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The Check-Out Program: Encourage The Conversation, Part 5

By David Allred

The Check-Out Program: Encourage The Conversation, Part 5

Encourage repeat visits to your destination by presenting reasons for travelers to return with their family or friends. Giving these departing guests a list of your "Must-Dos, Must-Sees and Must-Eats" will give them multiple reasons to bounce back to you. Read time: three minutes

In a recent seminar, we discussed how having a “checkout program” can contribute to encouraging positive conversation about your destination once visitors have returned home, and entice them to return for future vacation, business or bleisure trips. One of the last opportunities you have to influence visitors' impression of your destination is as they are checking out of their hotel. Encourage "bounce-back" visits by presenting 9 things they could do in your destination when they return on their own, with family or with friends:David: One of the strategies we discussed relating to encouraging the conversation in our seminar today was what we called The Checkout Program. The goal is to quickly highlight multiple reasons to visit your destination. Even though there are multiple ways to leverage this information at a later date, one reason we call it The Checkout Program is if the early morning hotel staff will slide this under the door of guests who are checking out, ideally these visitors will take this information back home to share with their family and friends to encourage the conversation about future visits to your destination. Victoria: Curate nine things visitors should do while they’re in your destination. Think of your must-dos, must-sees and must-eats. List them on a page that says, “Check out all there is to do in [insert your destination here].” David: Have a heading that says “Must Do” and list the three things visitors must do when they come to your destination. Here’s a "Must Do" hint: list one history attraction, one family-friendly attraction and one adventure attraction. Victoria: Next, have a heading that says “Must See” and list three things visitors must see when they come to your destination. Here’s a hint for "Must See": Look at your social stream, and choose three of the most photographed places in your destination, and make those your must-sees. This should help encourage more user-generated content about your destination in social channels. David: And lastly, have a heading that says “Must Eat” and list three of your destination’s most popular local dining attractions. Here’s a hint for "Must Eat": consider listing different pricing options. Victoria: If you are a larger destination with many options, consider featuring the “Musts” for certain areas of town and distributing them to hotels in those areas. Or, curating several lists and rotating by the month, the quarter or seasonally so that you cover all of your most popular attractions your destination has to offer. David: Trying to figure out what your Must-Dos, Must-Sees and Must-Eats are? Pull them from Tripadvisor rankings, and be sure to check out our video about how to curate your destination’s offerings on Tripadvisor.