Tourpreneur Tour Business Podcast

“It's going to be hard against the big boys with their war chest of cash, but there is enough room to do something different.” - Chris Torres shares why he decided to build Touriosity - an OTA with a conscience. Chris joins me today to share what Touriosity is all about and how you can register your company and tours. He reveals how tour bookings are managed and the marketing plan for 2021. Chris shares some of the lessons he has learned from the soft launch of Touriosity and the improvements he’s made in handling support requests. We discuss why local tours are not advertising on Facebook and the opportunities that are currently being missed by tour operators. Chris also shares his tips for getting your business through the next twelve months, including the benefits of having a business coach, and how collaborating with your competitors can help your tour business survive the challenges of the current global economy. Plus.. How to register your tours on Touriosity and the requirements for new and existing tour operators. How tour bookings and reservations are handled. How Touriosity is promoting its platform and future marketing plans. The lessons Chris has learned from Touriosity’s soft launch and the improvements they’ve made in handling support requests. Why Chris is taking OTA advertising to Facebook instead of Google Ads. The advantages of Facebook advertising and why it is exceptional for content targeting. How working with your competitors can help you survive 2021. Structuring your day and the value of having a business coach And Much More!

Leanne joins me today to share how she started her own tour business in 2019, navigated the challenges of 2020 and COVID-19, and is entering 2021 fully booked. She discusses the business pivots she has made to focus on the local community and shares how she is making connections through social media. She discusses OTAs, insurance, and safety. Leanne also shares three key lessons all tour operators can benefit from by going on other types of tours in other cities, continuing to tweak your tours, and volunteering and giving back to your community.

Torin and Alice join me today to share the lessons they have learned since opening their tours after lockdown. We explore the measures and policies you can put in place to run safe tours during the COVID pandemic and discuss how you can manage your team when they display symptoms or have had close contact with someone who received a positive test. Torin and Alice share how they are experiencing a rise in direct bookings and making pivots in their business to find new revenue streams. We also discuss the tour operators' role in the community and the challenges of maintaining good mental health through the pandemic.

John O'Sullivan of Depot Adventures joins us today to discuss his tour operator COVID survival and working with Amazon Explore. He shares the innovation needed to survive the economic crisis caused by COVID and the opportunities to continue trading by providing video experiences and virtual tours. John reveals what it is like to work with Amazon Explore and the investment in time you need to create a worthwhile partnership. He discusses the pro and cons of high-value private tours versus mass-market low-value tours. John also shares what equipment you will need to work with Amazon Explore and his views on whether this Amazon beta project is here to stay.

Theresa Nemetz of Milwaukee Food Tours joins us today to share her big pivot success story: offering advent gift boxes in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Theresa reveals how she sold 1,000 advent boxes in one weekend and how she turned a $3,000 investment in Facebook advertising into over $145k in revenue in 48-hours. She shares how she found success by identifying what people want and describes the challenges she faced when making a big business pivot. She also shares details of her workshop on the packaging, promotion, and pricing. Jeremiah of Blend Marketing reveals how his business made the pivot from marketing tours to marketing gift boxes and shares several tips on creating powerful Facebook Ads and marketing strategies that drive awareness and conversions.

Congratulations on making it to the final day of the 30 day challenge. End the challenge with a trip down memory lane. Look back at all you’ve accomplished in the last 30 days, months, years. Do this in whichever way you like. Journal. Go for a hike. Watch the waves. Paddleboard yoga. Think of it as a mindful treat-yourself day. Self reflection tips for tour operators Self-reflection tips Quiet your mind Ask yourself, “Where was I one year ago? Five? Ten?” Read old journals or booking reports Make a list of your proudest moments Remember the personal, not just professional Celebrate the quick wins, too Frame & place somewhere obvious Look at it every day as a reminder

One of Shane's favorite phrases is #AlwaysBeLearning. We wear so many different hats as a tour operator. along with running the business, you might also dabble in accounting, digital marketing, maintenance, HR, customer service, and guiding. But there’s always room to improve or diversify your skillset. Shane and Ryan discuss the importance of learning new skills when it comes to growing our business and how it can help you avoid fake experts and save you money!

