Module 1 Know your customer and market 4 hAnalyse
Every sound business in tourist automation begins with one clear customer and one clear problem. In São Paulo and the wider state, demand is real but crowded, so a small, well-described customer group wins before a broad one.
- In tourist automation: Visitors want times, prices and directions at the moment of need; local operators want fuller schedules.
- Write the customer in one sentence: a visitor and a local operator. Add the place, the moment of need and what they use today.
- List five rivals or substitutes within reach. For each, record price, strength, weakness and how people reach it.
- Interview at least eight real customers with open questions. Record exact words, not your summary.
- Count the market in units: how many bookings could one area buy in a month? Use two public sources and your own count, then take the lower figure.
- Choose one first segment and say why the others wait.
Worked example. Weak: 'Everyone needs a booking, guide or visit tool.' Strong: 'Our first customer is a visitor and a local operator within 8 km of the centre, who today pays R$ 66 per booking and complains about delay. We target 300 bookings a month by month three.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: ten customers are interviewed for tourist automation. Seven say price, two say speed, one says trust. Question: which first message do you write, and which interview record backs it? Model answer: lead with the booking price and speed promise, keep trust proof as the second line, and cite the seven price answers by date.
Activity. Write the one-sentence customer, a five-row rival table and eight interview records. Share them with a peer for a challenge round.
Standard to meet. Define a specific customer, build a rival table with prices, and trace every claim to an interview or a source.
Module 2 Rules, registration and data duties in Brazil 4 hUnderstand
Brazil asks every trader to be visible and accountable. Know which register, tax regime and sector rules apply before the first sale, and check each against the current official text.
- In tourist automation: Operators need correct registration; listings must show true prices and cancellation rules.
- Choose a legal form: micro-entrepreneur (MEI) only if your activity appears on the official MEI list, or a company registered with a CNPJ. Regulated activities need their sector authorisation first. Check the current limits and lists on the official portal.
- Learn the tax regime that fits your size and write down which taxes you will collect and pay, and when.
- Find the sector rules for tourist automation: licences, inspections, professional registers. List each with the office that issues it and the renewal date.
- Personal data of customers falls under Brazil's data protection law (LGPD). Collect only what you need, say why, keep it safe, and name who answers questions.
- Consumer law gives buyers clear rights on information, returns and complaints. Put your terms in plain Portuguese.
Worked example. Checklist for a new tourist automation trader: 1) legal form (CNPJ, or MEI only if your activity is on the official list); 2) city operating licence; 3) sector licence or register; 4) tax set-up; 5) privacy notice; 6) written terms. Each has an owner and a date.
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a neighbour says registration can wait until the first R$ 300 of sales. Question: what do you do? Model answer: do not delay; write the compliance table first, confirm the register, tax and sector licence with the official office, and start only where the table shows no open blocker.
Activity. Build your own six-line compliance table for your first location. Mark what is done, what is pending and who confirms it.
Standard to meet. Cite an official source for every line, assume nothing, and date every pending item. Local law always wins over this course.
Module 3 Design the offer 4 hCreate
An offer states what the customer gets, how well, by when and at what price. For a booking, guide or visit tool, the offer must make the quality visible and the next step easy.
- In tourist automation: Design the tool around one task: find, book and pay in three screens.
- Describe the core offer in three lines: what is delivered (a booking, guide or visit tool), the standard it meets, and the time it takes.
- Add one proof for each promise: a sample, a test result, a guarantee or a customer record.
- Price from cost upward and from customer value downward, then pick a price inside both.
- Write a simple one-page terms sheet: what is included, what is extra, how to cancel.
- Create two options at most, so choice stays easy.
Worked example. Offer: 'A booking, guide or visit tool, delivered within agreed time, checked against a written standard, price R$ 60 per booking. Proof: a dated record the customer can check and sign. Changes or cancellation by written agreement before work begins.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a customer asks for a discount from R$ 60 to R$ 54 per booking. Question: decide with numbers. Model answer: contribution falls from R$ 38 to R$ 32 per booking; offer an extra of value (for example faster service) before cutting price, and accept only if the lower contribution still clears break-even.
Longer notes. Visit a small guesthouse or tour guide and list every message sent twice: booking confirmation, directions to the door, check-in code, Wi-Fi password, late checkout rule, review request. Count each per week and automate the three that eat the most time, using a form plus scheduled messages before any costly platform. Compare two tools by monthly price, language support and how easily the owner edits a text alone. Mark what stays with a person: complaints, allergies, special celebrations. Show the owner hours saved and bookings no longer missed overnight. Store guest names and phone numbers in one protected sheet, and read the current data protection rules before the first scheduled message goes out.
