>This is before they had reservation software of their own tying then directly into other marketplaces.
Dude ranchers are, for the most part, not a very technically savvy group, and that's an opportunity he's pursued pretty heavily. (This is reading from his own tweets and writing, plus a bit of my own experience growing up in Montana.) Peter's main gig these days is running RanchWork.com, which is a job board for dude ranchers. He's been writing and tweeting about how he paid like $3k for a print ad in a ranching magazine and nearly tripled his posting revenue the following month. ($3k posting per month before the print ad, $8k after.)
Most dude ranches are mom and pop shops out west. They're not owned by Hilton or Mariott; there's no software engineering staff helping them build SEO platforms and booking systems.
> there's no software engineering staff helping them build SEO platforms and booking systems.
All true, but on the one hand even commodity tools, the ones moms and pops most likely set up on their Wix page or whatever, now have SEO optimizations like open graph tags and the like.
And on the other hand they are very likely using AirBnb, Booking.com and related platforms.
So I maintain the best time to develop a market among these vendors was ten+ years ago, when you were giving them a true leg up.
Most dude ranchers I've met have barely figured out text messaging and email.
To assume that they know about Wix, or Squarespace, or even AirBnB, vastly overestimates their level of technical capability.
That's the gap you can fill. Find Luddite industries, and serve them. There is far more opportunity there than I think anyone realizes.
I say this as someone building a job board around a decidedly non-Luddite industry (www.rtljobs.com). If a really tech savvy industry segment can use the help, imagine what the Luddites need!
Luddite industries do exist, but many of them are well-served by tools and marketplaces that abstract away all the technology and just bring them business.
Dude ranchers are, for the most part, not a very technically savvy group, and that's an opportunity he's pursued pretty heavily. (This is reading from his own tweets and writing, plus a bit of my own experience growing up in Montana.) Peter's main gig these days is running RanchWork.com, which is a job board for dude ranchers. He's been writing and tweeting about how he paid like $3k for a print ad in a ranching magazine and nearly tripled his posting revenue the following month. ($3k posting per month before the print ad, $8k after.)
Most dude ranches are mom and pop shops out west. They're not owned by Hilton or Mariott; there's no software engineering staff helping them build SEO platforms and booking systems.