That's a wrap on SheTalks 2021!

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Peek gathered some of the industry’s best and brightest to help give valuable insights for your business for the upcoming season and beyond!

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Big thanks to all of the speakers and to those who joined us live for the discussions. SheTalks 2021 is now over, but don’t worry! You can access the recordings of all talks right here.

Marica Mackenroth Brewster

CEO & Founder, Von Mack Agency

Mapping Your Own Path to Recovery: Where to Focus Your Marketing Attention Right Now

Nikki Padilla

Tour Guide Educator & Advocate, TripKinetics

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Tour Operator Roundtable

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Carolina Eiris Molloy, CFO & Co-Founder, Adventure Sports Innovation; Avital Ungar, Owner, Avital Food Tours; Filipa Loulé, CEO & Founder, Portuguese for a Day Tours; Lee Ranking & Tiffany Breindel, Owner & Farm Manager, Apple Hill Farms; Angalina Salls, Manager, Alvin's Offroad Playground; Linda Denbrock, Business Development, Peek Pro

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See you next year for SheTalks 2022!

What is Google My Business?‍

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Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool from Google to help small businesses manage their online presence and get direct bookings. Your GMB page will appear as on the side of a Google search related to your business, helping to provide more information, reviews and a direct route to booking your activities.

Given the rollercoaster that has been 2020, customers are more likely than ever to check out your business on Google before showing up in person. Take this opportunity to jazz up your GMB page, and give visitors a clear path to booking with you right away.

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‍Why is having a Google My Business account important?

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‍GMB is extremely important for driving online traffic to your business - you’re more likely to come up in a search if you have an optimized GMB page. Google presents its own top three selected businesses at the top of a Google search before the actual search results. Keep reading to find out how to get in that top three.

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How can I appear higher up in the listings?

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It’s all about optimization. Follow the steps below to help verify your business and increase your chances of appearing higher up in the listings. The more information Google can verify about your business, the higher your business will rank in their listings.

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Our amazing partners Namaste in Nature and French Quarter Phantoms have done an excellent job of optimizing their GMB accounts - keep your eye out for some awesome examples throughout this blog!

1. Claim your business

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If you haven't already, search your business and check whether it appears on Google. Someone else may have uploaded your business to Google maps, but only you can claim the account.

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Click on ‘Claim my Business’ - this will trigger Google to send you a postcard in the post to verify that you are the business owner and you have access to the business location.

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Once this has been approved, you’ll have full access to your account and can begin to optimize. Find more details on claiming your business here.

2. Ensure consistency with your Name, Address and Phone Number (NAP)

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One of the main ways Google verifies your business is through citations - every time your business is mentioned on the internet. This usually consists of your business name, address and phone number, or “NAP”.

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Google will find every instance your business is mentioned on the internet and check whether the name, address and phone number attached are exactly the same. Any differences or discrepancies will cause Google to doubt the validity of your business.

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‍What does a consistent NAP look like?

• All components are ALWAYS written in exactly the same format
• This includes any shortenings such as ‘rd’ for ‘road’ or ‘hwy’ for ‘highway’, so make sure to use the full written address
• Make sure the same phone number is included and always include the country code

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How can I make sure my NAP is always consistent?

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‍You can do an audit of every citation of your business on the internet, filter out inconsistent cases, and create more credible entries. Here’s how:

• Head to www.moz.om/local/search
• Type in your business name
• It will find all the citations out there and will give you a score
• Go to any incomplete entries and correct them - e.g. Facebook is missing photos, TripAdvisor is missing a missing phone number, Yelp has your address listed in a different format (CA instead of California)
• Clean up your existing citations and look for new citation opportunities

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This is the most important information for Google, so make sure it’s available in as many places as possible.

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‍Where should I include my NAP?

• Include your NAP in the footer of every page on your website
• Create a short organic video on youtube of you introducing your business and make the title your NAP
• Embed this video on your website homepage - Google owns YouTube so this is a great way to help verify your business information
• Embed your Google Maps listing on your homepage and label the link ‘Get Directions Here’ - this will show Google that your business is where you say it is
• Link your strongest citations on your homepage, such as Facebook, TripAdvisor and Yelp

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If you want to find out more about optimizing your citations, check out this YouTube tutorial.

3. Fill out all of your business information

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The more complete your account is, the more likely it will appear higher in Google’s rankings. Google gives you 750 words to describe your business - try to use as many as possible and include all necessary info. The first 250 words will show up first - so make the beginning count.

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‍What should I include in my business description?

