Business Model Deconstruction: Trip a Deal

The assignment is about the analysis of the Business Model Canvas of an online travel agent ‘Trip a Deal’ which offers variety of tour packages at reasonable and unbelievable rates to the customers. There are nine components of a business canvas model which will be identified and analyzed with reference to Trip a Deal so as to find an impact of the components of business canvas model on the online retailer. The risks and success factors will be analyzed for the company. It is recommended at the end that the company should focus more on its Customer Relationship management strategies and should focus on developing better relationship with local travel agents to expand its operations in the market.

A ine Model econ tr ctionRUNNING HE D: Bus ss D s u
A i nmentss g 1
M T T Trip a ealBUSINESS ODEL DECONS RUC ION: D

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Executive summary
The assignment is about the analysis of the Business Model Canvas of an online travel agent
‘Trip a Deal’ which offers variety of tour packages at reasonable and unbelievable rates to the
customers. There are nine components of a business canvas model which will be identified and
analyzed with reference to Trip a Deal so as to find an impact of the components of business
canvas model on the online retailer. The risks and success factors will be analyzed for the
company. It is recommended at the end that the company should focus more on its Customer
Relationship management strategies and should focus on developing better relationship with
local travel agents to expand its operations in the market.

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Table of Contents
ec ti e mmarEx u v su y.....................................................................................................................................1
ntrod ctionI u .................................................................................................................................................3
ine ModelBus ss ...........................................................................................................................................3
A. ildin locBu g B ks.................................................................................................................................3
1) tomer e mentCus S g s.....................................................................................................................3
2) e PartnerK y s.................................................................................................................................4
3) al e propo itionV u s ........................................................................................................................4
4) e acti itieK y v s................................................................................................................................4
5) annelCh s......................................................................................................................................4
6) e en e treamR v u S s.........................................................................................................................5
7) o t tr ct reC s S u u ..............................................................................................................................5
8) e re o rceK y s u s...............................................................................................................................5
9) tomer elation ipCus R sh s...............................................................................................................5
B. nterrelation ipI sh s............................................................................................................................6
C. ritical cce actorC Su ss F s....................................................................................................................6
D. o n ide iD w s R sks................................................................................................................................6
E. ine Model c an eBus ss h g s..................................................................................................................7
oncl ionC us ...................................................................................................................................................8
ecommendationR s.......................................................................................................................................8
e erenceR f s...................................................................................................................................................9
Appendix 1.................................................................................................................................................10
ine an a Model o Trip A ealBus ss C v s f D ...................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Trip a Deal is an online travel agent which aims at providing new and innovative experiences to
the customers at reasonable prices. The company believes in providing services to all. It means
that it provides services for every age group, budget, interest and purpose. The company was
founded in 2011 by Norm Black and Richard Johnston who belonged to Byron Bay and ran a
shop over there. They both had interest in travelling and so, they established a business of their
interest and now it has more than 90 employees working for the company. The company is
young and connects with around 30000 travelers in a year. It is also voted as the Best Online
Travel Agency by The Australian Federation of Travel Agents in the year 2017 (Trip A Deal,
2018).
Business Model
Trip a Deal works for the travel lovers. The team of travel experts of the company do all the
research and analysis on the basis of the demands of the customers. They book the holidays
online and also on call if someone is not comfortable in buying online holidays. The company is
all available to answers the queries of the clients. The company provides customized trips and
right from booking flights, it provides facility to book hotel, plans vacation, book a table in a
café or restaurant and provide travel insurance (Trip A Deal, 2018).
A. Building Blocks
There are 9 building blocks of any business Canvas Model (Teece, 2010). These building blocks
have been identified and explained with reference to the business of Trip a Deal. (Refer
Appendix 1: Business Model canvas of Trip a Deal).
1) Customer Segments
According to the company’s website, the company is aiming at targeting every age and income
class. It aims at catering people with different interest about holidays/vacations/tours. The
company offers educational tours, romantic gateways, adventurous trips or spiritual tours. The

