Business Plan Urban Backpacker

Business Plan

URBAN

bAcKpAcKeR

Business Plan

2. SERVICE/PRODUCT, COMPANY and BRANCH

2 .1 Name of the company

Urban Backpacker

The name is associating two terms "urban" and "backpacker" in attempting to bring to our attention the urban areas, the cities culture and the travelers all around the world.

By adopting this name we are trying to suggest the target customers, "backpackers" and to establish a following trend, a modern, informed, backpacker, guided easily through the urban areas.

2.2 Location:

Ljubljana, Slovenija

Dealing with the e-tourism industry the location will first consist of the personal apartment located in the center of Ljubljana, Slovenija . The premises are sufficient for the startup of the new venture allowing us to develop, design and to administrate the web site.

2.3 Mission:

Our mission is to facilitate the planning and traveling process of the backpackers all around the world.

2.4 Vision:

To become one of the most known and appreciated e-tourism company.

2.5 Services:

We are offering our services to tourists all around the world, and to the owners of hostels and low budget pensions.

The tourists willing to create a free account on our web site will benefit of our online search engine, online route planner and urban guide. Besides this three tools meant to facilitate any kind of trip we are offering also a forum where tourists can share and exchange opinions about possible destinations and about their experiences regarding accommodation.

The search engine will provide to the user a list of possible hostels and pensions and all the details about accommodation prices and services.

The route planner is meant to support the users to plan the desired trip, offering a variety of routes, transportation methods, timetable for buses, trains and planes.

The urban guide is taking our customers around the city, offering tips ( where to go out, when to go out, where to find the best food, for what prices. ) about the less touristy aspects of the cities and surrounding areas.

Urban backpacker is an online service meant to serve as a helpful financial, administrational, and selling tool for the small and medium seized hostels and pensions all around the world.

2.6 Characteristics of Urban Backpacker

For the beginning we will start with the development of a web site which would offer a new online booking system for the hostellers but in the same time a practical guide for the world wide tourists.

The business idea is based on a free membership in order to gather as many users as possible ( on both parties Guests & Hostels )

Next stage would be to consolidate the idea with building a significant database of useful information.

The guide it is developed after sharing impressions with many inhabitants of all major European cities, and with an already settled database of customers composed by students from different organizations. They are sharing on a forum impressions about the city, places of maximum interest, fun, culture, traveling, tips, to do things, to avoid things.

We will generate profit by charging 5 per cent from the total amount that the tourist will owe to the hostel from the bookings made via our web site.

The design of the web page will be modern and the structure simple, trying to avoid the excess of information and to facilitate the fast surfing of our visitors.

2.7 Branch description

We are dealing with the tourism industry, especially with the budget accommodation such as hostelling. Tourism has become a popular global leisure activity. In 2007, there were over 903 million international tourist arrivals, with a growth of 6.6% as compared to 2006.

2.7.1 Characteristics of the market niche:

Dealing with both parties made things more clear for me. We needed something that would take the backpackers around the city, pointing the main important things, offering a big diversity of activities, keeping the customers satisfied generating and consolidating profits for the hostels.

This has been done before, but we would like to create first a database of tourists, an online community which would travel and share and exchange opinions about the less touristy faces of all the destinations.

The idea came to my mind studying the tourists impressions, needs and advices, and noticing the market niche - there is no one offering all of this together in a modern and user-friendly manner - In the last years tourism grew in Europe, and this would be an easy entrance to a global market.

2.7.2 Clients:

Our target customers are divided in two categories: backpackers and hostels.

The average backpacker is aged between 18 to 30 years old and characterized by the wish to travel for lower price, often seeking to meet new people and have fun while visiting different destinations.

The hostels and small pensions are offering cheaper accommodation than the hotels making them to be the perfect target for our first customers -backpackers-

2.7.3 Competitors:

Our main competitors are Hostelworld.com, Hostelbookers.com, Hostels.com, Flashbooking.com, Hostels247.com . For the moment they are possessing the biggest market share due to the big offer of hostels all around the world.

2.7.4 Competitive advantages:

We are focusing to our customers needs trying to offer the biggest variety of activities concerning the visited area and surroundings.

We will offer valuable information for our target customers ( concerts, events, how to find the best deals, ratings of bars and clubs, timetable for artistic and cultural events, top shops, available discounts, expensive areas - cheap areas ).

Before arriving to their destination our backpackers will be able to be familiar with every aspect that representing major interest for them.

The information about the underground and alternative cultures of the possible destinations would represent one of the key advantages over our competitors.

Our forum will be thematically structured so the content will be easier to access making our web site even more user-friendly.

3. MARKET ANALYSIS

Our potential customers are backpackers all around the world and legal entities offering low budget accommodation such as hostels and pensions.

Figure 1. World Inbound Tourism: International Tourist arrivals, 2007

Table no. 1. : COSTUMERS

3.1 Competitors Analysis:

Table no. 2. : COMPETITORS

4. MARKETING STRATEGIES

4.1 SWOT Analysis:

Table no. 3. : SWOT ANLAYSYS

4.2. BUSINESS OBJECTIVES:

Table no. 3. BUSINEE OBJECTIVES

4.3. BUSINESS STRATEGIES:

We will focus on achieving our long and short term objectives by offering professionalized services and competitive prices. Our strategies are targeting the backpackers and their needs. Focusing on their experiences and demands we are planning to develop a good after sales service, giving them the right to share to others their experiences.

The R&D will represent one of our main interest points in the following years. We will develop projects involving students all around the world in order to keep our databases up to date and to offer practical information structured on different topics related to the customers needs.

4.4. MARKET OBJECTIVES:

Market share:

We will have 10% of market share in the next 3years by developing partnerships with hostelling networks, students organizations as well as tourist agencies and we will offer our services for a lower price than most of our competitors

5. MARKETING STRATEGIES

5.1. How to get customers:

Advertisement:

- Web page; www.ubackapacker.com

Collaboration with Hostelling International

Partnerships with travel agencies

International radio stations

International trains , train stations, international busses and buss stations

Advertising banners on related web sites

Marketing policy:

Innovative web site, useful and easy to use features, designed for the modern backpacker and for it's unsatisfied needs.

5. 2 How to keep customers:

-Post-sale activities policy:

The forum is designed to let the backpackers express freely their experiences.

The news letters will inform our users about changes, improvements and hot subjects related to their destinations and accommodation.

-Marketing strategies derived from SWOT analysis

The economic downturn will increase the demand for cheaper accommodation and hostelling industry is constantly growing.