• Explain fully what you offer as a business so that it’s super clear for customers
• Provide all the information a customer would need to book with you straight away
• Use key words and phrases that refer to what you offer to further verify your business; e.g. if you are a rafting business, use ‘white water adventure in Pucon’ or ‘gnarliest rivers in Chile’

Categories

• Fill out your business category as specifically as possible: This will help you appear in discovery searches and help Google recognize your business
• Make sure to fill out all five of the category options to provide as many opportunities as possible for your company to be found in a relevant search

Business Hours

• Similar to your NAP, the format of your schedule should be the same on your website, on your GMB page and anywhere else that it appears on the internet
• Update these as much as possible, especially for public holidays or any closures that you may have. This helps verify the information on your website and boosts Google’s confidence in your business

Attributes, Products & Services

• Including more specific information about services you provide will help you appear in more relevant searches and boost your ranking. Some examples could be: wheelchair access, bicycles for rent, restroom, Wi-Fi (free / paid)
• Your GMB page looks more appealing if you list attributes and products because small green ticks are added under your business name, which can be subconsciously attractive to customers
• You can use this section to sell your individual products; Google displays your products with an attractive carousel that shows up on mobile devices. Here is a great example from our partner Namaste in Nature:

4. Link your Google Things to Do account to get direct bookings

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Google Things to Do allows for your activity to appear in front of the millions of people who use Google each day. By allowing this integration, customers will be able to find your activity when searching for a point of interest or attraction. Your tour or activity will show up directly on the Things to Do tab along with your business name and price.

While customers won't be able to book directly through Google, they will be able to compare prices and be directed to your site boosting your revenue through direct bookings and giving you greater visibility on Google.

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You can easily integrate your Peek.com account with Googe Things to Do through our Magpie - Google Things to Do. For more info about Google Things to Do and how to integrate your account, check out this Helpdesk article.

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If you’re a Peek Pro partner and want to know more about being listed on Peek.com, click here.

5. Geotag your top quality photos

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Images are some of the most engaging content out there, and are a super helpful way for customers to get to know your business. Include images of your office, the places you will take customers, and your team to help Google understand what your business offers. Post photos frequently, as this lets Google know your business is open and active.

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Make sure to always use original content - Google will know if you are uploading stock photos, and it will cast doubt over whether you are a real business or not.

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A great way of helping Google verify the location of your business is to ‘Geotag’ the photos you upload. This means adding a short line of code to the images to state their location.

How do I Geotag my images?

• Go to www.geoimgr.com
• Drag the image you want to ‘Geotag’ into the box
• It will tell you if there are any existing Geotags attached to your photo
• If you are using original photo content, it will likely say there are no Geotags attached to your photo
• If this is the case, go to the search bar and type in your business (if your business is brand new it may not come up, so you’ll have to type in your full address)
• Click on your business and it should populate the longitude and latitude of your address
• Fill out the ‘Image Description’: Use key words and the city you want to be found in
• Then click ‘Write EXIX Tags’  - this will add the tags to your photo
• Click ‘Download’ to download your image with the updated tags
• Upload the image to your GMB page

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TOP TIP: Do you already ask customers to tag you in photos on Instagram and Facebook? Then why not on your  Google account! You can allow other people to upload images to your account. This is great for keeping your feed fresh and reminding Google that your business is active. Just remember to monitor them and take down any that are inaccurate or bad quality.

6. Upload original video content to introduce you and your team

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Video is a hugely important medium for quick engagement and boosting booking conversions. But there are a few crucial pointers to be aware of:

• Google will remove any stock video or videos where the main subject is not related to the business location. So be sure to create some original content and feature your business location.
• Don’t overcomplicate - even some simple footage of your office and team members can go a long way in boosting customer and Google confidence.

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What format should my video take?

• 30 seconds long
• Up to 100 mgb
• 720px or higher

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TOP TIP: Include two or more videos - once you have more than one video on your GMB listing you’ll get a videos subtab, which allows your videos to show up on mobile devices.

7. Reply to your Google Reviews

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Google prioritizes bigger brands, and having lots of good quality review content is a big signal to Google that your business is popular. Reviews are also great for connecting with new customers and keeping old customers engaged.

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Aim to have at least five 5-star reviews as a starting point. The lack of star ratings is a stand-out differentiator and automatically makes you look worse than your competition.

How can I boost my review content on Google?

• Reply to every review. This keeps your customers interested, makes your business look trustworthy, and is a great opportunity to get more keywords onto your GMB page to boost your ranking.
• Address bad reviews by acknowledging the issue mentioned and suggesting a way to make it right. Leave a comment such as: ‘We are so sorry to hear that, please make yourself known to us and we will do what we can to make this right’.
• Use Peek Pro’s Smart Reviews feature to send a customized review request to every one of your customers, and use the Reviews Widget to showcase these reviews on your website and to link them to your GMB account. We have seen these features increase Google reviews for our partners 10-fold in less than 6 months! To find out how, head to this Helpdesk article.

8. Write your own questions in the Q&A section

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The Q&A section of your GMB is a great way to boost trust in your brand by showing visitors that you are engaging with customers and providing them with the information they need.

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Monitor the questions as closely as your reviews and always leave a response as quickly as possible. Other people are able to reply to these questions, so be sure to check they are providing the correct information.

You have the ability to upvote questions and this will make them more visible on your page as they will be listed near the top. If you see some particularly relevant questions, upvote them to highlight them.