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company customizes the packages as per the budget and time available with the travels
(Casadesus-Masanell and Ricart, 2010).
2) Key Partners
The key partners are the ones who helps in the successful operation of the business. The
company’s key partners are hotels which provides accommodation facilities to its customers,
insurance companies, airlines, restaurants and cafes. The company also advertises with the
leading newspapers like The Sunday Telegraph, Herald Sun, Escape and more which are its key
partners as well (Fielt, 2013).
3) Value proposition
It includes how the business delivers value to its clients (Hafer, 2013). Trip a Deal delivers the
packages at low cost and the offerings of the company are designed according to the seasons or
demands of the customers. A wide range of services are provided so that the customers can
openly choose any one of them. 24*7 services are provided in order to be readily available for
the customers
4) Key activities
The key activities of Trip a Deal includes the crucial activities which helps in delivering the
value to the customers of the business. These activities includes service delivery, support to the
customers and selling the value travel packages to the customers. It influences the sales of the
business.
5) Channels
These are the sources through which the sales are made. These channels are integrated in order to
provide cost efficient and quality services to the clients. Trip a Deal follows online channel to
attract most of the customers. It also sells travel packages over phones and by meeting sales
representatives. The company also uses blogs to order to get itself advertised. It helps business to
make people aware about their operations and new offers.

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6) Revenue Streams
These are the sources through which business makes its earnings and earns profit (Debarliev &
Mitrovska, 2016). Trip a Deal earns revenue by selling travelling packages and earning
commissions on per package sold. The travel agency also have connections with the restaurants,
travel guides, airline companies and more through which it earns commissions.
7) Cost Structure
The cost of the business is the amount which is required to operate the business. The company
have to bear many types of costs in order to run its business like operating expenses, marketing
and promotional expenses, salaries and commissions paid to the staff and travel agents associated
with the business. The company tries to gain cost advantage and outsource cost efficient services
so that ultimate cost can be reduced.
8) Key resources
These are the resources which helps in delivering value to the customers (Perić, Vitezić &
Mekinc, 2016). These resources include IT systems and resources and human resources.
Efficient resources helps business to have a competitive advantage in the industry and helps in
alluring the clients towards the business.
9) Customer Relationships
The company is required to develop good relationships with its customers and other parties like
agents and suppliers. The company have to take care of the needs of the customers to have good
connection with the customers. This can be done by the help of promotions, mails, personal
contacts of agents with the regular customers and by taking feedbacks from the customers

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B. Interrelationships
The 9 elements of Business model Canvas are inter related. Travel is the source for the people
for creating new experiences and for creating memories. That’s how the company creates value
for the customers and builds up a strong relationship with the customers (Reinhold, Zach &
Krizaj, 2017). For creating these experiences for the valued customers, the company have to bear
costs. The costs of marketing promotion brings more sales for the company and that is how it
generates revenue for the business. The company develops good relationships with its key
partners like insurance companies, airline companies, local shops and hotels which helps in
delivering hassle free services. The key activities of the company like selling packages and
customer support 24*7 enhances the customer segments. The targets market of the company is
the people of all age groups and people with different interests and purpose of travel. The key
resources of the company like human resources and technology is used for developing better
business and activities. This is how, different elements helps in understanding the business
model of the company (Mosleh, Nosratabadi & Bahrami, 2015).
C. Critical Success Factors
There are some factors which determines the success of any business. These factors are the
Critical success factors (Marais, du Plessis & Saayman, 2017). The key success factors of Trip a
Deal is how deep and strong is the relationship between the business and its customers. Another
CSF is innovative approach of the company to allure existing customers and the potential
customers as well. Diversification of the business is another success factors for Trip a Deal.
Diversification of business provides better business and revenue stability for the company. A
good marketing and distribution network shows the effectiveness of the business.
D. Downside Risks
The travel agencies like Trip a deal faces some risks in the market because of the emergence of
bigger business brands, more choices available with people and decrease in the customer loyalty.
There are some technical risks as well like the faults in the servers and online connections.

