In this post, seasoned tour guide and operator Erik Hormann of Vantigo runs us through his best strategies to finding — and keeping — the best tour guides in town. Find more tools to help you with the hiring process at the bottom of this blog!It’s Friday. You finally got around to that dreaded dentist appointment — and it happens to coincide with the start of the morning tour. As you wait for the dentist, you check your phone and see a voicemail from the guide leading the tour. Then a message pops up: are you free for a quick chat after the tour is over? Suddenly you’re more nervous about what your guide is going to say than your impending root canal!As you leave the dentist office, still half numb, you call your guide and get the story. They tell you that ten people showed up for the morning tour — the capacity is only seven. The guide went through his roster and checked everyone in — except a family of three whose names were not on the list. When the guide tried to explain that he had no record of their reservation, the father quickly became agitated.What followed was a sort of 60s-style sit-in protest: the customer standing in front of the van, trying to make the guide conjure up three extra seats. Disaster.But then, your amazing guide figures out a solution. Even though he can’t get a hold of you (root canal time!), he offers the family a private tour right after he is done with the morning group - for free. Despite the fact that he had other plans after this tour, he puts on his superhero cape and saves the day. The father steps to the side, satisfied with the solution, and the tour is able to go ahead.Turns out, we had been trying to reach the family in question for the last month to tell them their tour had been canceled. An hour after the morning tour took off, the father finally checked his email and discovered his mistake. He called to let us know that he wasn’t sorry for his actions, but he wouldn’t need the private tour.Moral of the story: I hired the right guide. As the owner of a tour company, you can’t be everywhere at once, so it’s vital that you’re hiring the right staff for the job. Below are my favorite ideas on how to do the best job possible when hiring, training — and keeping — your tour guides.

How to Find a Guide

Finding a new guide can be as unpredictable as the ocean. Sometimes, candidates come along in huge waves. Other times, you get nothing. If you’re having trouble, here are some good places to start:Social MediaSome of my best guides have come from advertising on our own social media pages. Chances are, people that loved your tour and follow your company want to work for you! Plus, posting to your own Facebook and Instagram page is totally free!

One of our social media job postings

CraigslistThis U.S.-based site is great for recruiting tour guides. It’s also pretty cheap — typically $150 a month. Be warned though, not all enquiries you get from these ads will be tour guides. You’ll have to sift through some random responses before you find the right candidate.Indeed, GlassDoor and LinkedInThese sites help me to distill my applicant pool when I’m looking to fill a more senior role. For example, if you’re looking for a General Manager — or similar — I highly recommend using these networks.Other operatorsIf your company is one of the best in town, it’s possible you may be able to snag some great talent from your competitors. When posting jobs on social media, keep your eyes peeled for responses from guides that are with another operator. Guides will often reach out to you through these channels if they’re unhappy.Friends and familyMy very first hire came from sending an email to my own network of friends and family. This is another free way to get your advertisement out there, and you may be more likely to find someone you can really trust. Just remember, it can be harder to let employees go when they have a personal link to you.

How to Interview and Hire a Guide

Training a new guide is always a challenge. There is no rule book - other than the one you write. If this is your seventh hire, then you may think you have it in the bag. But trust me, no matter how many hires you’ve made, the interview process can always throw you a curveball or two. Here are some things that have helped my interview processes go smoothly:It’s all in the detailsMake sure the job description is up-to-date and has all requirements listed, to screen out potentially unqualified candidates. My best example: all of our vehicles in San Fran are manual transmissions. Not listing that on my first job posting wasted a lot of my time. Use phone interviews wiselyTake time to develop some solid questions for a phone screen. A phone interview saves valuable time and can weed out weaker candidates without the need to bring them in. Come up with your own make or break criteria and make sure you cover it in the call.Tip: Check out some of my best phone screen questions in Peek's “Tour Guide Hiring Process” resources — find them at the bottom of this post!Ask the tough questionsI like to think of nightmare scenarios my guides have been in and ask candidates what they would do in those situations. Don’t hold back! Your guide will need to deal with unexpected situations (and questions!) all the time. This is your chance to see how they handle it.Be upfront about the challengesSure, you want to sell your company as a great place to work (it is!). But you should also let candidates know about the less *ahem* glamorous parts of the job. Taking out the garbage, cleaning up the shop, maintaining equipment. This way there’ll be no nasty surprises for new employees — and you can make sure you’re hiring someone who’s willing to pull their weight!Put them on the tourMake sure potential hires get some first-hand experience on a tour. This is a great technique which allows you to see how they interact with paying customers. It also gives one of your current guides the chance to give you their feedback on the candidate.Bring in your teamSpeaking of current guides, I see a lot of value in having a good portion of your team interview the person they are going to be working with. It helps you to create a like-minded team that supports each other — and avoids drama down the road.Probation, probation, probationSetting a probation period allows you a fail-safe in the case of a new hire not working out. You could also use it to create an incentive for your new guide to do a great job. Why not start them on a lower wage, and offer an increase once they tour on their own? That way, you’ll give them something to work towards.

