Tourpreneur Tour Business Podcast

Patrick joins me today to share how content plays a crucial role in your tour business. We discuss whether you should build your business foundations before starting a podcast and reveal the strategies that will attract media attention. Patrick shares the pros and cons of Instagram Reels and Amazon Explore and how to attract an audience from Facebook. Patrick also shares how BE NY adjusted to the...

RocketRez's Joe Robinson and Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours' Kim Wark join us today to share the story of RocketRez and describe what the RocketRez experience is like from the tour and attraction’s operator point of view. Joe reveals the benefits of using an all-in-one booking, inventory, and sales solution. He highlights the onboarding experience for clients and shares how the pricing model works. Kim...

Marc Moscato joins us today to share the story behind Buffalo Bike Tours. He reveals what it is really like to run a company in a smaller market that has been struggling for many years but is now seeing revitalization and pockets of growth. We discuss his experience of starting a nonprofit organization and the benefits and drawbacks of running nonprofit and for-profit models. He also reveals the O...

“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...

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...

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...

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 creat...

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 descr...

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 yo...

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 busin...

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, h...

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 che...

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 ha...

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 th...

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...

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...

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, yo...