Getting enquiries is one thing, but converting them into bookings is another. If you feel like your conversion rate is not where it should be, the issue is rarely one big thing. It is usually a series of small gaps across the process that add up. This guide covers best practices at each stage, from how your tours are set up to what you do after the quote goes out.
Part 1: Tour setup and pricing
Most operators set up their tours once and rarely revisit them. Your tour listings are your storefront, and they need to reflect your current offering, pricing, and strengths.
Make sure your company profile looks professional
Clients often investigate the profile of the operator that offers the tours they are considering. It's so important to make a good impression, including a clear profile picture, a well-written overview, and good reviews.
More information on how to properly set up your company profile can be found here.
Make sure your brand looks good across other platforms, too. Have a good-looking website (including the 'About Us page'), social media, and make sure that you have recent and high-scoring reviews. Clients usually do a lot of research before deciding to book a tour with a tour operator.
Sell your packages with a creative title and descriptions
Clients have to search through several similar tours when deciding who to request from. Come up with creative and eye-catching titles that stand out from the rest.
Your day descriptions should lead with what makes this tour interesting and unique, not with logistics. Travellers are scanning many listings, and the first two sentences need to give them a reason to keep reading.
Your itinerary should be specific enough that a traveller can picture the trip. Vague day descriptions such as "safari activities" or "at leisure" leave people uncertain, and uncertainty reduces conversion.
Choose the right bidding percentage for each tour
Your quote percentage directly determines how often your tours are seen by potential clients.
The right percentage is the one that generates enough quality enquiries to justify the investment. Where your conversion rate is strong, a higher percentage makes more sense because each enquiry is more likely to result in a booking. If you are struggling to convert, there is no point in bidding higher and getting more failed requests. Rather focus on reaching a strong, stable conversion rate before raising bids.
If one package is converting consistently more than others, consider raising the bidding on just that package. Similarly, if one package is struggling to convert compared to others, consider pausing, changing, or lowering the bidding on that tour.
Consider setting different percentages for different visitor markets. Travellers from North America and Western Europe typically have higher average booking values, which often justifies a more competitive percentage for those markets to secure better visibility where it matters most.
More information on how to offer different payment percentages per country can be found here.
Keep availability accurate
Inaccurate availability creates a poor experience for you and the traveller. If a traveller enquires about dates that are already unavailable, but hasn't been updated in your tour settings, you have wasted money on a request that won't be possible. Review your availability settings regularly to ensure they reflect what you can genuinely offer. Tours with less than 80% confirmed availability are also penalised in search results.
More information about how availability affects your ranking can be found here.
Part 2: Accepting and declining enquiries
When to accept or decline a request
Before accepting, read the enquiry carefully. If the dates, destination, group size, and other specifications are realistic for what you offer, accept it. If the traveller is asking for something outside what your tour settings state you can offer, you can ask to decline the request and, if approved, won't be charged for it. This applies to both premade packages and your company profile tour if you bid on it.
More information about when a quote request can be declined can be found here.
Response speed matters more than many operators realise
Travellers on SafariBookings are typically comparing multiple operators simultaneously. The first operator to respond with a strong, personalised quote holds a significant advantage. An initial response that arrives two days after the enquiry is already at a disadvantage.
Aim to accept and send your first response on the same day the enquiry arrives. Where that is not possible, set an expectation early by acknowledging the enquiry and confirming when the full quote will follow. Don't use an auto-reply. That won’t have the same effect; people will know it was a machine/computer that emailed the auto-reply.
Part 3: Writing a quote that converts
Make it personal and specific
Travellers can identify a generic response. Make their quote feel special by referencing the specific travel dates, group composition, and any particular interests or questions mentioned in the enquiry. This demonstrates that you have engaged seriously with their plans rather than responding automatically.
Responding to potential safari guests via email may seem simple, but small mistakes can make a big difference. Many travellers are cautious when choosing a safari operator. They want to feel confident that they’re dealing with a trustworthy, knowledgeable, and professional team.
Poorly written or impersonal emails can easily turn a potential client away, but a thoughtful, well-structured email shows that you care about their experience and are capable of handling the details of their trip.
More information on how to communicate via email effectively can be found here
Lead with a clear recommendation
Presenting travellers with a broad menu of options and asking them to choose is rarely effective. They are approaching you as the expert. Study the enquiry, identify the tour or combination that genuinely fits their needs, and lead with a clear recommendation. Explain briefly why it is the right fit for their specific situation. You may mention an alternative where relevant, but avoid overwhelming them with choices.
Make the pricing easy to understand
Pricing ambiguity is one of the most common reasons travellers disengage. Your quote should make it immediately clear what is included, what is excluded, the total cost per person, and what is required to secure the booking. Where different accommodation tiers are available at different price points, present them clearly rather than embedding them within a long paragraph.