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‍TOP TIP: Treat this section like your Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page on your website and add your own questions to this section. This is a great way to make sure customers have all the info they need and to show Google you are optimizing your account.

9. Treat your posts like you treat your social media

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‘Posts’ are great for grabbing people's attention. Use snazzy pictures and special offers to entice the viewer to read more.

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Just like your Instagram or Facebook pages, you should update these regularly to keep driving traffic - ideally every seven days. Every time you post, a positive ranking signal is sent to Google to help list you closer to the top of searches. Why not set a reminder to repost every week?

It is important to choose eye-catching images of good quality. The dimensions for the images should be 590 x 495 px.

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These posts can work like mini adverts - here are some ideas for how to use them to pull in new customers:

• Appeal to visitors seeing your business for the first time - offer a free glass of Champagne with the first tour you take
• If you are throwing a special event such as a children-only session or live music at your business, create an image with the date and time, and link to the booking widget
• Offering a new tour or activity? Take some awesome pictures of it and link to a testimonial
• Do you have a blog? Post every time you publish a new blog post

10. Link your mobile phone number to your GMB page

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Uploading a mobile phone number to the messaging section of your GMB page allows you to respond to customers in real-time. Visitors can send you a direct message that will come through straight to your phone and you can set up notifications to alert you about new questions, reviews or photos on your account.

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Instant response to customers is huge for boosting trust in your brand and makes you look brilliant to the customer.

• This doesn’t need to be the number in your NAP and you don’t need to worry about this number being displayed for everyone to see. Google sends the message through to this number so the customer will never actually get hold of it
• To set up alerts for updates to your GMB page, head to settings and tick “Customer Messages”. This will make sure you are on top of any changes that might happen on your GMB page
• You can also customize the message customers receive when they send you a text using this feature. Use this message to let the customer know:
• You have received your message
• You will reply soon
• Thank them for getting in touch

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Google has provided this Helpdesk article with a set-by-step guide to getting this set up.

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‍TOP TIP: Once you’ve got this feature set up, make sure it works by giving it a go yourself. Send yourself a message, make sure it comes through and check that you receive a response message.For more relevant updates and information for tour operators, check out our Resource Hub and sign up to receive email updates.

Peek gathered some of the industry’s best and brightest to help you supercharge your business this season! These industry experts delivered invaluable workshops on topics such as Facebook Ads, Google My Business Listings, Dynamic Pricing and SEO to help you drive more revenue for your company.

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To check out the recordings of these sessions, fill in the form below:

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[hubspot type=form portal=2585423 id=1ff5c631-9fe8-4967-b2b4-92ea30c3fe6c]

In his recent webinar, Josh Oakes of The Sunshine Tribe shared tons of actionable advice for rebooting your business using your local market - something that more and more operators are considering as international travel remains low.

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You can access the recording of the full webinar here.

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But if you don't have time to watch the whole session, don’t worry! We’ve summarized the key takeaways below.

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So how do you make your experiences interesting for locals?

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There can often be pessimism around creating tours for locals, with popular opinion being that locals don’t pay big money and they aren’t interested in what you're selling. But Josh doesn’t believe this to be the case - he’s confident locals will pay if you are solving a problem for them.

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Locals may not want to pay for the exact same tour you would sell to someone who’s never stepped foot in your area, but they may well be interested in an experience that has been created with them in mind.

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Designing for Locals

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With a little creative thinking, you may be able to tweak your existing activities in order to make them stand out in your local area and attract a new audience who are ready and willing to pay to have an awesome experience close to home.

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‍Here are Josh’s 6 steps to creating experiences designed to engage your local community:

1. How to find a market segment that needs what you're selling
2. Proving your concept via 'deep dive' research
3. Ironing out the creases - take your experience for a ride
4. Pricing 101 - do's and don'ts when pricing a locally geared experience
5. Copywriting best practices - how to get your messaging right
6. Marketing - paid ads, local SEO and keywords, online platforms & local collaborations

1. How to find a market segment that needs what you're selling

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What potential market segments could you serve? Start by carefully thinking through the types of locals that could be interested in your products.

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‍Some examples could be:

• Over 60s or retired folks who have been denied their yearly international vacation due to the pandemic
• Corporate businesses with Christmas parties and team building sessions to plan
• Families looking for ways to blow off steam after being cooped up inside
• Couples wanting a break from looking after the kids
• Groups looking to celebrate milestones that took place during lockdown
• Bachelor or Bachelorette events
• Local clubs, groups or societies

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It’s important to have a good idea of who your audience is so you can start to brainstorm what their interests are, and what problems they have that you could solve.

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‍Top Tip: Facebook is a great resource for this. Join tour operator groups and find out what's been working for other operators focused on the local market, what kind of customers they’re reaching, and what they’re selling. Examples: Tour Operators United or Tourpreneur for Tour Operators/Tour Professionals.

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Look at the options, go with your best hunch, and choose one.

