Company: Inspiring Vacations
Company Description: Australian-owned omni-channel tour operator Inspiring Vacations is a trailblazer in an industry long controlled by traditional travel agencies. Launching in 2018, the company steadily evolved into a dominant player in the retail space, offering high-quality, flight-inclusive travel packages at undeniable value and market-leading customer service.
Nomination Category: Company / Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Company of the Year - Hospitality & Leisure - Medium-size
 Nomination Title: Inspiring Vacations
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the achievements of the nominated organization since 1 January 2020, OR written answers to the questions for this category? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this first question: Briefly describe the nominated organization: its history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 200 words used.
Australian-owned omnichannel tour operator Inspiring Vacations is a trailblazer in an industry long controlled by traditional travel agencies. Launching in 2018, the company steadily evolved into a dominant player in the travel space, offering high-quality, flight-inclusive packages at undeniable value. The founding team, three senior executives with significant experience in travel, observed the absence of a true, direct-to-consumer online tour operator in Australia. Inspiring Vacations’ foundations are steeped in disruption and innovation: they’re used to taking a risk in order to be the market leader. Act first: Inspiring Vacations may not be the largest or most well-known travel business, but it consistently makes courageous, intelligent business decisions. Not only did the company experience rapid growth pre-pandemic, but in emerging from this tumultuous period, success is reflected in the product, website, marketing activities, social media following and risk profile. The whole team is encouraged to challenge and improve all systems and processes – no great idea is beyond the realm of possibility. Senior management have significant trust in their people’s ability to solve problems, a crucial element through Australia’s pandemic-induced turmoil. Australians were unable to travel overseas for leisure for nearly two years, a ban that has only recently been lifted.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this second question: Outline the organization's achievements since the beginning of 2020 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
Inspiring Vacations re-positioned as a leading provider of domestic tours and made significant advances in technology and product to prime for its blockbuster return to international travel. This involved:
-
Transforming from an international to domestic tour operator, facilitating demand for Australian travellers to see their own country while international travel was restricted
-
Establishing online stores in the USA, Canada and India, capturing customers from other English-speaking markets
-
Building a new business model and tech solutions to support over 12,000 suspended travellers and their credits
-
Hosting The Greatest Travel Show; an in-person customer event in November 2021 celebrating the return of international travel with limited offers and expert presentations. This was the first large-scale travel consumer event held in Australia since early 2020
-
Creating a genuine first-to-market flight booking system that allows customers to book the flight of their choice online that meets their tour requirements – truly a one-stop shop
-
Launching Traveller Hub, allowing customers more ownership over their booking with comprehensive ‘self-service’ options
-
Investing heavily in product procurement technology to source product directly from third-party tour operators via Application Programming Interface (API), rapidly expanding the product range
-
Creating Inspiring Vacations magazine to showcase beautiful destination content and keep customers engaged
-
Enhancing in-house video capability; creating regular, original videos as sales and travel inspiration tools. At one point in 2021, almost one third of sales could be attributed to these videos
-
Establishing a series of weekly Facebook Live events to nurture and grow social media presence and customer connection
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this third question: Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the organization's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
The flight booking system is genuinely first-to-market, remarkable in itself but also carefully crafted for the demographic – data shows that Inspiring Vacations customers aren’t overly tech-savvy and most have never booked an international trip online before. The main achievement was creating a domestic product line that didn’t exist pre-pandemic; this new product segment continues to sustain the business. In a six-month period in 2021, 100% of sales were attributed to this revenue source. And now? The company has rebounded to close to 100% of pre-pandemic sales. Customers want to travel and with this surge, March 2022 sales were equivalent to the average month of a very successful 2019. Domestic product is currently an estimated 25% of sales. Other key industry players ceased advertising activity. By keeping a significant brand presence in the media with domestic product, Inspiring Vacations is still at the forefront of the consumer’s mind. Email subscribers increased by almost 40%. An expanded content strategy saw social media followers climb from 51,520 to 137,945 in this period, with Facebook followers increasing by 220%. And since its first issue in August 2020, Inspiring Vacations magazine has amassed 23,755 reads. The Greatest Travel Show was the first large-scale, in-person travel consumer event held in Australia since early 2020. The company collaborated with key suppliers and garnered significant media attention with radio and newspaper coverage. With an impressive turnout, the first day saw a 50% conversion rate, significant for a product that has a high transaction value.
- You have the option to answer this final question: Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 236 words used.
Example of a product video These product videos are the result of significantly enhancing in-house video creation capability over the last two years. At certain times over this two-year period, one third of sales could be attributed to this series of videos showcasing specific tours.
The Greatest Travel Show press ad
Link to event page on website: https://www.inspiringvacations.com/au/promotions/TGTS
This consumer event was the first of its kind since before the pandemic and was a resounding success in terms of interest, attendance and sales conversion.
TrustPilot reviews and rating
Tens of thousands of customers have booked with us and they remain delighted with our outstanding service and support. This is reflected in an independent TrustPilot average rating of 4.2/5, with 77% of customer reviews either great or excellent (over 95% pre-COVID).
Homepage
www.inspiringvacations.com (Select the drop down menu in the top right hand corner to view the country-specific store in each of our five markets)
Inspiring Vacations magazine (https://issuu.com/inspiringvacations)
Inspiring Vacations Magazine, launched in August 2020 to showcase beautiful destination content and keep customers dreaming of travel. Since its first issue in August 2020, the magazine has quickly amassed 23,755 reads and converted to sales of products featured.
Links to social media
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/inspiringvacations/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/InspiringVacations
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/inspiringvac
PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com.au/inspiringvacations
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/InspiringVacations
| Attachments/Videos/Links: |
|---|
|