Make a difference in your destination by choosing a cause for your business to get behind. Donate to a non-profit organization or rally up your team for a volunteer project. Pick something that makes sense for your brand and aligns with your values. Already supporting a cause? Make it known on your About page or social media today. Don’t think of it as bragging. It shows that your company cares, helps spread the word of a charity that deserves attention, sparks real conversations about improving the lives of others and our planet, and encourages your team and guests to get involved.

Arival is not just an in-person conference for the tour operator industry, they also publish research papers, survey results, tour operator spotlights, articles, and interviews with activity and tour operator interviews. Much of this is free of charge so please do check them out if you aren't already.

Facebook Groups are great for connecting with like-minded individuals and expanding your tour operator network. Shane and Kyla discuss the treasure trove of information available to us in tour operator Facebook groups plus also why you should join Facebook groups where your customers may be interacting and posting. Shane shares some of his favorite Facebook Groups for tour operators.

Have you ever wanted to be a secret shopper? Today is your chance! Book another tour in your destination or somewhere nearby — preferably not with your direct competitor — and see how they run things from a guest perspective! Why not gather intel and have fun at the same time? Just be sure to take a mental note of everything they do. What info do you get before the tour? How do they upsell? Is check-in a breeze? Do they use paper waivers? What’s your tour guide like? How do they make the experience better? Do they ask for tips? Reviews? See if there’s anything that you do better, or can take away to improve. Sometimes, we can get so stuck in the traditional way of doing things that we neglect to see how we can be better. Comparison isn’t always bad. By witnessing how someone else operates, you can get fresh ideas to adopt & tweak or validation that you’re already a few steps ahead.

Angela Heald shares her graphic design and Canva tips for tour operators. The key part of the challenge is to time batch the task and set aside two hours for it and no switching to other projects. Ever want to share more on social media? Are you unhappy with your Instagram profile’s aesthetic? Do you wish your Facebook ads didn’t make your tours look so…boring? With a bunch of promo material on hand, you’ll never run out of visual content, which means you’ll have no problem staying on top of digital marketing in the future.

Everyone’s saying that blogging is one of the best things you can do for better SEO. Well, it’s true. The more content you have on your website, the more queries you can rank for on Google. But it can be challenging to find time in your incredibly busy schedule to sit down and bust out an article, especially if writing isn’t your strong suit. Kyla and Shane share some quick tips for tour operators.

In today's bonus episode, we share tips on how to give your tour operator website an extra SEO boost by adding relevant local keywords wherever possible. Day 22 of the 30 Day Tour Operator Challenge by Checkfront. Make sure to visit tourpreneur.com/challenge to grab your free PDF with even more keyword tips for SEO

For today's challenge, we tackle the important subject of improving your website speed and why you need to make sure all of your pages load fast on all devices. Run a test on Google’s PageSpeed Insights by entering each page URL into the Analyze bar, and then see if there are any problems you can quickly rectify today. Do this for both desktop and mobile.

Angela Heald of Checkfront and Tourpreneur's Shane Whaley discuss the importance of high-quality activity and tour photos on our websites. Angela shares some of her killer iPhone tips for tour operators.

Angela shares her favorite 3 episodes of the Tourpreneur Podcast and Shane suggests other podcasts for tour operators Sometimes, all you need to keep going is to hear from other tour operators on a similar journey. You’re not alone in the challenges you face. And the Tourpreneur Podcast is just the place to find out what tour operators all over the world are doing differently and learning along the way.

Tips about asking for Google Reviews. It’s no secret that reviews are a ranking factor for Google My Business listings. If you want to earn that coveted spot on the local snack pack, you’ve got to get as many recent, quality reviews as possible.