What Makes a Great Guide?

When hiring, it’s a good idea to take time to remind yourself what you’re actually looking for. What qualities will your guide need to do the best job? Knowing what you’ll expect from your guides once they start will help you look out for key characteristics during the hiring process. I’ve learned a lot of lessons during my time as a guide — and a guide’s boss. Here are some of my best guidelines on what makes a great tour guide:Knowing what you know — and what you don’tIf there’s one thing I’ve learned in this business, it’s that customers have a lot of their own knowledge about random subjects. They also love to test you (watch out for the beer nerds!). I’ve found that people will respect you way more if you tell them that you don’t know the answer to their question, and you’re going to look it up on the break. The best part - next time someone asks you, you’ll be ready!Showing an interest in your guestsJust a few minutes of connecting with someone can make a huge difference and even result in a four or five-star review. Ask people on the tour for their story: how far have they travelled to be here? Where are they staying? People love to share, so make sure you’re not the only one talking.

Your guests make your tour — show them some love!

Retaining information from previous guestsYour guests will be coming from all over, and you’ll be amazed at how much you pick up about places you have never been. Example: if a guest tells you an architect who built something on your tour is from their hometown, remember it! When someone else comes on the tour from the same place, this is your chance to instantly make them more comfortable.Taking care of housekeepingA good guide answers questions before they are asked. Frequency of bathroom stops, how many tastings are included at breweries/wineries, how long the break will be. Walk through the itinerary and utilize tools such as the map along the way.Focusing on content your guests want to hearIf you get to know the group you’re with, you can understand what they are interested in. Is this their first time at a brewery? Maybe dial back the beer nerd speak. Keep it relevant and personalized.Making guests part of your tourSome guides hate having locals or experts on their tour. We love it! Have someone who was living in the city during a certain time? Stop the tour and ask them what it was like. They will be stoked to share their story, and you could even learn something new.Being politeOpen doors for people, use appropriate language, say please and thank you. It sounds simple, but a little courtesy goes a long way.Taking time to connect with the communityToo many times I have been on tours where the person at the tasting room or visitors center does not know the guide. I’ve even seen guides hide in their car during these parts of the tour. A good guide will go on a day off to get to know the people they see every day a bit better - if they’re known by the locals, guests will trust them more.Staying in plain viewIn the wine industry, a lot of guides hang out in their vehicles when people are wine tasting. While some wineries like it this way, you should always be checking in. It’s important for people to have some of their own time to explore, but it’s also important for you to be available for any questions that arise.Taking photos for guestsPeople often forget to ask for photos if they are behind the lens. Ask people if you can take a photo for them. They will remember the tour that much more.

