HolidayPirates Group has increased the number of followers on WhatsApp Channels eightfold to over 625,000 since March 2024, when it became a pioneer in the use of the messaging app in the travel sector.
Through personalised travel deal content and messages mixing engagement, contests, magazines and industry news on WhatsApp, the social-driven online travel marketplace present in ten different markets has created a balanced and enriched experience for their subscribers, while leading the change in the travel deal distribution model. Over 4% of HolidayPirates traffic is now driven by WhatsApp Channels at no additional cost, which has improved the company’s ROI.
Other benefits of the messaging app compared to other communication channels include a higher Click-Through Rate, more leads generated, higher security levels as there is no privacy loss, ease-of-use and the control it offers over notifications.
“WhatsApp Channels have become a key part of our strategy which is based on meeting users wherever they are and in formats they actually use” – explains Mila Genova, Chief Marketing Officer in HolidayPirates. “It does not just complement our app, social media profiles and website, it also allows us to create more personalized content and deliver value to our followers in a more immediate way. The organic growth we have achieved through this channel has surpassed our expectations.”
The secret of the success of HolidayPirates on WhatsApp Channels lies in adapting the content it offers to the interest and needs of its subscribers in the messaging app. “We know that our WhatsApp followers tend to act fast, as a lot of clicks come in within minutes of sending the message” – explains Kamila Skötsch, Global CRM Team Lead at the online travel marketplace. “They also expect value, either in the form of flash sales, price drops or time-limited offers. Therefore, it is important to manage the messages’ frequency carefully and focus on quality rather than on volume.”
Subscribers of HolidayPirates WhatsApp Channels receive an average of three to five messages every week with curated travel deals in different formats and sent at different times to stay aligned with the followers’ preferences and drive their engagement.
HolidayPirates currently offers WhatsApp Channels in the DACH region, Italy, France, the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, and Poland and the US. With more than 190,000 subscribers, the Spanish channel leads in number of subscribers, followed by Italy with nearly 121,500 users and the DACH region with over 118,000.
In an ongoing effort to serve better its audience, HolidayPirates has started to test targeted channels for family travel in the DACH Region, which has attracted more than 5,300 subscribers since April, while in Spain it has launched one channel for flights, another one for customers travelling from Barcelona and a third one for Madrid-based travellers with 4,170; nearly 4,000 and more than 5,150 followers, respectively.
To subscribe to one of HolidayPirates WhatsApp channels, open WhatsApp, click on “Updates,” search the appropriate HolidayPirates channel and click on “Follow.”
