The checklist
| # | Element | The standard |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trip planner above the fold | Visitors plan dates, destinations, party size — and submit a real enquiry, not a message in a bottle |
| 2 | Published packages | Fixed-price trips with day-by-day itineraries for buyers who won’t wait for a custom quote |
| 3 | Mobile-first | Most safari research is on phones; test at 390px, not on your laptop |
| 4 | M-Pesa + card deposits | Regionals pay M-Pesa, internationals pay card — both in one flow |
| 5 | Quote turnaround in hours | Structured enquiries with dates/party/destinations attached make this possible |
| 6 | Interactive proposals | Clients open a link, compare options, hold one and pay — no PDF attachments |
| 7 | Trust evidence | Original photos, real reviews, company registration, shameless detail about guides |
| 8 | Speed | Heavy hero videos cost bookings on safari-grade bandwidth |
| 9 | One system behind it | Enquiry, quote, deposit, documents, calendar in the same system your team runs |
Where operators usually fail
Items 1–8 are one-time work; item 9 is the ongoing system. The classic failure: the widget takes an enquiry at 9pm and nobody owns what happens next — or the enquiry arrives as free text in WhatsApp with no dates, no party size, no route. The planner widget solves that by capturing structure up front, and the same system (TravelBookingWidgets) turns it into a quote, a proposal and a deposit.
A 30-day plan for an existing site
- Week 1: install the trip-planner widget on the homepage (platform-by-platform guide) and publish your two best-selling trips as packages.
- Week 2: switch on M-Pesa + card deposits; run one test booking end to end on your phone.
- Week 3: write the FAQ your inbox answers most — park fees, children, getting there, cancellations.
- Week 4: check mobile width, page speed and the 9pm test — book your own trip on your phone.