What makes a great tour guide

What is the most important quality to look for when hiring a new guide? Beyond a deep understanding of local history, culture and heritage, there’s another level of expertise that’s often overlooked. While it’s important for them to be knowledgeable, a purely academic approach can sometimes overshadow the human connection.

So what makes the ideal guide? It’s not about possessing an innate, exceptional talent, but rather a flair for engaging storytelling. The perfect guides strike a balance between factual accuracy, humor and relatable stories that leave a lasting impression on their audience.

Identifying these traits in candidates isn’t as difficult as you might think. They’re the ones who engage you with a warm smile, effortlessly strike up off-the-cuff conversations, and exude a distinct personal touch from the get-go.

So where do we find these dynamic, opportunity-seeking tour guides? Read on, and we’ll show you.

Top platforms for finding tour guides

Looking for experienced tour guides? The first step is to identify your needs. Are you looking for someone with a knack for classic city tours, adventure-packed local escapades, artsy explorations, or perhaps bus tours? With a clear vision, dive into these platforms to narrow down your search:

Viator

At the top of our list, and for good reason, is Viator. Dominating the world of tours and experiences, Viator is your global hub for discovering expert guides, whether for iconic landmarks or hidden gems. If you’re looking to hire talent, you’ll find guides for both full-time and freelance opportunities.

Indeed

Widely regarded as the world’s leading job board, Indeed is teeming with potential candidates every month. Share your job posting here and watch it blossom in the eyes of a vast pool of candidates. And for those on a budget, here’s a perk – it’s free!

LinkedIn

If your business hasn’t staked its claim on LinkedIn, it’s high time you did. Beyond networking, it’s your gateway to sharing company milestones and job openings. Extend your reach with sponsored posts tailored to your desired demographic to ensure you capture the best of the best.

Monster

An old mainstay in the recruitment arena, Monster has been connecting job seekers and employers for more than two decades. With the Monster Studios feature, you can add video to your job postings to make them stand out and resonate with potential candidates.

Glassdoor

Tap into one of the most expansive career ecosystems with Glassdoor. Visited by a legion of job seekers every month, it’s not just a hiring platform, it’s a branding powerhouse. With the Glassdoor Employer Center, you can curate your company’s image and influence the perceptions of both current employees and hopeful candidates.

Create your job ad/brief

Want to attract top-notch, enthusiastic tour guides? Start with a job description that resonates. Put yourself in your dream candidate’s shoes: what would make this description irresistible to them? A magnetic job posting not only lays out the essentials, it offers a vivid glimpse into your company’s culture and ethos. Dive deep into the unique facets of your business, highlighting the atmosphere and camaraderie rather than just listing dry expectations. And, of course, don’t be afraid to showcase the benefits and perks – they’re the icing on the cake that can seal the deal for many applicants.

Shortlist candidates

Navigating a flood of applications can feel overwhelming, especially when they come in unexpectedly fast. It’s impractical to interview everyone, so it’s important to focus on the standout resumes. The key is to focus on the candidates who show potential, perhaps through inventive approaches or distinctive self-presentation.

While expertise in fields such as history, gastronomy, or art is valuable, don’t rely solely on a candidate’s credentials and past experience, as they won’t always ensure the right fit. We recommend casting a wider net when interviewing and considering people with different strengths and passions. Typically, face-to-face interactions are particularly effective in uncovering those intrinsic qualities and talents we highlighted earlier.

Interviewing

Interviewing candidates is often the highlight of the hiring process: it’s an opportunity to dig deeper and discover the unique flair they would bring to your tours.

For roles with direct customer interaction, a panel interview is a smart choice. In this setup, candidates answer questions from a hiring team, which allows for diverse perspectives from within your organization and promotes a balanced hiring decision. It also provides insight into how candidates interact with groups, a skill that is central to their role.

Assessment

The best way to know if a guide is a good fit for your tour company is to see them in their element. Consider hosting a trial day or even joining one of their tours to get a first-hand look at their skills.