2. Proving your concept via 'deep dive' research

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Once you have decided on your target market, take the time to really get to know them. Find out what they’re looking for and identify the challenges or frustrations they may have around vacations, travel, and leisure activities.

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‍A couple of ways you can do this:

• Talk to as many of them as possible. Identify people that fit the demographic and reach out to set up calls and meetings.
• Throw all the inquiries you’ve received from local visitors in the past into a spreadsheet and work your way through them to identify patterns.

What to go further with your research? Find out how these groups communicate with each other. Find local Facebook groups related to your chosen demographic, search their feeds for insights and pose questions such as:

• What kind of activity would you enjoy?
• What wouldn’t you enjoy?
• Have you done any local tours that you’ve loved?

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Josh chose corporate businesses as his segment and looked into Christmas parties and reward schemes. He drew up a target market list of 100 companies, and spent three months calling them to research what kinds of products they would be interested in.

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Talking to these people gave Josh permission to sell to them and get them excited about the product.

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‍Don’t forget! Avoid trying to get the answer you're looking for - approach it like you want to disprove your theories.

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‍T‍op Tip: Keep a record of the EXACT language your target market used when describing the products they were looking for. Then use these phrases in your marketing and promotion to really grab their attention.

3. Ironing out the creases - take your experience for a ride

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Once you’ve gathered all your insights and data, it’s important to spend some time formalizing your offerings and critiquing your ideas.

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Get expert opinions from people that matter - other local businesses, tourism representatives, DMOs, product development managers, OTAs, travel agents, or hotel concierges.

• Hold a trial run of your tours and invite the experts to get their feedback
• Be clear on your objective and how you want to get it - “I need your feedback by X date”.
• Make it sound fun and don’t focus too heavily on the research.
• Mention that you may need to follow up with a phone call.
• Let them suggest a good time slot - then if they say no, you know it’s because they aren’t interested.

4. Pricing 101 - do's and don'ts when pricing a locally geared experience

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You may have heard the phrase ‘locals won’t pay’. This is NOT true - people will pay if you are solving a problem for them. As long as you’ve created good experiences that specifically appeal to your target market and address their frustrations, they’ll be willing to pay.

• Don’t base your prices on the marketplace - you’re offering something new and the price of your product should be a reflection of its quality and value.
• Get the experience right first, then focus on the price.
• Segment, segment, segment! Targeting your audience in this way should help you get a good idea of what customers are prepared to pay.
• Test your prices - be sure to run them past some focus groups and reflect on the feedback.

5. Copywriting best practices - how to get your messaging right

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Base your messaging around your original research about your segments. Identify what they’re looking for in a product and how your product fixes the issues they were having with similar products in the past.

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‍An example from Josh’s research:

• Team-building activities - they wanted staff to feel appreciated and to be excited about attending the experience. They also had specific budget constraints.

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The messaging should differ from your previous campaigns because your target audience has changed. For international visitors you are likely to focus more on the destination, timings, and lots of description about the locations. But with corporate business clients, the focus is on convenience, efficiency, and pleasing the boss.

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Remember that with a local market, you’re solving different problems - so you need to adjust your messaging accordingly.

6. Marketing - paid ads, SEO and keywords, online platforms & local collaborations

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Paid Ads

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‍Now is a great time to run paid ads; many people are spending more time on social media, and most are itching for an accessible new adventure.

• Start with a small daily budget and see what sticks.
• Run your ads for a while on Facebook and Instagram; it takes time for them to learn about your business and who best to show your ads to. 10-14 days is usually a good starting point.
• Facebook is usually the best platform to start off with.

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Online Platforms

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‍Optimize your Google My Business account so customers can find out all they need to know at the click of a button. Remember to include clear information, photos, and options to book.

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‍Reviews

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‍Reviews are really important for getting customers to commit to purchasing your product. Ideally you should have at least 15 5-star reviews on your website. Why not reach out to past customers who never left a review to try and boost your numbers?

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‍Local Collaborations
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‍Work with other tour operators! If people are buying one type of activity in the area, chances are that they like new experiences - and may be interested in your product too. At this time, it’s crucial to collaborate.

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‍Top Tip: Check out Chris Torres’s online book - How to Turn your Online Lookers into Bookers. You can download it for free and it has brilliant insights about marketing to locals.

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With international travel potentially on hold for the foreseeable future, appealing to local markets is critical to boosting your business. Now is the time to capitalize on the widespread desire of folks to get out of the house and enjoy amazing local experiences in a safe and fun way!

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Want more details on the insights shared in this post? Check out the full session: Rebooting your Tour Business via the Local Market.

Who is Josh Oakes?

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Josh grew his local tour company to millions of dollars in annual revenue and sold it for $1m+ in June 2017. He has now founded the The Sunshine Tribe, which helps tour and activity operators across the globe build successful businesses and create awesome experiences.

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‍Local Market Recovery Program

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In this newly-launched program, Josh shares tons of insights into how to reposition your tours or activities to serve local customers, while international travel remains on hold.