How to Train a New Guide

Ok, so you hired the best person for the job. Now how do you train them? My approach is a little more organic than others. But with an average retention for year round guides of two and a half years, its been a good use of my time. Trust me, it’s worth going the extra mile! Here are some of the key steps:Let them jump right inHave the new hire start touring (along with your best guide) right off the bat. In my experience, it often takes a good month before someone has mastered our tours. They may be pretty rough in the beginning — even after a month — but hey, everybody has to start somewhere. The only way they’ll learn is by doing, so get them out there right away. Use your libraryThe person you hired should have an interest in what your company does. We have a library of books — new and old — all about the area we tour in, and we encourage all guides to brush up on their knowledge. Our guides often “nerd out” about fun new facts they learned. Your new guide will be a total sponge when they start, and will likely want to join in on the fun.Have them teach the content in their own wayI always make sure my guides know that the tour is what they make it. Sure, the content is super important, but they should always focus on what makes them excited. We do city tours in San Francisco and there is a lot of history to take in. If the guide is not excited about the content, the guests will see it.Encourage guides to tell their storyPeople love to hear stories about others almost as much as they love to tell their own. One of the easiest ways for a new guide to make a tour their own is to weave in their story. How did they get here? What made them fall in love with this place? Make sure your guide knows that it’s super important to focus on the personal side of a tour as well as the general content. Have them create their own tour or productThis one has always been a great success for me when training a new guide. Get your new guide to think of a tour they’d love to run, and have them set it up as if it were real. This allows the guide to literally see what it's like to put a tour or activity together from start to finish, with all the logistics behind it. The best part is, sometimes they think of something new that could be a big hit — win-win!

How to Retain a Guide

Retaining good guides takes a lot of work. It’s not an exact science, and I learn new ways to improve my retention rate every day. Here are some strategies that have really worked for me: In-service daysAround here, we call them District Days, or “D-Days”. These are paid days where you bring the team together once a month to learn something new or just to go have fun. We use these days to brush up on our skills and knowledge of districts, and it’s a great way to let the team connect better with each other.

Our D-Day on Angel Island!

Shake up your toursLetting the guides not say the same thing over and over again each day is a great way to keep them from the dreaded burnout. Having more than one tour and allowing guides to rotate will help them stay sharp. Even if a different tour is not as profitable, it could still save you money if it means your guides stay with the company longer.Respect themCreate a fair schedule and stick to it - but also try to make sure you give your staff flexibility. For example, I always allow my guides to take major holidays off if they want - with enough fair warning, of course.Create a bonus structureWe used to give bonuses in the form of payment. After learning how much the government taxes a bonus, we switched to a Paid Time Off (PTO) Bonus. For every 10 five-star reviews a team member gets, they accrue four hours of PTO. Everybody wins.

Wellness perksSimple things like paying for a birthday dinner, monthly 30 minute massages, or bike to work incentives can go a long way. Show your staff that you care about their personal wellbeing, as well as their professional development. Happy guides make happy customers — and a happy boss.

Little incentives go a long way!

Take an interest in your employeesTake time to understand what your guides’ backgrounds are. Why did they get into this line of work? What goals do they have? How does working for your company help them get there? Knowing your guides’ interests and ambitions will help you make sure they’re in the right role for them. Watch for signs of burnoutIf you see the signs of burnout, attack it right off the bat. A few key things to look for:

• They show up five minutes before a tour, and finish up super quick

• They complain dramatically if the tips are anything less than stellar

• They’re suddenly unwilling to cover any of their colleagues’ shifts

If it seems like they’re heading for the door, figure out a game plan. Make sure you’re doing everything you can on your end: adjusting their role, incentives, regular reviews. If they’re determined to move on, offer to help them with a new direction. By helping figure out their next steps, you’ll be amazed at the ability to get a couple more good months from someone.Great guides are an essential part of any tour company. They are the heart and soul of your operation, and the key to growing your reputation —- and your business. Finding a great, well-rounded guide can be a challenge. But, by putting your best efforts into hiring and training, you can help ensure that your guides reflect your company’s mission and do you proud.Want even more ways to make your tour guide hiring process go smoothly? Why not download our FREE hiring process tools, featuring candidate trackers, interview templates and exclusive interview questions from Erik! Simply fill out the form below to access your resources!