Feedback from your clients or colleagues will be invaluable in this process. Their reactions will help you determine if you’ve found the right person or if you should continue your research.

Onboarding and training

Hiring a guide is just the beginning. No matter how qualified they are, integrating them into your organization is critical to their success. We suggest the following approach:

• Start their journey with thorough training on your company’s operations, values, and the roles of the broader team.
• Highlight any specific responsibilities they’ll need to manage.
• Provide them with all the insight and context they need to not only excel in their role, but also to understand how they fit into the larger business landscape.

Conclusion

Finding the right guide requires a delicate blend of strategy, intuition, and due diligence. As the front line, they have the power to elevate your brand, foster meaningful connections and cultivate memorable experiences for your clients. Remember, in a field where the personal touch is paramount, it’s not just about qualifications, it’s about passion, empathy and the ability to weave stories that linger in the minds of travelers. And throughout the process, from sourcing to onboarding, it’s important to keep the big picture in mind and develop not just an employee, but a brand ambassador. Armed with our suggestions, you’ll be ready to attract the kind of talent that can take your business to new heights. Happy hunting!

The post How to Find and Hire the Best Tour Guides appeared first on Regiondo.

This is why here we include not only great applications but also a framework to use them with. In fact, the tools listed below are carefully selected to fit the system and not the other way around. And by “carefully”, we mean they’re fast, easy to use, and cost you nothing.

By the time you finish reading, you’ll have both the tools and framework for getting organized and doing more in less time – for free.

Ready? Let’s go.

1. Capture notes in Evernote

Evernote lets you capture and edit any piece of content on any device. Take notes, snap photos, clip web pages, record audio, and even handwrite on your phone screen.

Evernote has the power to become a central hub for all your thoughts, ideas, references, and everything else you want to remember. Synced across devices and available anywhere.

To make the best use of Evernote, it’s important to develop a habit out of capturing and reviewing your notes. The idea is to have a secure system you trust 100%. Capture everything you want to remember, knowing that you’ll review it later – weekly or even daily.

2. Track your work in TickTick

TickTick is a great place to track your to-dos and reminders. So if you took a note in Evernote that has a related action, it should go in TickTick.

It offers a great way to keep track of pending tasks and review things you’ve completed. When all your to-dos are in one place and outside of your head, you get much more peace of mind.

TickTick gives you access to many filters, sorting options, labels, and folders but you can also use it in a simple way. Just add a to-do and attach a due date. In the morning, open the app and you’ll see everything that’s on your agenda for the day.

3. Schedule on Google Calendar

There are many great calendar options out there. But when it comes to free, simple, and functional, Google’s own calendar app is the way to go.

If you want to stay on top of your schedule, it’s crucial to have a reliable service that also syncs across devices.

One tip is blocking time on your calendar ONLY for events that must happen on a given date and time. To get the best of all worlds, it’s good to keep your references in Evernote, tasks in TickTick, and events in Google Calendar.

4. Manage projects with Trello

Trello is a great tool to manage both personal and work projects. It uses a kanban-style layout with virtual boards, lists, and cards.

Because it’s so visual, Trello is great for keeping track of your high-level priorities and goals. While dedicated task managers like TickTick let you track individual tasks, Trello can remind you of the bigger picture.

You can kick off your Trello usage with boards for current projects, skills you want to learn, and places you’d like to visit.

5. Focus with Noisli

Noisli is one of those apps that just make you smile. It’s a free mobile app and Chrome extension that plays natural sounds like flowing rivers and sea waves to help you focus.

The web version has an added bonus – a clear and simple text editor where you can write uninterrupted. It even has special background colors that are scientifically proven to increase concentration.

Once you get in the habit of using Noisli, it literally rewires your brain to focus on the task at hand whenever you hear your favorite sounds. Productivity heaven.

