Selling North America in 2023

How to sell North America in 2023?

At Toundra Voyages, our B2B consultants work hard to build a 100% customized trip for your customers. Comprehensive, well-trained and attentive to detail, our team of experts can produce tailor-made quotations in under 48 hours, to meet travelers’ expectations as closely as possible. Today, the funny ladies of tailor-made holidays give us their tips and tricks for selling North American destinations, whether Canada or the USA.

So, on your notes, get set… sell!

Specify your request

To be convincing, you need to help the customer refine his or her request to fully understand his or her expectations. Asking the right questions is important, and the key to producing a relevant quote. The information you need to pass on to our team of specialists mainly concerns three areas:

• The type of accommodation required (classic hotel, unusual accommodation, authentic local experience, luxury stay…)
• The orientation of the experience (city or nature?) and the profile of the travelers (non-sporty, epicurean, relaxation-oriented, experienced adventurers…)
• What is the budget for this trip?

To let Toundra Voyages’ expertise shine through and help you seal the deal, the team puts the emphasis on details: every piece of information counts to get it right! It may seem trivial, but it’s these details that enable our consultants to be ultra-precise in their tour proposals, and to exceed the expectations of future travelers. Whether it’s a customer’s height for a cabin in the woods, or their weight for a helicopter or seaplane tour, every little detail is a building block for the holiday of your dreams, so don’t be shy!

Mastering the destination’s specific features

While we’re always keen to win the moon for your travellers, it’s also our role to put our expert knowledge to work, and to inform customers about the realities of the field. Transparency, real-life situations and sound advice are the keys to selling a destination. A customer wants to do Montreal – Toronto – Quebec – Tadoussac in a week, on a first trip? Canada is a huge country, and they don’t necessarily have an idea of distances, so they’ll probably give up driving 6 hours a day after hearing a well-reasoned sales pitch. Similarly, having lived through and experienced Quebec’s harsh winter, our team is well aware of the difficulties of driving in snowstorms, but is also in a position to advise against a trip in certain cases. Indeed, it’s a good idea to steer families with young children towards a more manageable summer holiday, with more possibilities for activities.

Informing and educating future travellers means helping them to optimize their itinerary thanks to our expertise in the field, but also avoiding disappointment. For example, for our French clientele, a privileged audience of Toundra Voyages for nearly 25 years, it’s important to point out that the standard of hotels and service is not the same in the three countries, since star ratings differ. A 4-star establishment in Canada is closer to a 3-star establishment in France, and a gourmet restaurant is equivalent to a very good bistro. In the U.S. it’s the same problem, as hotels tend to classify themselves, so it’s difficult to know their standing without the expert advice of the Toundra team.

The aim is always to inform travellers so that their stay matches their expectations. A well-informed customer is a satisfied customer – that’s what we like to think!

Proposing alternatives

Whether in the U.S. or Canada, a trip to North America requires a comfortable budget. It’s a good idea to define it in advance. However, in the absence of a precise budget on the part of your customers, an average proposal is a good selling point.

It allows you to say: here’s what’s possible in the area, including a few must-haves. If the customer is looking for something more luxurious, it’s possible to go higher, but it’s also possible to go for a more economical stay, by explaining that there are options. It’s essential and reassuring for a customer to have a way out, and not to be told that the trip they want to take will cost X, which is non-negotiable.

With an average proposal, there’s always room for alternatives. The aim is to show the traveller that he or she can still make the trip, with options (such as slightly more off-center accommodation, for example), but that it’s feasible.

Selling North America well means listening and putting yourself in the future traveller’s shoes.

Knowing how to say… no!

At present, in the second quarter of 2023, the estimate for an average week’s stay in Quebec (car rental, standard accommodation and must-do activities) is around 1,000 euros per person, compared with around 1,500 euros for a week in the United States. For this destination, the price will vary according to the itinerary chosen by the customer, so it’s difficult to give a price range applicable to everyone.

Our role is to advise, to provide a sharp eye for the destination and to adapt to the customer’s budget. However, a traveler who wants to do a 15-day tour of Canada for 1,500 euros, for example, is asking for the impossible… Unfortunately, this is the reality on the ground. That’s why it’s important to know how to say no and refuse a quote when we can’t offer something of the quality and standing that Toundra Voyages stands for.

When it comes to selling North America as a destination, we sometimes advise our travellers to wait, to set aside a larger budget for a unique stay, and not to sell the experience short.

In other words, take a step back… and leap forward!

Put your trust in us!

You can count on our team to justify each stage of the proposed tour and provide you with a sales pitch, because we know our products and suppliers inside out.

Local knowledge is a reassuring asset and a guarantee of trust. That’s why, if you’d like us to help you guide your customers in planning their vacations, we’re always happy to arrange a call with our B2B team.

It’s an excellent reflex to have!

In conclusion…

Selling Canada or the United States means selling wide-open spaces, the promise of a warm welcome and breathtaking panoramas. Unfortunately, it’s also selling an economic reality and long distances to travel. What makes the difference? Local knowledge and a solid ability to understand the difficulties and expectations of the traveler, so as to better respond to them.

Gathering as much information as possible about customers’ aspirations and taking an interest in their travel history simplifies the sales process at every level.

At Toundra, each member of the B2B team is a source of ideas and puts his or her own stamp on the itineraries, so that future travelers can enjoy that little je-ne-sais-quoi magic that Alison, Emma, Fanny, Danaé and Laetitia sprinkle on every stay!