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It's an uncomplicated, step-by-step system to get you selling your experiences to totally new customers within a month.

As parts of the world reopen and tour operators begin to resume business activity, it’s important to prepare your guests and staff for what’s to come. Enhanced hygiene and safety procedures, as well as social distancing measures, will be a top priority for guests.

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We invited travel & hygiene expert Jon Peahl, president of SanSee Systems, to join us for a discussion about how to reopen intelligently. From the best cleaning chemicals to use, to training your staff how to deal with suspected COVID customers, the discussion with Peek’s Erik Hormann was full of crucial information for tour operators as they consider how to reopen their doors. You can watch that webinar recording here. Below, we’ve provided a rundown of 10 key best practices for reopening your doors, to help you get set for success.

Website

• The most important thing you can do is let your customers know that you are open. This should be made obvious on the homepage of your website. Garibaldi Charters have got this spot on, using a large, clear banner on their website homepage.
• Include relevant info and links in a banner at the top of your homepage, such as local authority regulations and your policy or operational changes. Thomson Family Adventures are a great example of this, they have a button on their homepage which is ‘above the fold’.
• Create a FAQ page that includes relevant information regarding updated booking procedures; current business hours; contact information; and safety measures. For reference, take a look at Wild Frontiers' FAQ page.
• Call out policy changes and new protocols in your booking flows so guests know exactly what they can expect before booking

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Emails

• Email a checklist to anyone who books an experience with actions to help them practice social distancing on your tours. Ensure to include anything they may need to bring themselves, e.g. a mask, and let them know what the procedure will look like once they arrive.
• Be sure to update your automated confirmation and reminder emails with any changes or new protocols.
• Contact past customers with an email blast to let them know you are open for business and update them about how you are keeping your customers safe - this might get those who put off booking another experience reengaged.

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In Person

• Put up physical signage with operational & safety guidelines so customers know exactly what to do, to keep to your regulations.
• Encourage your customers to book on their phone rather than interacting with the front desk by creating a QR code and bit.ly linking directly to your booking flow, print it out, and post it visible for your customers to see.

Waivers

• The rules of the game have changed. Collaborate with your legal counsel and take a good look at the language of your waivers. Decide on a plan of action and be sure to address Covid-19 in the waiver to further protect your business.
• If you’re not sure where to start, find out how Disneyland is approaching liability language and protocols in this article.

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Use custom activity questions as disclaimers

• Many operators use custom questions to work as a checkbox disclaimer, agreeing to the terms of their experiences. Configure custom questions within the booking flow to require customer agreement to adhere to your new policies - this will give you a digital record of the agreement and help ensure that everyone follows new protocol correctly.
• In Peek Pro, you can choose whether these questions are put to the customer before or after making a purchase - meaning there’s no need to disrupt the booking flow or negatively impact conversions.

Allow customers to book a tour or activity without paying upfront

• By allowing a “card on file” option rather than upfront payment, customers won’t feel "on the hook" for a reservation during periods of uncertainty. If this is a feasible option for you in terms of cash flow, providing this payment option could help drive bookings and also protect your business from refunds and chargebacks.
• This option will be particularly helpful if we see a second wave of COVID-19, and you are forced to cancel future experiences.
• Alternatively, consider using deposits. You can set up your tickets to have a non-refundable deposit to save their spot and charge the remainder at the time of the tour.

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“No Show Clauses”

• One way to protect cash flow using “card on file” is to charge guests a custom amount if they don’t show up for a reservation. This will help you recoup lost revenue from no-shows and will also encourage customers to show up for their booked experience.

Limit group sizes

• As reopening restrictions may differ depending on your state/country, your company may face capacity limits based on state and federal regulations. Consider using pre-purchase ticket options to control group sizes.
• Within Peek Pro, you can do this using the Ticket Cap feature. Create preset limits on tickets for tours to ensure that all of your experiences adhere to local group gathering recommendations.
• Reference local authority restrictions on number of people allowed to gather and make this information available to your customers

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Restrict groups to family / household members only

• Reduce the risk of spreading infection wherever possible by offering private tours for families or groups who already live together. Check the ‘Private Tour’ checkbox when editing an activity in Peek Pro.
• Another tip to maximize spots on a tour safely is to use private booking flow links for customers to share with friends and family in their “bubble”. On Peek, you can do this using the ‘Invite Friends Link’ which can be found in the Customer Details section of your account.

Purchasing process online

• Encourage customers to book online before coming to your business, and make it easy for them to do so.
• Leave your online booking flow open right up until your activity takes place, allowing more time to secure digital bookings for those who want to book late.
• For in-person purchases, an easy way to keep transactions contactless is to use individual invoice links to process walk-in bookings. Send the link directly to the customer’s phone and have them pay “online” on the spot - this will avoid the customer having contact with your staff and your devices.

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Digital Check-ins

• Implement QR codes for contactless check-ins. Peek Pro’s iOS app allows you to scan the codes from your device on the move - cutting out the need for customers to enter the office.

