CHAT2 CONCIERGE EXTENDS COVID-19 RECOVERY SUPPORT PACKAGE TO ASSIST STRUGGLING TOURISM INDUSTRY DURING NATIONAL SCHOOL HOLIDAY LOCK DOWNS
Queensland-based technology company Chat2 is preparing to continue support to Tourism and Hospitality sectors, seeking online solutions to help reduce the impacts being felt by business, due to the nationwide labour shortages teamed with the recent influx of booking changes and re-scheduling as a result of the current lockdowns, occurring nationally over the domestic travel peak, school holiday season.
With opposition leader Anthony Albanese calling for the government to ‘step-up’ vaccination distribution last week, to aid in FNQ tourism industry stabilisation and the news of a new variant of COVID-19 making its way across the globe that may be impervious to current vaccines also having arrived on Australian shores, international borders remaining closed indefinitely, the extended lockdowns and continued uncertainty have meant for many, that the daily impacts to business have become impossible to predict.
The tourism and hospitality sectors continue to be the most heavily impacted by COVID-19. Borders closing and international trade impacts, with uncertainty creating current labour shortages which has in turn led to many seeking digital solutions in the hopes of better combatting these issues in the future.
‘We have a great website and thanks to the Team at Chat2 our website is now productive 24 hours a day and no opportunities to connect with our customers are missed.’- says Gregor Davie, General Manager at Artwork Spaces.
During 2020 the travel and tourism sector suffered global losses of nearly $4.5 trillion with its contribution to GDP plunging by a staggering 49.1 percent compared to 2019. 62 million jobs were lost in the sector last year while domestic visitor spending and international visitor spending fell by 45 percent and 69.4 percent, respectively according to Statista, April 2021.
The Australian Financial Review reported about the ‘crunch time on labour shortages’ caused by COVID-19 with restaurateur Neil Perry quoted as ‘wondering where he will find the staff needed’ for his new $4m eatery in Double Bay.
A recent survey conducted by the Australian Hotels Association revealed that nearly three in every four businesses were suffering due to a shortage in skilled workers.
Operators are finding it increasingly difficult to offer permanent positions with the fluctuations in trade, a lack of applicants and the low levels of suitably qualified applicants across all sectors reported to be the major contributors to the current labour shortage issue.
Wayne Harrison of Australian Immigration Visas said,
“Tourism & Hospitality operators welcomed the news that he Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs MP Alex Hawke recently released ‘Supporting Australia’s COVID recovery through Skilled Migration’ and announced the inclusion of a range of skilled occupations on the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL). The addition of 22 occupations brings the PMSOL to 41 in total, in particular Chef (351311) has been added.”
Karen Lloyd-Collins Chief Operating Officer of Chat2 advises that a different approach is essential to servicing and growing online visitation with the challenges faced by COVID-19.
“Online customers are getting used to obtaining information fast at a time that is convenient for them, which is a real challenge for businesses trying to efficiently manage their labour availability and costs and this is where we offer an effective alternative.”
The extension through to the end of August 2021 of the Chat2 Concierge Tourism Recovery Package will mean Chat2 can continue to enable businesses to quickly trial the service with implementation taking only five days.
A six-month package is offered that includes fifty percent off initial set-up, with the first two months for free and an additional discount of nearly 40% with staged payments rising incrementally each month to $199 in month six.
Chat2 provides live chat on a business’ website with a difference. The concierge service is staffed by a team of real people who are customer engagement professionals that use their custom-designed software and a knowledge base to answer many of the common enquiries website visitors have and guide them to book or buy online. Some of the key benefits tourism businesses experience include an increase in direct bookings and website traffic, as well as a decrease in the number of hours their staff spend answering questions on the phone or email. Karen explains,
“Using our custom-developed, AI-based software, our team can provide customer service online via a business’ website and Facebook Messenger, 24 hours a day, at a fraction of the cost of a business staffing it themselves.”
“We are incredibly grateful to the Queensland Government and Tourism and Events Queensland for their past support. We are confident our service will continue to benefit tourism operators beyond just our region in the short and long term with their increased domestic customers and once international tourism travel becomes possible again.” says Karen.
“Chat2 Concierge is converting 80-90% of our online conversations and with the team providing 24-hour service we are attracting more domestic and international direct bookings”- says Alan Wallish, Passions of Paradise.
“It’s important to note that it is not a chat bot at all – they are real people trained in every aspect of our product. The conversion rate of chat enquiries to bookings is phenomenal – in fact, way exceeded what we expected. Data is provided monthly on conversion rates and Chat2 are proactive in keeping themselves up to date with your product”- says Graeme Smith, Bay of Many Coves Resort, NZ.
Due to the recent lock downs across Australia during the national school holidays and considering the global labour shortage issues being faced, we have extended our Tourism Recovery Package, beyond our previous state government funding, to the end of August 2021. We understand how challenging the issues currently faced by all businesses are and that domestic school holidays are a key time for Tourism and Hospitality operators and would like to continue assisting the industry to increase online engagement through this time.
For those business who are interested in increasing their online presence and direct bookings or those facing challenges being available 24/7 with restricted staff in place due to COVID-19, we invite you to take advantage of the extended offer.
A free online information session for interested tourism and hospitality operators is also scheduled for Friday 13 August at 10:30am (AEST) or by request.
Chat2 Tourism Recovery Package Extension Promotional Flyer PDF
What’s in it for my business?
If you are keen to:
- Attract more direct bookings at a much lower cost
- Save money
- Be available to guests 24/7
- Increase online enquiries and conversions and
- Improve Online Customer Experience for your guests
We recommend you enhance the online Customer Experience on your website and social media pages to make it more;
Attractive to your guests – timely, knowledgeable answers to questions in the moment
Encouraging to your guests – so they book in the moment they are motivated to buy and
Consistent and Reliable – your visitors know what to expect
Don’t Miss Out!
We invite you to trial NOW and take advantage of the extended Tourism Recovery Package* until the end of August designed for Tourism and Hospitality businesses. You can start immediately by finding out more here chat2.com/tourism/
Or
Alternatively, to find out more we have special information session for Tourism and Hospitality with updated consumer data and more info about the extended offer on Friday, 13th August at 10:30am. Just go to this link to book a spot.
*There is a one-off setup fee of $99, currently offered at 1/2 price.
Click on the picture below to visit our website to register for the Extended Offer Information Session-
The Recovery Offer includes:
- 24/7 coverage – 365 days
- Chat2 Software and upgrades
- Full setup of the software
- Knowledge Base* creation and updates
- Up to 200 chats a month
Package Pricing:
- Month 1 – FREE
- Month 2 – FREE
- Month 3 – $49 (75% off)
- Month 4 – $99 (50% off)
- Month 5 – $149 (25% off)
- Month 6 – $199
*Knowledge Base creation attracts a one off set up fee normally $199, for the Tourism Recovery package this is 1/2 price for only $99 until 31st August 2021.
Tourism Recovery Special 6-month Package offers a total discount of 58% and includes- 50% off set-up + 2mth FREE Trial + additional nearly 40% discount!
Offer only available to 31 August 2021. You MUST be a Tourism or Hospitality businesses to redeem.