6. Track time in Toggl

Tracking time is one of the hacks that instantly boosts productivity. In fact, research has shown that starting the clock when doing a task improves performance invariably when compared to doing it ad-hoc.

Toggl is probably the easiest way to track how you spend your time. Its desktop app is elegant and non-intrusive, letting you start and stop the time with a single click. The best part? You get detailed reports along with diagrams of everything you’ve tracked so you can see where your time is going and how to manage it better.

7. Control your internet usage with RescueTime

While apps like Toggl help you track time manually, it’s often difficult to start and stop a timer for every little thing you do. This is where RescueTime comes into play.

It automatically tracks your usage in the background, like time spent on productive vs distracting sites. This includes both mobile and web usage.

At the end of the week, you get a report that includes your “productivity score”. It also includes a breakdown of your top activities and productivity targets.

8. Google Drive – the ultimate workspace

It’s easy to get carried away with keeping track of what and when you need to do. But to be productive, you actually need to get stuff done.

With cloud technology, it’s now fast and secure to do all your work online – automatically saved and synced across your devices. For this, Google Drives offers the most storage for free out of all major data storage providers.

With Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides included, you can do almost any mental task. This could be crunching numbers, creating a presentation or writing your business plan. You name it, Google Drive can help you do it.

9. Store your passwords in LastPass

With so many online services comes a great deal of usernames and passwords you need to remember. So much that anyone can get overwhelmed when trying to find the right password for the right service.

Sure, you can stick to one password for everything but that’s not the most secure thing to do with all the cyber threats around. LastPass automatically encrypts and stores your login details for various sites so you can rest assured things are kept safe.

It will automatically find your username and password whenever you visit a site that’s been added to your Vault (your LastPass storage). The only thing to remember is your master password for the service and you’re good to go on both web and mobile.

Conclusion

That was the list of our suggestions for capturing your thoughts, planning your work, and executing it with confidence. We hope there was at least one tool that you’d try and improve your work in the long run.

You might also like:

• 13 Online Tools Every Tour Operator Should Know About
• 12 Free Marketing Tools To Boost Your Online Sales
• 10 Things to Consider When Choosing an Online Booking System

The post 9 Free Apps To Boost Your Personal Productivity appeared first on Regiondo.

However, you’re in luck. We’ve put together a list of 10 Tips for Productivity (that are quick to implement) to help you to be more productive and increase sales for your business.

Let’s get to it.

1. Manage Your Time Wisely

The first step to being productive is managing your time wisely. It is a vital step for all businesses, from start-ups to tour operators. There are so many moving pieces to your business that if you do not manage your time well, by focusing on what is important and what is not urgent, you could easily lose your grip on the company.

You may be tempted to give attention to things that are pressing, but not necessarily important. That is normal. But that is also how important things get compromised. So start every week by managing your time well and create a list of important things that need to get done that week and the not-so-important things that could get done later, and focus accordingly.

2. Focus on the Benefits of Your Product/Service

You should always focus on being unique and listen to your customers. Your customers are the reason why you exist so you should always look out for them in order to improve. One of the ways you can do that is to ask them to write a review of your product or service. They will feel happy that you care about their opinion and in exchange, you will get valuable information on new business ideas and plans.

One way to collect reviews is through TripAdvisor. Make sure to read our guide about TripAdvisor’s Review Express in order to automate your review process.

This tip is particularly essential since you’re in the service industry.

3. Use Social Media

It is essential for you to use social media on a daily basis as part of your sales process. It is the place where you can reach people of all age groups. It is also where groups of people (from all backgrounds) congregate to talk about travel products and services. Furthermore, they share their experiences and preferences on various platforms.

You can encourage those people to follow you and talk about you by creating relevant and engaging content. You can create a variety of posts (pictures, videos, questions, and statuses) to get them to use or recommend your products and services. Listen to their comments and feedback to help your business to become better.

In case you received negative customer reviews, here are ways to handle them properly.