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Digital Waivers

• Use digital waivers to eliminate the paperwork and process waivers contactlessly - this will also give you an easy-to-manage digital record of all of your customers’ waivers.
• Peek Pro’s waivers can be emailed out ahead of time, to avoid lines and limit unnecessary contact.
• For walk-ins, use an iPad to have customers sign digitally, reducing the need for staff interaction. This method also takes a photo of the customer as they sign, which can help you fight chargebacks.

Re-evaluate your cleaning schedules and practices

• Install sanitation gel and hygiene stations in high-traffic areas such as entrances and restrooms.
• Participate in contact tracing where possible; it’s recommended to reach out to your local authority to find out how best facilitate this.
• Test the temperatures of guests and staff through a protective barrier before allowing entry to buildings or closed spaces
• Mandate the use of masks and gloves for staff and guests - remember to handle masks only using the ear strings to maximize the functionality of the masks, and to dispose of or wash correctly and often.
• Implement strict sanitation procedures after each tour, and allow time in between to do so.
• Use barriers or strips of tape to create space between guests and staff, and mark appropriate standing distances.
• For further advice, have a read of these sanitizing tips produced by the CDC.

Availability Rules

• Adjust your tour schedule to allow for sufficient cleaning time between activities.
• Use Peek Pro’s Availability Rules feature to automate this process and automatically block out time when a certain tour is booked, saving you the hassle of organizing tour times manually.

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Rental Buffers

• Use Rental Buffer times to ensure you have enough time to deep clean equipment before it is taken out again. To find out how to set this up, head to the Duration section of this Helpdesk article.
• Where possible, leave 3 days between equipment use for added safety.

Obtain a safety certificate or complete a hygiene course

• Build trust with clients and boost customer confidence by showing them your business is operating safely. Third party certifications can create crucial external proof that you are operating responsibly, easing guests’ concerns.
• Display the certification on your website, in person and through your social media.
• Consider acquiring a safety certificate from SanSee, who specialize in tour and activity businesses. Jon Peahl has pulled together a team of experts, from microbiologists to layers, to determine a base level of safety for your experiences.

Store Credit

• Store credit is a great alternative to refunds - it ensures more money stays within your business, inspires brand loyalty and encourages customers to return in the future.
• You can also choose to easily offer additional credit to customers who have chosen to forgo a refund, to show customer appreciation.

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Batch store credit tool

• Peek Pro is soon announcing a new feature that will allow you to batch convert all bookings within a chosen date range to store credit.
• This will save you a ton of time and will help reduce the risk of refunds and chargebacks in case of another wave of COVID, or any future extenuating circumstances such as bad weather.

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Rescheduling

• Offer your customers extra flexibility by sending auto-reschedule links within confirmation emails, to allow them to self-reschedule if necessary.

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Cancellation insurance

• Give your customers the option to purchase cancellation insurance.
• This will help negate lost revenue if customers need to cancel, and will give your bottom line a little boost if they don’t. It also provides a reasonable consequence for cancelling a reservation, which should encourage customers to stick with their booking.
• You can include this option within your booking flow using Peek Pro’s Add-On feature.

Use photos and videos on your website

• Show your new safety practices in action, using photos and videos of recent tours to gain customers' confidence.
• For an example, have a look at Greyhound’s ‘Travel with Peace of Mind’. They have created videos clearly showing their new cleaning procedures and what customers should expect when they book with them.

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Display reviews

• Use Peek Pro's Reviews Widget to display recent top reviews of your tours - allowing customers to hear from previous guests all about how you have reopened safely.

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Extra Resources:

• General Industry Guidelines: Health & safety guidance from US Travel
• Protecting Your Staff: OSHA - Occupational Safety and Health Act
• Cleaning and disinfecting vehicles: CDC Guidelines for keeping your vehicles clean and COVID safe
• Reopening winery tasting rooms: Guidelines from the wine institute
• Considerations for Attractions and Amusement Parks: IAAPA Guidelines

As lockdown conditions persist across most of the world, virtual tours are proving a popular choice for those craving interactive experiences. But will this interest last? And is it worth it to invest in these products as restrictions start to lift within the next few months?

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Within the tour operator community, there has been much conversation around the opportunities that virtual solutions pose. Though it’s likely that interest for completely virtual tours won’t be too high for too long, many operators are confident that virtual content may help to shape and upgrade their current and future experiences, bringing more customers to their business.

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If you think virtual tours may be right for you, here is some key information to help you get set for success in the virtual world.

Are virtual tours a long term investment?

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It’s all well and good producing a product that could save you while customers are trapped inside - but when things are back to normal, will these products really be relevant? Yes! As with all products, they need to be done right - but if they create a meaningful experience, there will be a place for them in a post COVID world. Here’s why virtual tours can be a powerful asset for your business in the long term:

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1. They are a powerful marketing tool

• In a world of social proof, customers want as much info as possible about products before they commit to a purchase.
• Virtual tours can help give a much clearer idea of what customers can expect when buying your experience.
• 90% of users say that product videos are helpful in the decision process - consider the amount of times you’ve been tempted to visit somewhere after seeing a 1 minute video.