In this post, digital marketing expert Chris Torres - director of the Tourism Marketing Agency - offers some key insights into TripAdvisor’s complex ranking system. He’ll run through some key factors that determine your ranking - and how to make sure it’s as high as possible! You may already know that TripAdvisor influences over 10% of all tourism spending. Every month, 455 million people use the site to find and book hotels, restaurants, experiences, and tour services. If your company ranks higher on TripAdvisor, you are guaranteed to receive more business. It’s one of the best ways to make your business more visible than your competitors. It can get confusing out there. SEO, social media, online reviews: it seems like everywhere you look there’s a another “guide” you just can’t get your head around. But this information is key if you want to market your company in the best way possible online.That’s why I’ve created this clear and simple rundown of how your TripAdvisor ratings work. Plus, you’ll find a few tips on what to look out for to make sure your rankings aren’t slipping.

The system is smart - don’t try to manipulate it

You know user reviews are the biggest ranking factor on TripAdvisor. The whole platform works on the premise that good services inspire good reviews from customers. The 600+ million reviews are the biggest determining factors when TripAdvisor’s algorithm ranks your tour, activity, or rental service. However, there are more ranking factors beyond reviews.In the past, new businesses used to jump to the top of the rankings when they received an influx of reviews. Other businesses saw this and tried to rig their reviews to shoot themselves to the top of the rankings. TripAdvisor noticed this, and knew that if the rankings could be manipulated, their platform couldn’t be trusted. They have since changed their algorithm to prevent ranking manipulation. What should you take away from this?It’s getting gradually harder to unfairly manipulate TripAdvisor’s rankings. So don’t even try it. You may even get a $3 million fine if your activity is seen as inherently misleading! Don’t waste time trying to trick TripAdvisor; put your efforts into earning your good ranking.

How does the TripAdvisor algorithm work?

TripAdvisor won’t let us fully understand how its algorithm works. But, we do know that it ranks your business based on three things: the quality, recency, and quantity of your reviews. Let’s look at each aspect in turn, and see why your reviews might be doing better or worse than you expected.

Quality

It sounds obvious: the more 4- and 5-star reviews you have, the better your ranking will be. However, the quality of your reviews is also based on word counts. A longer review is viewed as more beneficial than a shorter review. This is because a longer review provides more detail on the experience. If your guests are taking the time to write reviews longer than one word, it shows they have meaning - and TripAdvisor will deem them of higher quality.

Recency

How recently a review was posted is also important. New businesses can’t jump to the top of the rankings with new reviews anymore. But it makes sense that recent reviews tell TripAdvisor that your service is good right now. Not good two years ago. Only having old reviews may make it seem like your business has reduced in quality. It’s vital you’re getting up-to-date reviews to let TripAdvisor know you’re still doing a good job!

Quantity

Yes, the quantity of your reviews is still taken into account - just not to the extent that it once was. As I said before, this change has been made to prevent new businesses from shooting ahead of old, established businesses. It’s still a case of the “the more the merrier”, but you should never sacrifice quality for quantity.

There are no cheap and dirty TripAdvisor tricks

It used to be easier to get to the top of TripAdvisor’s rankings by using cheap and dirty tactics. This won’t work anymore. It may be tempting, but the risks simply aren’t worth it. Instead, make earning good reviews a constant goal for your business. Make sure your staff know how important reviews are to you. Why not empower them to offer free bonuses and discounts as olive branches to disgruntled customers? If you handle it right, it’s totally possible to transform a customer’s negative experience into a positive review!Check out this example below from San Francisco tour operator Vantigo:

Even though the customer didn’t actually get to go on the tour, they still ended up giving a 5-star review because of how the company handled the situation. Awesome! It’s also important to keep a constant eye on your TripAdvisor reviews. If you spot a bad review, it’s good to either reply or get in touch with the user to ask if you can make amends. Sometimes the user won’t be interested - but they often are, and your bad review could be turned into a good one.The upshot of all this: TripAdvisor is fair - and trying to be even fairer. It’s also providing constant updates to its algorithm over time. Knowing this, the best thing you can do is focus on the quality of your product or service. It’s the only surefire way to get those 5-star reviews rolling in and see your ranking soar!Want more tips from Chris? Keen to learn more about digital marketing relevant to the tourism industry? Why not sign up for his FREE 12 part marketing guide here!