Extra worked example. A tour operator pays you R$ 60 for each booking you take, confirm and remind by automatic messages. Handling, payment and support cost R$ 22 per booking, so each leaves R$ 38, 63,3 percent of the price. At 500 bookings revenue is R$ 30.000, variable cost R$ 11.000 and contribution R$ 19.000. After fixed cost of R$ 12.000 for tools and staff, profit is R$ 7.000. The tools and staff of R$ 12.000 are covered once 316 bookings arrive in a month, rounded up from 315,79.
Activity. Write the offer card, the proof list and the terms sheet. Test them with three customers and note every point where they hesitated.
Standard to meet. Check that promise, proof and price are consistent, fit the terms on one page, and record three customer reactions.
Module 4 Run the work step by step 5 hApply
Good operations make results repeatable. For tourist automation, write each step so a new person could follow it on their first day, and measure each step.
- In tourist automation: Keep listings live: availability, price and opening hours checked daily.
- Map the process from first contact to paid and closed. Typical stages: enquiry, quote, preparation, delivery of the booking, check, payment, follow-up.
- Name the key resource at each stage: an accurate live listing. Note what happens if it is missing.
- Write a one-page standard procedure per stage: who, what, tool, time, record.
- Choose three measures: speed, quality (errors per 100) and customer rating. Review them every week.
- Fix the cause of a defect, not the symptom. Ask 'why' five times and record the answer.
Worked example. Stage record: 'Prepare. Owner: lead. Time: 30 min. Tool: checklist. Record: signed sheet. Defect found on 1 of 125 bookings last week; cause: missing check on an accurate live listing; fix: add check at start, review next Friday.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: of 500 bookings last month, 30 had a defect traced to an accurate live listing. Question: what is the defect rate and what is your first action? Model answer: about 6 defects per 100; stop the cause (add a check at the start), correct affected customers, log the cause, and re-measure next week.
Activity. Draw the process map and write procedures for the two riskiest stages. Run each once and time it.
Standard to meet. Write procedures a stranger can follow, record weekly numbers for each measure, and trace one defect to a root cause.
Module 5 Safety, quality and risk 4 hEvaluate
The most serious risk in this field is a wrong time, price or place shown. A calm, written risk routine protects people first and the business second.
- In tourist automation: Avoid sending a visitor to a closed or unsafe place; verify listings and report errors fast.
- List ten things that could go wrong. Score each for how likely (1 to 5) and how serious (1 to 5). Multiply and sort.
- For the top five, choose a control: remove the hazard, replace it, guard it, train people, or use protective gear, in that order of preference.
- Write who does what in an emergency, and rehearse it once a quarter.
- Keep an incident and near-miss log. Near-misses are free lessons.
- Check that insurance and legal duties match the risk you actually carry.
Worked example. Risk row: 'Hazard: a wrong time, price or place shown. Likelihood 3, severity 5, score 15. Control: written check before each booking, trained staff, log sheet. Owner: site lead. Review monthly.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a near-miss occurs: a wrong time, price or place shown nearly happened but no one was hurt. Question: what do you do in the next 24 hours? Model answer: make safe, record the event, ask the five whys, add or tighten one control, brief the team, and set a review date; near-misses count as lessons, not blame.
Activity. Build a ten-row risk register and a one-page emergency plan. Run a ten-minute drill with a peer and note two improvements.
Standard to meet. Rank controls by preference for the top risks, run the drill, and start the log. Where a regulation applies, follow the official rule.
Module 6 People, skills and service 4 hApply
People deliver the promise. Define roles, train to a standard and give feedback in the open.
- In tourist automation: Train local partners to update listings and answer messages the same day.
- Write a role card for each person: purpose, five tasks, the standard for each, and who to ask for help.
- Train by showing, doing with support, then doing alone with a check. Record sign-off per task.
- Set service rules for answering customers: reply times, tone, how to apologise and fix.
- Hold a ten-minute team check each day: yesterday's problem, today's plan, one risk.
- Build a growth path: what a new person can do in week 1, month 3 and month 12.
Worked example. Training record: 'Task: process a complaint. Shown 2 May; done with support 4 May; done alone 8 May, checked: apology, fix, follow-up call. Signed by lead.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a new hire completes training but a customer complaint shows a skipped step. Question: whose gap is it? Model answer: first the system: check the role card, the training sign-off and the checklist; then coach the person and fix the document so the step cannot be skipped.
Longer notes. Give every automated message a named owner and a daily inbox check at nine in the morning. Ask each staff member to play the guest on a phone, booking a room in Portuguese and then in English, and to write down every confusing step. Rehearse the hand-over line: a calm sentence that tells the guest a person will reply within the hour. Read ten real conversations every Friday and mark where the guest asked again. Rewrite any reply with a clear local touch, like naming the bakery on the corner. Nominate a backup for holidays and write the steps so a newcomer can follow them.