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2. They can help you engage with new customers

• Post them on your website home page to increase website conversions.
• Use the content on your social media channels to drive more traffic to your website.
• Did you know that companies with video content on their websites see 41% more web traffic than other businesses!

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3. They can boost your experiences and upgrade your products

• Cindi Richardson, founder and owner of French Quarter Phantoms, joined our Tour Operator Roundtable and shared how her tour company is successfully selling virtual products - and how she will use the content they are selling right now to upgrade her tours in the future.
• They have filmed their tour guides sharing unique stories or recipes that relate to the culture and history of the local area.
• Take a look at the recording for some more ideas: Tour Operator Roundtable #2: Recording

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4. They can help diversify your offering as a business

• Say you run kayak tours - you could launch a series of virtual kayaking classes. Run through the gear you recommend buying, tips and tricks of looking after and storing kayaks, and how to train your body to help you when you're on the water
• If you get a lot of international customers, why not develop some virtual language lessons to help them with the basics and engage with them before they do your tour, get them excited for their visit and raise awareness about your brand.
• Our partner Andrea Cheriechi, founder of Taste in Bologna, normally operates food walking tours. With the current situation in Italy he is now looking into virtual cooking classes. He is excited to open this new arm of the business and believes this new offering will boost his business when things are back to normal.

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Here’s an example of virtual tours selling before lockdown:

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Clio Muse are a virtual tour company that specialize in audio tours; they have since pivoted to incorporate visual content. Co-founder Daphne Tsevreni has highlighted the adaptations they have made to their products to account for the shorter attention span of audiences, given the current climate.Their top tips are to include fun facts, history and personal stories to keep people engaged.

What is a virtual tour?

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A virtual tour is digital content that tells a narrative. That can be actual stories about your local area for walking tours, visual content of stunning landscapes for zip line parks, or surf inspired work-out videos for beach rentals. Virtual tours are a chance for you to get creative about the products you sell and tell a story to your customers. They often take form in three mediums:

1. Pre-recorded tours
2. Live tours
3. Tours with a physical element

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1. Pre-recorded tours

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‍In this case, you would create content and sell to your customers for them to enjoy any time - you relinquish responsibility when you send over the link.

• This could be a single video that you have previously created of a dramatic story telling, or cooking lesson.
• You could also divide up your narrative into physical locations, and release each video or audio as the customer virtually travels on a map -  to give the feel of a real walking or driving tour.

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Lights over Lapland have created a stunning pre-recorded tour of the Northern Lights using incredible 360º footage.

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2. Live tours

• For a live tour your tour guide would present at a specific time, allowing the opportunity to interact with customers.
• On a small scale - this could be a private video call where the customer could engage in a dialogue with the guide and the tour could be personalized to them.
• On a larger scale - you could open the tour to a range of people and still interact with customers through a chat box.

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Avital Tours usually run walking food tours. Over the last couple of months they have created and launched a series of ‘chefinars’ and mixology classes. They have pivoted their offering and are now operating live sessions where customers can learn a new skill and have a laugh.

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3. Tours with a physical element

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‍You could send customers a physical component to compliment the virtual experience.

• For a tour of a vineyard, send them some of your wine.
• For a walking tour, partner with a local business that you pass on the way and send them some of their food or products.
• Email customers a document to print out - this could be a map or a riddle related to your tour.

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‍Unexpected Atlanta has gone viral with their new offering. They launched virtual tours that are accompanied by a delivery of ingredients for the customer to whip up all the samples they would have eaten on the physical food tour - and have proven very popular!

How can I start from scratch?

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Pre-recorded tours:

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‍Use a specialized software to easily create virtual tours that customers can use to take your full tour from the comfort of their homes. For example, the Junket app allows you to draw your tour on a map and release video or audio content when a customer virtually arrives at each stop.

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Junkets also have a physical element - they are GPS enabled so the customer can experience the tour in real-location. They can wander round all of your stops and when they get there a new video will pop up with your pre-recorded tour guide telling them all about the spot they’re in. They’ve already been a hit - and they tend to sell at $5-10.

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Give it a go by downloading the app here. To find out more about how to get started and top tips for successful Junkets check out our webinar with Junket CEO Lance Zaal. You can view more information here and check out this example of the software in use.

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‍Live tours:

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‍One of the ways you can launch interactive virtual tours is using Zoom.

• For larger groups, the Q&A and chat boxes provide an easy way of getting input from your customers and answer questions efficiently without detracting from other customers’ experience.
• For smaller groups, you can have open discussions with your customers and completely personalize the experience for them.
• Zoom resources:
• Best Practices for Hosting Digital Events
• eBook: Running Engaging Online Events

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G Adventures are hosting live virtual tours using zoom. They want to bring people together and keep travellers inspired while they are stuck at home. They allow up to 16 people on the live zoom call with a tour guide or expert. Their first session was led by their CEO, Stefano Paris - it was based in Italy and stopped off  in Venice, Tuscany, and even a football match!