How many places is your business listed? Yelp? TripAdvisor? Google My Business — of course, since you tackled that listing yesterday. What about Foursquare, Spoke, City Insider, Superpages, or Yellowbook? Take some time today to list your business on as many online directories as possible. All while making sure your name, address, and phone number (NAP data) is correct and consistent on every site. Grab the free PDF which includes a list of must claim local listings at www.tourpreneur.com/challenge

Spend today updating your Google My Business Profile. Most searchers will see whether your tour company is legit by scanning your GMB listing first. So, make a great first impression by including everything they need to know. Kyla Steeves joins us to give us some quick tips on how to optimize Google My Business - grab the free workbook at www.tourpreneur.com/challenge

Go ahead, take a break, and live like a tourist for the day. Do something you’ve always wanted to do but can never find the time for or keep putting off out of fear. We talk about how creating a local bucket list can help your activity or tour business. Learn how to surf, scuba dive, or sail. Go skydiving, bungee jumping, rock climbing, hot air ballooning, anything to get off the ground. Visit a nearby town you drive through all the time, but never stop. Take a cooking, painting, pottery, or glass blowing class. Hike to a jaw-dropping view or throw a foodie crawl with friends. Spend a day walking around a museum, art gallery, newly-built library. Whatever will refuel your love for your destination, do it. You might even discover something new to enhance your tours and create a local bucket list.

When taking bookings over the phone, you can answer questions, offer reassurance, and talk up the experience. You can’t necessarily do that online, which is why the booking process needs to be as seamless as possible. You put in a lot of work to get traffic. It’d be a shame for something to get in the way when visitors are so close to booking. By knowing where people tend to change their minds, you can make small changes to boost your conversion rate by at least 5-10%. More bookings!

You can relieve a lot of guest anxiety with a simple message. By staying in touch with guests from booking to check-out, you show them that you care about every aspect of the experience and want to make sure they have all the information they need before arrival. Grab your copy of the free workbook at www.tourpreneur.com/challenge

On today's challenge, Checkfront's Kyla Steeves reveals some of her ninja tips for writing a FAQ page for your tour business. Not only is this an excellent resource for your customers, FAQ pages can also help with SEO. Grab the free workbook at www.tourpreneur.com/challenge

If you never find out what your guests actually think of your tours, you’ll never be able to provide the best experience possible. That’s why feedback is so beneficial. Your guests can tell you precisely what you’re doing right and wrong so that you know what to do more or less of. Sure, you can ask guests at the end of the tour, “did you have a good time?” Or peruse online reviews and mentions for tidbits of insight. But the most effective approach is to contact them directly. An intentional email can invite an honest opinion because no one else is around to listen or read. It’s just you and the guest.

On today's challenge we share tips on why and how you should work closer with local tour operators. Sometimes, the best partnerships in travel and tourism are right around the corner. Who else has the destination down pat? Like yourself, other local operators know the backroads, watering holes, hidden attractions, and reputable businesses — which means their guests also look to them for advice on where to eat, sleep, and what to do and see. Wouldn’t it be nice if they recommended your tours or activities as a must-book and vice versa? Plus, you never know what kind of brilliant ideas might ignite from a single conversation

Tips for handling positive reviews. You ripped off the band-aid yesterday. Now, it’s time to reward yourself by replying to your glowing, rave reviews! Thank everyone for their kind words, and let them know you’re thrilled to hear they had an amazing time. Blush all you want. You earned those compliments! While you’re doing this, be on the lookout for outstanding reviews that would make great testimonials. It’s perfectly okay to say, “thank you for the wonderful review, can I share this on my website?” Most people will be happy to help you out and get featured

Today we share how tour operators should deal with negative reviews. Oof, you might need a glass of wine for this one. Get comfy and dedicate a couple of hours to responding to recent negative reviews on every review platform. Go as far back as six months. Hopefully, it won’t be as scary as you think, and you can make a habit out of replying more promptly to online reviews in the future. Negative reviews can feel like the worst thing to happen to your tour company, but it’s important to remember that one’s opinion does not represent all. Every business encounters an unhappy customer from time to time. It’s how you respond that keeps your reputation intact. While you may want to ignore complaints altogether, the best thing you can do is address them head-on. In doing so, you not only let the reviewer know you care about guest satisfaction but also thousands of others who may check your reviews to decide whether or not to book.

