Starting Your Own Online Travel Guide Business

Business Overview:

The travel industry is booming and travelers are always looking for a helpful online travel guide business to aid them in their vacation decisions. When travelers load up the family and drive them across the country or brave airports, planes and trains, they want to know that their destinations will be perfect for their needs. Consulting an online travel guide will give them the knowledge they need to make their vacations successful. You’ll find that there is plenty of competition in this area so you’ll need to set yourself apart by finding a special niche. For example, you could focus on pet-friendly hotels or resorts that are handicapped accessible. Imagine travelers finding not just one hotel that meets their needs in a particular city but dozens. That would give them much more control over other aspects of their stay instead of having to settle for the one place that offered them the bare minimum of their requirements. And with today’s technology, you can work on one of the best online business ideas available today from your own home. The first thing you’ll need to do when starting your business is decide what your specialization will be. Look to your experience or area of interest to help you find your niche. For example, if you have traveled with your pet, where did you stay? Once you have selected your area of expertise, you will need to build a website and populate it with as much information about that area as you can. Look to friends and family as well as Internet research and phone calls to find out more. The more details and “off the beaten path” information you can provide, the more repeat visitors you’ll have to your site. When your site has plenty of useful information, you need to establish relationships with hotels in that area, rental car facilities, restaurants, etc. You can also set up your site so that travelers who book through your site will earn you a commission. But even if all the visitors don’t make their reservations through your site, they still have access to loads of free information to assist them in making their travel plans. Make contact with travel companies and ask them to advertise on your site. If your area of expertise is cruises for elderly travelers, you could ask AARP to advertise. If your target market is pet owners, look for local pet hotels to advertise—or you could pursue large corporations, like PetSmart to advertise. The more useful information you have on your site, the more advertisements you’ll be able to sell and the more revenue you’ll generate from those ad sales and travel booking commissions. Start your research, find your niche and help travelers have a wonderful vacation while you enjoy a successful business.

A Day in the Life of an Online Travel Guide Business Owner:

You will start your day checking for any new revenue generated from travel bookings. Next you will check out your website and see if any content needs to be updated. You will only be successful with this business idea if your information is current and accurate so you will constantly be updating and adding information. You will contact businesses aimed at your target market to discuss advertising on your site.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be prospective travelers looking for the best information on destinations that cater to their various needs (pet-friendly, kid-friendly, wheelchair access, etc.)

What You Need to Start:

• Travel niche
• Website
• Content
• Partnership with travel agencies
• Finance software

The Good:

• Start-up investment is low.
• You can operate this business from home.
• You can work as much or as little as you like.
• Franchises are available to help you get started.
• If your site offers top-notch information, advertisers will jump at the chance to be in front of their target market.

The Bad:

• Gathering the information to populate your site with useful information will take some time.
• You will constantly need to update and add to your site to keep it current and accurate.

Resources:

• Travel and Tourism Research Association
• American Society of Travel Agents
• Bureau of Labor Statistics Article on Travel

About The Author

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