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Visit Las Vegas is an awesome example of a tour business using Zoom to engage their customers. They are also teaching customers how to change their Zoom background to help them imagine themselves in Las Vegas and keep them dreaming of these tours.

How can virtual tours help you reopen your doors?

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Virtual tours are a great way to drive business to your local area and show that it’s safe and open for business. Video is the most appealing content, so it’s a great way to entice people in.

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This is especially important for companies that rely largely on international travel - it’s crucial to keep your location front of mind and keep customers dreaming about their future vacations.

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Reintroduce your area to the world by recording a virtual tour of busy streets and businesses up and running. Customers will need a bit more encouragement now to visit new places and visual content is a great way to boost customer confidence.

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For a great example of this - check out these virtual live tours of Wuhan, China.

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• People are extremely interested to take a look at how the city is coping after the eruption of COVID-19. This is a great reason to create a virtual tour and will help show that things are getting back to normal.
• Walks market this tour at $10 for an hour live session with their guide in Wuhan, and also include a $25 voucher towards any of their physical tours in the future, valid for two years. This is a great way to boost future sales and keep customers engaged with your business.

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Another example is Discover Puerto Rico.

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• They are streaming free 30-minute guided tours via Google Earth, over the next couple of months to keep Puerto Rico on the map.
• They're also using this as an opportunity to collaborate with other tour operators and highlight other local businesses - this is a great way to use your community to produce juicy content and keep your customers engaged.

Technical tips

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When selling a virtual product the standards are often higher - they need to look professional. Here are a few technical tips:

1. Keep them short and snappy - the audience has a much shorter attention span when they are not in the physical location dn watching a screen - don’t drag, include personal stories and shocking facts to keep them hooked. Remind people to turn their phones off / close other tabs - this will help them concentrate.
2. Audio is crucial - make sure you have done at least one test version with a family member or friend to test the audio and get their feedback.
3. Cancellation / rescheduling policy - in this turbulent time, boost customers confidence by giving them flexibility.
4. Include a Virtual Experiences FAQ on your website - break down exactly what will happen on the tour to increase customer confidence.

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For more practical tips watch our webinar with Kelsey Tonner and Ingo Albrect from Be a Better Guide: How to Design, Launch and Sell Online Tours & Experiences. They cover all you need to know from how to set up your lighting to where is best to sell your virtual activities.

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How can I make them sell?

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Virtual tours are a relatively new concept, so you may need to convince your customers a bit more than usual.

Record a 30 second video introduction

• 64% of customers are more likely to buy a product online after watching a video.
• This is a great way of giving your customers a quick taste of your experience and making sure they have all the info they need to purchase.

Include reviews and testimonials on the your virtual products landing page

• Include reviews of the tour guide who will be leading the session.
• Reviews of your physical products are still relevant - include a reviews widget on your virtual tours web page or link particularly positive reviews of your tour guides.

Target your audience

• Create tours for kids at home, or target people that are super interested in your niche - and clearly explain this in the title and description.

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‍From virtual paella classes in Barcelona to Q&As about the coliseum with tour guides in Rome, The Tour Guy has produced some incredible experiences and doing a great job at marketing. Have a look at the short videos they have created to market each virtual product, they are quick, informative and fun.

How can I market my virtual tours?

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Your past customers are a great place to start. They’re an audience who have paid for your products before, and you’ve had a chance to interact with them in person - this is a great way for them to support your business.

Email customers who have had to cancel a physical tour with you.

1. Include a  link to your virtual products to offer them an alternative. Make sure to jazz them up with screenshots, testimonials and a video introduction. Including video content in emails translates to a 200-300% increase in click-through traffic!

Put a button linking to your virtual products on the homepage of your website.

1. Make sure it's ‘above the fold’! This is often the first place people look to see what you’re offering, and if it’s not obvious a visitor will not click through your website. Make sure this button is one of the first things they see when they land on your website.

Use your social Media

1. Use short clips of your virtual content as instagram posts to give viewers a taste of what's on offer.
2. Write blogs about your local area and use them to launch a facebook campaign for your virtual tours.

Can I see an example?

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Some of our incredible Peek Partners have already kickstarted their virtual tours. For some clever ideas and super fun activities to enjoy have a look at these examples:

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Miranda Peterson, founder of Namaste in Nature, is holding some virtual yoga classes. She has also been developing virtual content using a 360º camera - head over to her youtube channel to find out more.

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Winchester Mystery House, based in San Jose, California, are offering an immersive 360º virtual tour. They have also created a coloring book and crossword puzzle to keep their young fans engaged.

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‍Arthur Avenue food tours have launched a virtual cooking course. They email customers recipes over six weeks, they cook with them, share tips and photos and then work with them to write up a personalized cookbook for the customer at the end of the course.