2024 Business Update - Move to More Paid Content

It's been an amazing year of growth at Great Lakes Travel Deals, and we’re immensely grateful for your support. As many of you know we’re always struggling to strike the right balance between paid and free content on our site. Interestingly, as our platform expanded, we observed that the popularity of our posts directly influenced the pricing, availability, and duration of flight deals online. These insights, coupled with discussions with our paid subscribers, have led us to make a significant decision for 2024—to transition more of our content behind a paywall, exclusively available to our paid subscribers.

Shifting toward a more paid format might raise concerns among some of our free subscribers. However, allow me to share the rationale behind this decision:

Exclusive Access

As our platform has expanded, our published flight deals have impacted market pricing. The traffic we send to specific flights affects their pricing, duration, and availability. Transitioning more content exclusively to our paid subscribers is a move aimed at ensuring they receive exclusive access to discounted flights.

Sustainability and Growth

Shifting to more paid only content preserves value for our paid subscribers and gives them the best opportunities for discounted travel. It also contributes to the sustainability of our business by allowing us to invest and evolve to improve customer experience. This will lead to new subscriber growth and paid subscriber renewals.

There will Still be Free Content

Free flight deals will continue to be accessible for travelers who opt not to upgrade to a paid subscription. We recognize that a paid membership might not suit everyone. Our commitment remains to publish approximately 10-20% of our flight deals for free. These deals will be shared sporadically, aimed at fostering engagement through social media shares and email forwarding.

Try Before you Buy

Starting in early December every new subscriber has been registered for a 30-day free trial. This "try before you buy" approach ensures that everyone has a chance to experience the site's offerings without any paywalls. It's an opportunity for new users to explore and get a feel for the platform before making any commitments.

Please Consider Upgrading to Paid

We published 230+ flight deals in 2023 and plan to do the same in 2024. Any one of those deals could have easily covered the $30/year subscription fee. We’re also working to make the overall user experience better by allowing subscribers to self-select their airports and Spring Break travel dates (link here). We’ve appreciated your support and would love to continue the relationship in 2024 with you as a paid subscriber and supporter.

Wishing you a year filled with incredible adventures and unforgettable destinations. We’re here to help!