Description
Course overview · What The Gravel
Course Purpose
The TravelPod Certified Operators Course trains candidates to help accommodation establishments get connected to TravelPod, What The Gravel’s central marketing platform for local travel, overlanding and activities. Graduates learn to install the TravelPod HTML widget on an establishment’s website and to promote TravelPod’s services to the wider accommodation market.
TravelPod works by connecting a business’s own website to the What The Gravel network, so the business’s content is published on TravelPod as well. The only technical requirement is a website that can take a small section of code. A certified operator is the person who makes that connection happen, and who brings new establishments in.
Who the Course Is For
- Web designers, freelancers and small digital agencies who maintain accommodation websites
- Marketing consultants and promoters who work with guesthouses, lodges, camp sites and farm stays
- Local tourism and destination marketing people who want a practical service to offer
- Anyone with basic website skills who wants a new income stream in the outdoor and travel market
No coding background is needed beyond being comfortable pasting a code snippet into a website and finding your way around a content management system such as WordPress.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, an operator will be able to:
- Explain what TravelPod is, who it serves and how it fits into the What The Gravel network
- Decide whether an establishment qualifies to plug in
- Install the TravelPod HTML widget correctly on the common website platforms and test that it works
- Troubleshoot the most frequent installation problems
- Present TravelPod to an establishment owner in clear, benefit-led language
- Promote TravelPod services consistently, ethically and in line with What The Gravel’s standards
Course Structure
Module 1: Welcome to TravelPod
The What The Gravel story and vision, the three TravelPod categories (Local Travel, Overlanding and Activities), the regions served, the role of the local WTG Partner, and how TravelPod fits into the Express Marketing ecosystem as a networked concierge marketing service run by remote consultants across South Africa. Operators learn where they fit in.
Module 2: Who Qualifies
The qualifying rules. Establishments must have their own website, and they must have a direct booking function. What The Gravel does not cater for businesses that rely on third-party booking channels that charge commissions, and links readers straight to the establishment’s own booking channel. Operators practise screening an establishment before any work begins.
Module 3: Understanding the Widget
What the HTML widget is and how it connects a website to TravelPod. Where the code lives, what it does on the page, and what it never touches. Includes a short primer on HTML snippets, headers, footers and page placement for non-developers.
Module 4: Installing the Widget
Step-by-step practical installation, with a checklist operators follow on every job:
- Gaining safe access to the establishment’s website
- Backing up before making any change
- Placing the code on WordPress and other common platforms
- Testing on desktop and mobile
- Confirming the connection and handing over
Module 5: Troubleshooting and Support
Common problems (code stripped by the editor, caching, conflicting plugins, builder quirks), how to diagnose them, and when to escalate to What The Gravel. Includes a standard handover note and aftercare routine.
Module 6: Promoting TravelPod
How to introduce TravelPod to accommodation owners: finding prospects, opening conversations, explaining the monthly-fee model in plain terms, handling objections, and following up. Operators also learn how What The Gravel’s wider services (advertorial content, video production, direct marketing and inclusion marketing) support an establishment once it is plugged in. They also learn how Express Marketing campaigns, content creation, video production and landing page design can extend a TravelPod listing.
Module 7: Professional Standards
Honest marketing, respecting each client’s content and data, and what operators may and may not claim. Operators learn how What The Gravel’s independent 100-point rating approach differs from paid promotion, so they never blur the two.
Module 8: Assessment and Certification
A practical assessment (a supervised installation on a test site) and a short pitch exercise. Operators who pass are certified as TravelPod Certified Operators.
Assessment
- Short knowledge check at the end of each module
- Practical: install and verify the widget on a test website
- Practical: deliver a five-minute TravelPod pitch
Certification
Operators who complete all modules and pass both practicals receive TravelPod Certified Operator status from What The Gravel. Certification is the basis for being listed as an approved operator and for taking installation and promotion work.
What Operators Receive
- Course notes and an installation checklist
- A pitch outline and sample messages for approaching establishments
- Approved TravelPod descriptions and branding for use in promotion
- A named contact at What The Gravel for support
FULL PRICE PAYABLE ON COMPLETION – R1 599 – R150 Deposit = R1 449
