Beyond the Brochure: What Does a 'Product' Role Really Mean in Travel? 🗺️

When most people think of a 'travel product,' they picture a glossy brochure showcasing a beach resort, a cruise ship, or a guided tour. And while those are the outputs, the role of a Product Manager in the travel industry is far more complex, strategic, and often technical.

Having worked in roles from Operations to Strategy, I’ve learned that a great travel product manager is a triple-threat: a market analyst, a customer champion, and a master orchestrator of internal teams. It's less about choosing the paint colour for the new hotel wing, and more about designing the entire engine that gets the guest there and back.

So, what does a 'Product' role really entail? It’s a dedicated journey through a lifecycle that spans planning, creation, and continuous improvement.

Stage 1: Discovery and Ideation (The 'Why' and 'What')

Before a single line of code is written or a new supplier is contracted, the Product Manager must answer fundamental questions rooted in data and market empathy.

• Market Research: What are our competitors doing? What white-space opportunities exist? This goes beyond basic trends; it involves deep diving into data to find unmet customer needs.

• Customer Empathy: What are the pain points of our travellers? My experience in Operations taught me that customers often struggle with booking flexibility, system errors, or confusing cancellation policies. A great product idea often comes from solving these operational hassles.

• Defining the MVP: What is the Minimum Viable Product? The Product Manager defines the core feature set that will be built first, aligning it with the overarching Commercial Strategy. They decide what not to build, which is often the harder decision.

Stage 2: Design and Sourcing (The 'How')

Once the concept is clear, the Product Manager acts as the central conductor, bringing together technical and commercial teams.

• Technical Specification: This is where Tech Fluency is vital. The PM translates customer needs into technical requirements that the IT and engineering teams can execute. This involves working with APIs, GDS systems, and booking platforms. They determine how the new product will be integrated into the existing Tech Stack.

• Supplier Sourcing: If the product relies on third-party inventory (hotels, flights, local experiences), the PM works closely with the Sourcing and Partnerships teams to ensure the supply chain is robust, scalable, and commercially viable. They must ensure the contracts support the desired customer experience.

Stage 3: Launch and Go-to-Market (The 'Show')

A product launch is not an engineering achievement; it's a cross-functional marketing and sales exercise, led by the Product Manager.

• Internal Enablement: Before it goes live, Sales and Operations teams must be trained. Sales needs to know the value proposition, and Operations needs to know exactly how to support the product when things go wrong (and they will).

• Commercialisation: Working with Marketing, the PM defines the pricing structure, positioning, and promotional strategy. They must justify the investment by tracking key business metrics.

Stage 4: Iteration and Optimisation (The 'Improve')

The moment a product launches, the real work begins. The lifecycle is circular, not linear.

• Data Analysis: The Product Manager constantly monitors key performance indicators (KPIs)—conversion rates, abandonment rates, customer feedback, and overall profitability.

• Feedback Loops: They maintain a constant feedback loop with the Operations team, who are hearing the unvarnished truth from the customer daily. This allows for quick iteration and ensures the product continues to align with market demand and operational reality.

In the travel world, the Product Manager is the strategic visionary responsible for ensuring that the experiences we sell are not only captivating but also reliably delivered, technically sound, and commercially successful. They are the essential bridge between the strategy boardroom and the customer’s booking screen.