Hopefully, this one is quick and easy for you today! Take a look at all of your social media profiles, and see what’s missing or out of date. Improve your bio by highlighting your unique selling proposition (USP). Update your cover image with a recent photo or promo video. Pin your best content at the top of your Facebook page, or add Instagram Story Highlights with on-brand cover icons. And finally, make sure your name, address, and phone number are still correct.

On today's Tourpreneur, content marketing expert Kyla Steeves shares her tips on Instagram for tour operators. Engagement feeds engagement. By initiating interactions on Instagram, you can get your brand noticed while showing off a bit of personality. Most Instagrammers are flattered when a brand compliments them. So, the more you engage, the more visibility and followers you’ll gain Join the challenge at www.tourpreneur.com/challenge

On Day 5 of the 30 Day Tour Operator Things to Do Challenge, we are joined by Checkfront's Director of Marketing, Angela Heald who shares benefits of going live with a selfie video as well as tips on how and what to record. Everything’s always about your tours, not enough about you — the person who created the tours in the first place. So, don’t be shy and say hello to your Facebook or Instagram community with a live video. Share a little bit about yourself, and watch all of the floating emojis come through!

On Day 4 of the 30 Day Tour Operator Things to Do Challenge, we are joined by Checkfront's Director of Marketing, Angela Heald and we are talking all about Treating Your Tour Guides. Genuine employee recognition goes a long way. One simple act of appreciation can make your tour guides feel valued, boost their confidence and motivation, give them a reason to go the extra mile and keep them coming back season after season.

On Day 3 of the 30 Day Tour Operator Things to Do Challenge, we are joined by Checkfront's Director of Marketing, Angela Heald and we are talking all about researching and maybe trying a new OTA. You’ve heard the saying, “don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.” Well, all too often, operators rely solely on the global brand names, like TripAdvisor, to “bring home the bacon,” even though there are plenty of new OTAs popping up everywhere that could also complement your distribution strategy. Who knows what opportunities you’re missing elsewhere? With another OTA, you might get more visibility, optimal real estate, a lower commission rate, and a better match for your target audience and niche. Wouldn’t you rather find out than be left wondering? W

On Day 2 of the 30 Day Tour Operator Things to Do Challenge, we are joined by Ryan Lainchbury of Checkfront's technical support team and we are talking all about how to automate your daily tour operator tasks. Grab your workbook at www.tourpreneur.com/challenge

I know many of us have been suffering overwhelm, what with all the webinars, online courses, virtual events, summits, podcasts, etc etc So now is time to put some of what we have learned into action. Starting today with our friends at Checkfront we are running a 30-day things to do tour operator challenge. Tourpreneur will be releasing a short daily episode during each day of November to discuss that day's challenge. 'We understand that life is busy, and sometimes what you intend to do never gets done. That’s why we created a 30-day challenge with small but practical tasks you can feel good about crossing off your to-do list in a few hours or less.' This is open to all tour operators and not just for Checkfront customers. (You can also complete the 30 days at a month of your choosing, should November not work for you.'

Next week I will be attending the virtual event Arival 360. In this bonus episode I share with you the 15 sessions I am most excited to attend.

Rob Dowling of Game of Thrones Tours shares why he chose Checkfront as his booking system on Meet the Res tech.Julianne, Rob, and Emilie join me today to discuss Res Tech for tour operators. Rob shares why he chose Checkfront as his booking system and reveals the one thing he wishes Restechs would offer. Julianne discusses the website integration options of Checkfront and the pricing models and coronavirus support users can expect from the company. We also discuss Checkfront’s multi-language support, reports, and inventory sharing and management.