4. Use an Online Booking Software

Selling your offers online is the best, most productive, convenient, and effective way to manage your tour operations business. You can simply and easily give your visitors the option of booking your products online via your webpage.

The additional advantage of doing this s that you can receive reservations 24/7. Your customers will also have a way to easily and safely book and pay for your products and services. It is a necessary part of having a good customer care policy.

5. Add a Complementary Offer

If you are having trouble increasing your revenue per customer, adding a complementary offer to the service or the experience is the simplest and easiest way to go. For example, if you sell tours, you can offer dinner or lunch options to go with the tours. You could also offer additional equipment for activity tours such as actions cameras or helmets.

In order to do this effectively, you need to know exactly what your customers want. For example, if you offer night time romantic horse carriage tours around the city, perhaps you could offer some wine and tapas before the tour to make the experience more romantic.

Before you get started, make sure that your software enables you to add and manage complementary and special offers.

Regiondo helps you to create complementary offers – make sure to check out our Merchandising Feature!

6. Collaborate

As a tour operator in the EU, you are likely trying to cater to a large and growing market. That being said, you may also be constrained by a lack of resources. It is thus essential that you micromanage your finances and maximize collaboration opportunities to become more profitable, quicker.

You can use complementary sales partnerships or shared services to lessen the strain on your business. Let’s say that you’re offering a city tour. You can collaborate with restaurants or businesses to provide value-added services so you don’t have to pay out of pocket for them.

7. Combine Different Travel Products

Why? Because you should always try to create unique experiences. Combining different travel products to create a unique package will pay off nicely and save you time and effort in attracting customers – because customers naturally gravitate towards unique products and services.

For example, you can create a package that offers a better price by selling flights, accommodation, and activities together, in a single package. This can help both you and your customers. We summarized the experience tourism trend and its effects on the leisure industry in this blog post.

8. Innovate But Don’t Sacrifice Productivity

Innovation and productivity are mutually beneficial relationships. You may be caught up trying to innovate so fast that you overlook important management aspects like profits, productivity, and systems processes.

You simply cannot make the excuse that you are not productive because you’re too busy trying to be innovative. Higher productivity usually means better use of limited resources. So innovation and productivity should go hand in hand in your business. In order to become more productive, you could use tools like Google Analytics. In case you are not experienced with this, we created a short manual for beginners.

9. Plan for Productivity

We already covered the importance of managing your time. However, planning for productivity is different.

If you have 8-10 work hours a day, you should plan your work in a way that will allow you to complete your work in 60 percent of that time. 20 percent of your time should go towards allocating and delegating repeatable work. The other 40 percent should go towards untimely problems that arise daily.

Furthermore, completing 100 percent of your planned work in 60 percent of your time also sets a good example to your co-workers on the importance of efficient planning.

10. Write Everything Down

Do you ever have days when you feel like you’re both really busy and not getting anything done? It’s quite common – we can all raise our hands to that. The reason for that is likely because you are stuck on tasks that you can’t address at the moment.

Perhaps you need to talk to someone who is not currently available? Maybe you need to do more research? Instead of thinking about the task, that seems to be beyond your control at the given moment, just write it down.

If you write down the things you’re stuck on or worries that are distracting you, they won’t have to spend entire days or weeks running around in your head.

Conclusion

There is no single productivity system that works for everyone. You need to simply pick out your biggest challenges and try to address those by implementing different tips and tricks. These ten tips cover a range of tactics and strategies that can help you create a balanced plan to be more productive and profitable in your business.

You might also like:

• How to Market a Tour Company for Free: 7 Big Platforms You Should be on
• 10 Ways to Promote Your Tours for Maximum Sales
• 8 Underestimated Tactics for Successful Tour Marketing
• Marketing Mix for Tour and Activity Operators

The post 10 Ways to Be More Productive and Increase Sales as a Tour Operator appeared first on Regiondo.