Extra worked example. In this worked example, not market data, 45 of your 500 bookings need a manual fix after the automatic reply missed the question, 45 / 500 = 9 percent. Each fix costs R$ 18 of staff time, so the loss is 45 x R$ 18 = R$ 810. After rewriting the five weakest replies, fixes fall to 20, 4 percent, costing R$ 360. You save R$ 450 a month. Three agents trained for 4 hours at R$ 30 per hour cost R$ 360, so the rewrite pays for itself in 0,80 months.
Activity. Write two role cards and a training plan for one new hire. Role-play a hard customer conversation twice and review.
Standard to meet. Write role cards with measurable standards, show the sign-off steps in training, and write the service rules in plain words.
Module 7 Money: cost, price and break-even 5 hAnalyse
A business lives or dies on a few numbers. Know your contribution per unit, your fixed costs and the volume you need.
- In tourist automation: Earn per booking; track commission after payment fees and refunds.
- Contribution per booking = price minus variable cost. Fixed costs are paid whether you sell or not.
- Break-even units = fixed cost divided by contribution. Plan to pass it by a safe margin.
- Make a 12-month cash plan. Cash timing matters as much as profit: customers may pay late, suppliers may want money first.
- Keep money for business and money for the owner apart.
- Test the plan: what if sales fall by a quarter, or cost rises by a tenth?
Worked example. Worked example, all figures in reais: price R$ 60, variable cost R$ 22, contribution R$ 38 per booking. Fixed cost R$ 12.000 a month. Break-even = R$ 12.000 / R$ 38 = 315,79, so 316 bookings a month. At 500 bookings a month, profit = R$ 38 x 500 - R$ 12.000 = R$ 7.000. These are teaching figures that belong to this example only; later examples and the case study use their own figures. Use your own.
Second worked scenario. Scenario: sales fall to 375 bookings a month. Question: what is the monthly result? Model answer: R$ 38 x 375 - R$ 12.000 = R$ 2.250; compare with break-even of 316 bookings and decide whether to cut fixed cost or raise volume first. Teaching figures only.
Activity. Build your own table: price, variable cost, contribution, fixed cost, break-even and a downside case at 75% of sales. Show it to a peer or mentor.
Standard to meet. Calculate correctly, give every figure a source or mark it as an assumption, and show a downside case.
Module 8 Grow, measure and renew 4 hEvaluate
Growth should follow proof. Measure, learn, then add; and keep returning to the customer.
- In tourist automation: Grow with local content and honest reviews; remove poor performers.
- Pick one growth lever at a time: new customers, a higher repeat rate, a better price, or a new offer.
- Set one measurable target for 90 days, such as 'raise repeat customers from 20% to 30%'.
- Ask each customer how they found you, and record it. Spend more where the record shows results.
- Review monthly: numbers, defects, complaints, cash. Write three decisions each time.
- Plan the renewal of licences, equipment and skills a year ahead.
Worked example. 90-day plan: 'Lever: repeat customers. Action: follow-up call after every booking. Target: repeat rate from 20% to 30%. Check: weekly count. Review date: day 45 and day 90.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: you can add 100 bookings a month by one of two levers: a follow-up call to past customers or a price rise of R$ 6 to R$ 66. Question: how do you choose? Model answer: test the cheaper reversible lever first (the call), measure for 30 days, and only then try the price change, so you can tell which one worked.
Longer notes. Follow the guest from first question to review and count five points: replies sent within an hour, bookings per hundred inquiries, repeat guests, review score and the month with the emptiest rooms. Change one thing at a time, such as a faster first reply or a price list with photos, and keep it for a full month before judging. Send a thank-you note after checkout with a small perk that costs you little, such as a late coffee. Prepare a rainy-season offer for low months. Keep only the automations that raise bookings. Never promise full occupancy to the owner.
Extra worked example. You receive 2.500 enquiries a month and 500 become bookings, so conversion is 20 percent. A faster automatic reply lifts it to 22 percent (a worked-example figure, not market data), which is 550 bookings, 50 more. Each booking adds R$ 38, so the gain is 50 x R$ 38 = R$ 1.900 a month. A reply sent within the hour is what moves monthly profit from R$ 7.000 to R$ 8.900 at 550 bookings.
Activity. Write a 90-day plan with one target, three actions and a review date. Present it in five minutes and take questions.
Standard to meet. Set a measurable, dated target, break the actions down small enough to start this week, and put the review date in the calendar.