalent to a cost spending of $643.70 USD on Google Ads.
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