Oskar Bruening, the CTO of Peek Pro, and Michelle of Miami Tour Company, and Emilie of Cyclo Services join us today to discuss tour booking software from the perspectives of the booking systems developer, tour operator, and prospective client.Oskar shares how Peek Pro differs from other reservation software. Michelle highlights the Peek Pro features she loves, and how by switching to Peek Pro, her tour business increased its online sales by 30%

Tour operator Lauren Shannon joins us today to share the surprising benefits of launching virtual experiences in response to the coronavirus pandemic. She shares how virtual tours can be a tool to build connections and reveals how virtual could become the new travel planning tool. We discuss the benefits of producing virtual tours, including their use in marketing. Lauren shares the methodology behind creating an online experience and how to drive engagement and overcome the obstacles you might encounter. She also reveals what it is like to become an online personality and highlights the importance of sharing your knowledge and giving back to the industry.

We continue to follow Morgan's journey on the Tour Operator Startup.   Morgan shares how things are going for her tour operation startup since her previous appearance on the show. She shares how her first tour went and the results of target marketing using Facebook Ads, radiuses, and demographics. We discuss testing and adapting tour narratives using feedback and reviews and discuss ways of getting local media attention. Morgan also shares her experience with the FareHarbor booking system and the value of her business training with TripSchool.

Choosing a tour operator booking platform is one of the most important decisions we will make for our tour business. We are spoilt for choice with over 160 booking platforms offering services to tours, attractions, and activities. We decided to create the Meet the Res tech series. These conversations are unique in that you will be able to listen to a res tech, a res tech customer, and a tour operator who is in the market for a new tour operator booking platform. You will hear an authentic conversation and is about as far away from a sales pitch as you can get. We don't do the keynote, conference format exec pitch here at Tourpreneur, our goal is to deliver you a genuine conversation full of value. We hope you enjoy it!

We run the rule over 3 Tour Operator websites with suggestions on how to improve copy in our first ever copywriting for tour operators clinic. Veteran digital marketer Dorene Wharton joins us today to share her advice on copywriting for tour operators. We discuss creating concepts to keep your visitors reading and ultimately choose your tour. We offered listeners the chance to have their tour copy evaluated by Dorene and Shane. We selected three very different tour operators who volunteered and on this episode, you can hear/watch us provide constructive feedback. There are plenty of lessons, tips, and advice or all tour operators. We share the methods and strategies that create an aspirational and ‘ready to book’ mindset. We discuss when copy is too much and the areas where you should reduce the amount of detail. We share ways to optimize your homepage by focusing on decision factors and unique selling points. We also share how you can convince and persuade your target audience - even if you don’t have a lot of PR - and discuss why your copywriting and SEO strategies need to work hand-in-hand. This week on Tourpreneur, the podcast for tour operators: Why you should focus on behavior as target audiences change due to travel restrictions Using insights to create a tagline to grab attention and explain what you are all about Positioning your COVID-19 updates, information, calls to action, and reviews Adding clarity and being direct by avoiding the passive voice What 'stops' are and why you should limit their number What you should include on your about us page and establishing a personal connection How to encourage newsletter subscriptions Using photos, videos, and small, bold paragraphs to maximize effect Organizing your homepage hierarchy and structure to maximize opportunities How to make your copywriting and SEO work together Our Favorite Quotes: “Focus on behaviors. Just because Americans aren't traveling, that doesn't mean that someone from Germany, who might be able to travel, doesn't have the same views and opinions of various tours.” - Dorene Wharton “When you are direct and straight to the point, it just has more impact, and it's a little more punchier.” - Dorene Wharton “Choose the things that are the most interesting and go into more details in the details section.” - Dorene Wharton "The higher the price, the more copy or images are needed." - Shane Whaley

On our Tourpreneur Facebook Group recently, a regular listener asked the following question. Tourpreneurs, help! How do you cope with decision fatigue and/or burnout, especially if you're a one-person show? I can feel it big-time right now and it's really affecting my ability to get things done, plan, and make decisions. 6 months ago today, we went into complete lockdown and I feel like I've lived in a pressure cooker since then. Some people thrive on uncertainty and pressure, but that is not me. Tell me about your (healthy) coping mechanisms! What works for you to help you keep a clear head? Shane reads out how our members responded and shares his own tips on how to beat fatigue and burnout.

