Rail travel is on the rise for Australians, Railbookers CEO Frank Marini revealed in an interview with Travel Daily.
For the independent rail trip provider, Australia is the company’s second fastest growing market, with sales up 55% compared to last year. Overall, the company is up 30%.
Marini also sees opportunity in expanding beyond Railbookers’ main customer segment in their 50s to those in their 30s.
“We see a good amount of growth in that segment, whether it’s for honeymoon or vacations, because it’s independent travel. They may not want to rent a car, but they may want to go around Europe on their own and hit a couple of cities,” he said.
One interesting observation that Marini has made is the trend towards Australians extending their train travel, which are often part of much longer holidays.
“The average number of days customers are travelling with us keeps getting longer. In general, out of this market, it’s about 12 nights, but it’s increasing to 13 or 14 days,” Marini noted.
“The Australian customer may be travelling for three or four weeks [altogether]. But [the rail] segment is getting longer, even if it’s being tagged onto other things.”
Interestingly, 27% of Railbookers’ business out of Australia comes within 90 days, from the moment of inquiring and booking to departing.
“That’s amazing to me. And what I’d like to say to agents is we really thrive on last minute bookings. We’re actually very good at it, where other companies may struggle. We’ll have customers and advisors that will call us today, book today, and leave today,” explained Marini.
“We’ve also got people who call us today, book today, then leave in two years. We can be very flexible with the agent community and make it easier for them.”
Marini also revealed some interesting facts about Railbooker’s typical Australian customer. On average, Aussies book their trips around 5.8 months ahead of departure and spend $8,428 per booking.
He also noted that luxury rail products are up by 29%.
Meanwhile, some of the top rail destinations for Railbookers travellers include:
- Switzerland
- Italy
- Canada
- Norway
- Spain
- the UK
- France
- Portugal
The agent for agents
Marini describes Railbookers as “the agent for agents” and is proud of the level of customer service that the company can provide for advisors, in addition to its weekly product webinars, incentives and sales.
“I want to thank the agents in Australia for giving us a chance. But also, if you have any questions about rail, give us a call,” he said, adding the fully remote company has 300 staff in six countries in 33 states.
“From an agent support standpoint, we’re not a booking portal. That’s great, but it doesn’t help agents know the product and how it works between each country. We like to talk to agents, even if they just have questions about where it’s possible to travel by train and their different times. Call us and we can help craft that itinerary for your customers, instead of just pushing you online. We want to talk to you.”