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Market fluctuations is another risk which forces company to edit its pricing strategies for keeping
people on its platform. The role of travel agencies are challenging and thus, the company
counters these challenges by adopting various risk management methods.
E. Business Model changes
To grow and sustain in the challenging market, the company need to bring some improvements
in its Business Canvas Model. The company need to increase the key partners so that the services
can be provided in a better way to the customers. The key activities of the business must include
Customer Relationship management for better management of the customer’s choices. The
company should segment its packages as per the age groups, interests and budget clearly so that
it could become easy to target customers through customized services.

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Conclusion
It is concluded that Trip a Deal is a travel agency business and the company is doing well in the
market by focusing on all the customer segments. The business model canvas has been discussed
with reference to the company where all the nine elements has been analyzed. The company’s
risks and interrelationships has been discussed in order to make recommendations for the better
operations of the company.
Recommendations
It is recommended that the company should follow a strong mix of traditional and modern
marketing techniques. The company should collaborate with the local travel agents so that it can
expand its market. The company should also focus on providing training to its employees so that
better services can be provided to the customers. CRM can be implemented which will help in
managing data in a better manner. This is how Trip a Deal can gain better profits and compete in
the huge market.

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References
Casadesus-Masanell, R. and Ricart, J.E. (2010). From strategy to business models and onto
tactics. Long range planning, 43(2), 195-215.
Debarliev, S., & Mitrovska, S. (2016). Creating Distinctive Value Proposition in Tourism by
Business Model Tools: Case Study of the City of Ohrid. European Scientific Journal,
ESJ, 12(35).
Fielt, E. (2013). Conceptualising business models: Definitions, frameworks and
classifications. Journal of Business Models, 1(1), 85.
Hafer, R.W. (2013). Entrepreneurship and state economic growth. Journal of Entrepreneurship
and Public Policy, 2(1), 67-79.
Marais, M., du Plessis, E., & Saayman, M. (2017). Critical success factors of a business tourism
destination: Supply side analysis. Acta Commercii, 17(1), 1-12.
Mosleh, A., Nosratabadi, S., & Bahrami, P. (2015). Recognizing the business models types in
tourism agencies: utilizing the cluster analysis. International Business Research, 8(2),
173.
Perić, M., Vitezić, V., & Mekinc, J. (2016). Conceptualising innovative business models for
sustainable sport tourism. International Journal of Sustainable Development and
Planning, 11(3), 469-482.
Reinhold, S., Zach, F. J., & Krizaj, D. (2017). Business models in tourism: a review and research
agenda. Tourism Review, 72(4), 462-482.
Teece, D.J. (2010). Business models, business strategy and innovation. Long range
planning, 43(2), 172-194.
Trip A Deal. (2018). About Us. Retrieved from https://www.tripadeal.com.au/about-us.

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Appendix 1
Business Canvas Model of Trip A Deal
e Partner
K y s
 Hotels
 Travel
insurance
companies
 Airlines
 Cafes/local
shops
e Acti itie
K y v s
 Service
Delivery
 Customer
Support
 Selling Travel
packages
al e
V u
Propo ition
s
 Make it
easy for
people to
book
holidays
and travel
around.
 Aims at
providing
leisure at
lower
prices.
tomer
Cus
elation ip
R sh s
 Through
social
media
promotions
and
newspapers
tomer
Cus
e ment
S g s
 It caters
to the
travel
needs
and
demands
of the
people of
all age
groups.
Right
from kids
to aged
people
e e o rce
K y R s u s
 IT systems
and
technology
 Human
resource
e annel
K y Ch s
 Sales through
online websites,
phone or
physically by
meeting the sales
representative
o t tr ct re
C s S u u
 Marketing costs
 Salaries and commissions
 Operating expenses
e en e tream
R v u S s
 Commissions
 Sales