In recent years it’s become pretty clear that more and more consumers are choosing experiences over ‘stuff’. In fact, one study showed that 78% of Millennials would rather spend money on an experience over material goods. Why? Partly because 4/5 of them say that attending events makes them feel more connected to other people.That's why our friends at Groupon have invested in a full price marketplace for the millions of people coming to Groupon's website, looking for inspiration. This new marketplace has had great success so far and Peek is excited to partner with Groupon to give you access to these adventure seekers. We want as many people as possible to access your great experiences and create amazing memories. We'll be going live with this partnership at the beginning of next year.Why is this great news?This is great for our partners because it means the chance to showcase awesome tours and activities on a huge distribution platform. That means more online traffic, more bookings, and more revenue for tour operators. And the best part - you don’t have to do a thing! We will do all the hard work for you once you’re live on the Peek.com marketplace.Will it mean offering my tour or activity at a discounted rate? No. Groupon has traditionally been known for its deals and discounts, but this part of their online marketplace is different. All of our partners’ tours and activities will be listed at their full price to consumers.What does it mean for customers? More convenience, more delight, more memories! It’s now even easier for customers to find awesome tours and activities online. Groupon has millions of customers - they’ll now be able to discover the incredible experiences that partners offer even more easily.What is the commission structure associated with listing activities on Groupon?The activity price and your revenue is exactly the same whether an activity is sold on Groupon, Peek.com or Yelp. Only your standard Peek.com commission rate applies.What do I need to do? If you’re a partner, you don’t need to do a thing! We’ll keep you updated on what’s happening. All partners will be contacted as the partnership goes live with the next steps. Note: This is a completely voluntary integration! Just like our partnership with Google & Yelp, this is yet another option that Peek is providing to our partners to drive more bookings. You will have the ability to opt out of the integration if you would like. We will also send an email reminder before it goes live. In the meantime, you can simply contact our Partner Support team if you want to opt out.Not a Peek Partner yet? Want to find out more? Schedule your free demo here!

This is a guest post from online marketing expert Milan Stojković. With a focus on the tourism sector, Milan’s business MS Travel Marketing is dedicated to helping bring tour operators more customers. In this post, he shares some insider tips you can apply to your business today - and watch your online bookings skyrocket! Take it away, Milan!Are you looking for more ways to get direct bookings through your website? It seems like there are a million ways to do this: Facebook ads, banners, link building. And yet, nothing changes. No matter how many people you attract to your website, those conversion rates remain stale. How can you change this? First, you need to understand the concept of warming up your website traffic. This is the cornerstone of online marketing, and vital if you want to see those bookings soar.Let’s run through the three types of website visits you can get: cold, warm and hot traffic: Cold Traffic - These are the guys who somehow stumbled upon your website. They’re not actually planning to buy your tours or even travel to your destination.Warm Traffic - These people are definitely interested in your destination and what you have to offer. But, they’re gonna need more info and a little more convincing before they choose you over the competition. Hot Traffic - These visitors know everything about your tours and are ready to hit that book now button. So what do you want? You guessed it. You want your traffic hot. Like, fresh out the oven hot. These customers know what they want and are just looking for your book now button to get the deal done. But what about warm traffic? How do you convince visitors to book from you now that they’ve decided on their destination? And the cold traffic? How can you spark their interest and create that desire to learn more about your tours? The first step is simple: Don’t assume that the majority of your website audience is hot traffic. You could fall into a trap if you expect most of your visitors to be extremely interested in buying your tours. The assumption that all your traffic is hot may cause confusion when you see your conversion rate is still low. It might even lead you to start making unnecessary changes to your website.I get it: you heard from some online marketing specialist that if you change the color of your booking button you can increase conversion rates by 300%, and you want a piece of that action! The problem is that in reality, you might have less than 2% hot traffic visitors on your website. By trying to optimize the website just for them, you’re forgetting about the other 98% of visitors.The booking button color is not the problem. I promise. What you need to do is to warm up the audience. When hot traffic visitors hit 20%, then we can start thinking about the booking process.

