Discover Customer Booking Patterns with FareHarbor’s Built-In Reporting Tool

Do you have a good understanding of how far in advance your customers typically book an activity? How about which tour start times are most popular? 

Even if you’ve researched these topics or have seen industry statistics around booking trends, having data that pertains to your customers specifically is invaluable. 

FareHarbor’s built-in reporting can tell you when your customers are booking, which tours are most popular among your target audience, and more. 

These reports give you insights into customer behavior and booking patterns to help you test new strategies and make better business decisions. 

Advanced reports like these are one of the many perks of becoming a FareHarbor client! Request a demo today.

Determine How Far In Advance Your Customers Book

Follow these steps to run this report in your FareHarbor Dashboard.

Whether your customers typically book at the last minute or plan their activities well in advance, this report will give you the data you need to improve the customer experience and get more bookings. 

Knowing when your customers book on average is essential for planning marketing initiatives and preparing for your busy season. This report will help you determine if you primarily have early bookers or last-minute bookers.

Early Bookers

Customers who book far in advance tend to spend time planning and researching their travel. To capture the attention of this audience you must strategically schedule your marketing initiatives around that early booking window.

For example, let’s say your Dashboard report tells you that your customers’ average booking-ahead window is 60 days. Based on that data, you should start marketing your tours and activities two months ahead of your anticipated busy season. Keep this in mind for holidays, school vacation periods, and big events like farm festivals or holiday lights shows. 

Early bookers also appreciate helpful information and resources. Update your website with content about what to do in the area, what to expect ahead of the activity, and resources like maps and public transportation options. 

Last-Minute and In-Destination Bookers

Last-minute bookers might book during the week leading up to the activity or even on the day of, depending on when your booking cutoff window is.

Similar to how you would use the data for early bookers, this information can help you think about how you market your tour and activities and make other business decisions.

One of the best ways to cater to in-destination bookers is to make sure your Google My Business page is optimized and up to date with your current hours and contact information, seasonal photos, and good reviews. This improves your chances of Google displaying your business in the local map pack for “near me” searches. 

You can also attract in-destination customers by partnering with local businesses, submitting your business listing to local directories, and working with destination marketing organizations. 

When it comes to last-minute bookings, your website is a useful tool. Include verbiage on your site that walk-ins and same-day bookings are welcome (if that is the case). 

Learn Which Tour and Activity Times Are Most Popular with Your Customers

Follow these steps to run this report in your FareHarbor Dashboard.

These reports will tell you which activity dates and start times (also known as availabilities) are booked most often by your customers.

You might already think that Saturday mornings at 10am are your busiest time of day – or you have no idea which availabilities are most booked. It’s really helpful to know when all of your busy windows fall so you can best prepare.

When you have the data from these reports, you can use it to make business considerations, such as: 

• Adjust staff schedules and hiring: Schedule more check-in staff, reservationists, or tour guides so you are fully staffed during your busiest times. 
• Add availabilities to popular start times: If your 5pm sunset tour consistently sells out, are you able to add another tour that runs at the same time or increase your tour size? 
• Offer expedited check-in: This is especially helpful if you get many walk-up customers. Make two check-in lines – one for ticketed customers and one for walk-ups. 
  • Enable mobile QR code scanning for faster check-in. (FareHarbor also now offers offline QR code scanning!)
  • Encourage customers to sign waivers online ahead of time.
• Market your activities accordingly: When running promos or showcasing available tours, you can provide useful information like “Saturdays fill up fast, book in advance” or similar. 

Tour Operator Tip: If you’re going to change your hours of operation or make other big updates, be sure to update the information on your website, Google My Business page, and third-party sites like Tripadvisor. 

 

These reports are great for getting a pulse on your business, whether your busy season is in full swing or you’re enjoying the off season. Use the data to pivot your strategies or see where you can improve. 

Looking for more tips on growing your business? Catch up on the latest FareHarbor webinars.