Mention clearly that the deposit has to be (partly) paid upfront. Also, mention when the payment is due. This is relevant information that should not be hidden somewhere in the attachment. You must make it clear that you need the deposit to pay for the accommodations to confirm their reservation. We get a lot of questions from clients who don’t understand why they need to pay a deposit – they think the tour operator is going to keep that money. They do not realize the tour operator needs this money to pay for the accommodations.
Make sure the price that you send is not higher than the price that they can see on SafariBookings. If it is higher (in some cases this is unavoidable), make sure you explain clearly why the costs are higher than shown on the website.
Be transparent about anything that could feel unexpected later, such as single supplements, park fee increases, or seasonal surcharges. Travellers who encounter unanticipated costs mid-process rarely proceed.
Give them a reason to choose your company specifically
Your quote is competing with others in the traveller's inbox. Beyond the itinerary and the price, you need to make a case for your company. Reference relevant experience, the guides assigned to this type of trip, relationships with specific camps, or the reasons this itinerary aligns with your particular strengths. Specific, verifiable claims carry far more weight than general assertions about quality.
Where you have strong reviews, reference them. Where a past client undertook a similar trip with a notable outcome, mention it briefly. Social proof at this stage in the process can be decisive.
Part 4: Building the itinerary in SafariOffice
Clarity works better than length
A detailed itinerary is not automatically a good one. Overly long documents can be difficult to engage with. Focus on what the traveller needs in order to understand the experience: what they will do each day, where they will stay, how they will get around, and what it will cost.
Each day should feel like something worth experiencing, not like a logistical schedule. A description that conveys atmosphere and anticipation will hold a traveller's attention in a way that a bare list of activities will not.
Accommodation choices signal expertise
The properties you recommend reflect your knowledge of the destination and how carefully you have read the client's brief. A recommendation that does not match the traveller's style or budget undermines your credibility.
When recommending a specific property, briefly explain the reasoning: its location relative to the wildlife, the quality of the guiding, the atmosphere, or the value it represents.
When you are offering multiple accommodation tiers (which is important!), present them in a way that makes comparison straightforward. The goal is to make the decision easy, not to present more options.
Present it professionally
The visual quality of your proposal carries weight. A well-formatted PDF with consistent branding, quality photography, and a clean layout conveys professionalism and attention to detail. It also gives the traveller something they can share with family members or travel companions who are part of the decision. A poorly formatted proposal, or one delivered as a block of unstructured text, can undermine the impression your quote has built.
Consider contacting SafariOffice for training on how to build the best itineraries.
Part 5: Following up
Follow up with purpose, not just persistence
Many operators follow up either too infrequently, too often, or with messages that offer nothing new. An effective follow-up arrives two to three days after the quote has been sent, acknowledges that the traveller may have questions, and adds something specific rather than simply restating availability.
Referencing something from the original enquiry demonstrates continued engagement: "I wanted to revisit the private option I mentioned, as it may suit your group better given your preference for quieter camps." This is more likely to prompt a response than a generic check-in.
Calling clients works very well to connect with them on a more personal level. If a client leaves a phone number, they usually won’t mind speaking to you over the phone. If they don't answer, then consider sending them a personal text or email.
Address hesitation before it becomes silence
Where a traveller responds but does not commit, pay close attention to what they are not saying directly. If pricing seems like it could be a factor, proactively offer a revised option with adjusted accommodation or a modified duration, rather than waiting to be asked.
Where a traveller appears to be comparing multiple operators, avoid competing solely on price. Reinforce the specific value your company provides. The quality of the guides, the access you have secured, and the depth of your experience on a particular route are all much better factors to focus on. At this stage in the process, the decision is often based on confidence and trust rather than marginal price differences.
Update your records and move on
Where a traveller has not responded after two or three follow-ups, update the enquiry status and direct your attention elsewhere. Holding enquiries as "Still Open" can cause your dashboard to show unrealistic or inaccurate data. Having accurate records of your conversion rate is important for you (and us as the support team) to keep track of your performance and make the correct adjustments.
Operators who maintain accurate records have a clearer view of where their conversion sits at each stage and where drop-off is occurring.
Part 6: After confirmation
Build review collection into your process systematically
Operators with 25 or more reviews averaging 4 stars or above receive the maximum review ranking bonus on SafariBookings. Many operators remain below this threshold not because of poor client satisfaction, but because they do not have a consistent process for requesting reviews. Clients who have recently returned from a well-executed trip are generally willing to leave a review.
A personal message from the guide or a senior team member, sent within a week of the client's return, is significantly more effective than a generic automated follow-up. Include a direct link to the review submission page to reduce friction.
More information on how to collect more reviews from clients can be found here.
Make use of the added marketing budget
After a confirmed booking, you receive the automated marketing budget from the client in addition to the total tour cost. Operators that perform well on the platform deposit this extra 10% received per booking to pay for future quote requests.
More information on the automated marketing budget can be found here.
This creates a cycle where the clients pay for your advertising, and you can stay online consistently if you keep a good conversion rate and manage your budget effectively.
More information on how staying online consistently helps your business can be found here.
Found this helpful? Find out more about the most common mistakes made on SafariBookings here.