Midgi Moore joins me today to share the story behind Juneau Food Tours. She shares how to build relationships with restaurants and get them added to your food tour. She discusses the essential elements of a successful tour, how to create value and price your tour, and how to build your tour brand. Midgi discusses the advantages of working with travel agents, sustainability within tourism, and why she changed booking platforms. Midgi also shares how she vets tour guides, how her company is surviving the COVID-19 pandemic, and her top three tips for growing your tour business.

in this series, we follow a tour operator on their journey from start to, well, we don't know where. We hope it is to success, but you're going to have to listen in each month to find out what happens. Today we feature Morgan Cantrell of HistoryWellTravelled.com. Let me introduce you to Morgan. She started her walking tour business just as the pandemic hit. Morgan shares why her dream is to build her own tour business. We also discuss some of the growing pains, she's experienced so far in starting her own tour business.We won't be sugarcoating anything during these chats, you know me well enough over the past 113 episodes that I'm all about authentic and genuine conversations. We will discuss Morgan's' wins and her losses. I know you're going to be thrilled when you hear Morgan share with us what it was like the day she picked up her phone and read that she had her first bookings.So today's episode is Morgan's tour operator start-up story. We will check in with Morgan monthly to discuss her wins and her challenges building her tour business.I'm excited. Strap yourself in. Let's go.This week on Tourpreneur: What inspired Morgan to start a tour businessDeveloping a brand name, website domain, and logoHow Morgan went about designing her first historic Carrollton walking tourMorgan's determination to create a tour in a market were none existHow to research and build a website with a WordPress themeHow Morgan is marketing her business in her town through Facebook targeted adsCreating awareness and experimenting with Facebook ads, including images, demographics, and keyword pluginsWhy Morgan chose FareHarbor software to streamline bookings, payments, and data analysisThe emotions and excitement Morgan felt taking her first bookingMorgan's biggest frustrations on starting a tour business and how she motivates herself

Arival, the event for the tours, activities, experiences and attractions industry has officially announced that the Arival Phoenix event is canceled. We talk with co-founder Bruce Rosard to learn what this means for those who have registered for the Phoenix event as well as what is next for Arival as it goes virtual.

This week I was honored to be one of four judges at the first ever online tour guide throwdown hosted by Redeam. The event was a resounding success, well done Redeam and on this episode of What I Learned This Week I share with you why I admire tour guides even more following the event. I share with you how I combated groupthink and how refreshing it was to spend two hours enjoying a virtual event that was positive and fun.Check out the Tour Guide Throwdown Winners here.In this episode, I reveal some of the trends I am seeing on our listener's survey and discuss new features I am scoping out for future episodes of the Tourpreneur Podcast.I also invite a tour operator who is potentially looking for a new booking platform to join me for sessions with tour operator booking platforms on our brand new Meet the Res Tech series. I can be emailed at [email protected]

What's it really like to work with GetYourGuide for tour operators? Carlee and Marc join me today to discuss the relationship between OTA GetYourGuide and tour operators. Marc shares how GetYourGuide extended the reach of his tour business, giving him access to new international customers, and discusses how cooperation with GetYourGuide has improved his business growth.

Ralph joins me today to share the story behind PhotoEnrichment Adventures and how he decided to switch from being a restaurateur to a tour organizer. He discusses his most popular tours and how he puts them together with local tour operators, creating a product that has seen a 42% repeat customer rate. He discusses the difference between PhotoEnrichment Adventures and Alla Campagna and how his business responds and adapts to the coronavirus crisis. Ralph also discusses the marketing tools and apps he uses and his strategies for building client-relationships and pricing.

Tour operator Dov Selby joins us today to share the story behind Berlin Food Tour Fork and Walk Tours. He discusses the hurdles that he faced to become a tourpreneur and to start his own Berlin Food Tour business. He shares how Fork and Walk Tours in Berlin and Munich create interest around its products and the roles of OTAs, organic marketing, and paid advertising. Dov reveals how he builds relationships with local business and tour guides and highlights why it is vital to create a team that is passionate about your business. Dov also discusses how his new website captures sales from the corporate market and his mindset on finding the right work/life balance.