Dispatch.
Notes on the business of travel and tourism. Written as it comes up.
Direct vs OTA Is the Wrong Fight
Every tourism conference stages the same argument: direct bookings versus OTAs. It's the wrong fight. The operators who win don't pick a side - they price to a blended cost of acquisition and use every channel that reaches a customer they couldn't reach alone.
Key-Person Risk
Every business has someone it can't afford to lose - and if you've worked anywhere, you've seen it. It isn't only a problem for the day you sell. It's the line between a healthy business and a fragile one.
Busy Is Not a Direction
The most dangerous phase for a travel business isn't a slow one. It's a busy one with no direction underneath it.
The One-Channel Problem
Most travel businesses don't have a growth problem. They have a distribution problem wearing a growth problem's clothes.