ANWB camping responding fast to financial information needs of campers

The borders in Europe are slowly opening up again. To the relief of ANWB Camping. During the coronacrisis, the largest Dutch camping platform kept close contact with customers by quickly responding to the need for information. For the financial completion of the bookings, ANWB works together with Online Payment Platform, an important partner who also provides advice and support.

Moving towards and during the peak of the crisis, ANWB Camping noticed a steep decline in bookings on the platform. However, there were enough visitors on the platform. It mainly concerned consumers needing information about recently made bookings and cancellations.

In order to meet the needs of visitors on ANWB Camping, Erik Spliet, Marketing and Sales Manager at ANWB Camping, and his colleagues decided to conduct research into the vacation sentiment. This revealed that 50% of visitors were reluctant to make a new booking and that campsite visitors now look at measures for hygiene and safety and flexible booking conditions as the decisive factors for choosing a campsite.

Introduction of new labels

“Instead of a carefree holiday, there were a whole lot of uncertainties that people were trying to get a hold on,” Spliet said. “The need for information also changed as the crisis developed further. The people that already made their bookings, kept a close eye on the status: Is the country open and which measures are taken in the destined country to comply with hygiene regulations? Based on the research and what we saw on our platform in the period that followed, we introduced two new labels for our campsites: one for corona measures and the other for booking conditions.”

No financial risk

With the corona measures label, consumers can easily see which Dutch campsites comply with the RIVM (National Dutch Institute for Public Health and the Environment) guidelines and the safety regions. This service has also been developed for campsites abroad based on local rules. The label 'Corona conditions' amongst others clarifies the (financial) conditions of a booking. How easily could a booking be cancelled? Many campsites now offer the option to cancel or reschedule your booking free of charge up to one week before arrival. In doing so, ANWB Camping eliminates the financial risk.

Financial Settlement

''To ensure that the financial settlement when booking a campsite for both camper and campsite runs as smoothly as possible and in accordance with PSD2, we cooperate with Online Payment Platform. They are our solid partner in payments and even in these times, they offer important advice and support. Furthermore, campsites have issued many vouchers during the crisis. We make sure that consumers can hand these in at the time of booking.''

Read more about how ANWB Camping enabled a seamless payment process

On the evening where the Dutch government announced eased measures for holiday destinations, Spliet saw an immediate increase of traffic on the platform by 500% compared to the previous week. Booking were made immediately. Typical is that these mainly were bookings in the Netherlands. “Usually, France is the popular destination among Dutch campers, but the Netherlands took over that position this year. It is not certain that this position will remain. In any case, it will be a summer we won't easily forget.”

Read the article (in Dutch) on Customertalk.nl