Warming up the traffic

So how can you warm up your traffic and convert 1000 cold visitors into something a little… hotter?Here are a few simple ways:

1. Get Featured.

One way to heat up your hits is to be featured in a respectable magazine or news portal. Pay them to write a story about your tours and include a link to your website. Why not go one step further and ask them to include your Facebook pixel as well.Examples of post titles could be:“A quick reminder that [destination] is the stuff dreams are made of - let this tour operator show you why”“Why this tour company’s [destination] honeymoon experience is something every couple should consider”“This tour operator has everyone talking with their innovative way to experience [destination]”It’s vital you get your article posted on a dependable website that people are going to believe. It may be pricey, but it’s worth it. Now comes the important part:Instead of buying Facebook ads and clicks that lead to your website, pay to promote the article from this magazine.“What?!” I hear you cry. “So we're paying to send the traffic to another website, not our own? Isn’t that illogical?” The answer is no. This can be extremely effective. It will warm our customers up. When an article from a reliable news source pops up on their Facebook feed, they won’t perceive it as an ad... It's news! An interesting read with useful information. Customers will feel more comfortable clicking. They’ll also believe this article way more than they would believe you telling them your tours are awesome. "If these guys are saying it, it must be true."Now, people who come to your website will be much more familiar with your services and definitely more willing to buy. Take one of our clients - New City Hotel and Restaurant - as an example. We wanted to market the hotel as the ideal venue for conferences and other business events. But as a new hotel, it was hard to get the word out about its quality and service. We decided to publish articles in a few respectable online magazines with links to the hotel website and Facebook pixel. Then we paid to promote those articles on Facebook. After a couple months, events started rolling in to the hotel. We seized the momentum and published more articles. Fast forward one year and every conference hall is booked at least 5 months in advance.By changing the route your visitors take to get to your website - otherwise known as your ‘funnel’, you’re engaging their interest on a deeper level.But hold on a second. The work doesn’t end here. Since your products do not fall under the customers’ essential needs, they probably won’t buy immediately. This is where your remarketing campaigns come in. After a visitor leaves your website, you can use targeted ads to reach them as they browse elsewhere on the internet. Set these up to remind visitors about your awesome tour a day or two later.So before your funnel looked like this:Facebook Ad ---> Website offerAnd now it looks like this:Facebook Ad ---> Magazine post ---> Website offer ---> (remarketing) ---> Website offerYep, you’ve extended the funnel a fair bit, and it’s gonna cost money. But now your website visitors are much more interested in your services. Plus, they have more confidence in your offerings because a respected magazine wrote about you.By changing your visitor’s journey, you’re sparking their interest before they’ve even clicked on your website.

2. It’s in the vid.

Another effective way to get your traffic heating up is a Facebook video. Why not create a short inspirational video, in square format with catchy titles? Upload this video to your page or use our previous tactic and pay a magazine to post it on their page. The video will warm up your audience because it gives them an initial spark, a way to imagine your tour as their next adventure. This is exactly what we did with another of our clients - Walk91 Tours.They had a Facebook campaign that led people to their website. Conversions were good, but not great. We convinced them to shoot a video for social networks and told them how it should look. Then we promoted that video to a wide audience who could potentially be interested in their tours.

We created a custom audience of people who watched at least 75% of the video and served them with other campaigns that promoted Walk91’s tours.So this time the funnel looked like this:Facebook Ad ---> Website offerAnd now it looks like this:Facebook Ad ---> Facebook Video ---> Facebook Ad ---> Website offerThe results were much better.The Facebook video method may not be as efficient as a magazine post, but it is simpler to implement because you own all the channels.And there you have it. Simple and effective ways to get those conversions rolling in. Don’t forget, implementing these steps could require some technical skills such as:

• Setting up the Facebook pixel and understanding how it works.
• How to create a custom audience and remarketing campaigns.
• How to set up a funnel.
• Proper conversion tracking.

But don’t panic! You can learn all this and much more with my new online course Etourism Master Training. Good luck and happy traffic-warming!Milan StojkovićFounder, MS Travel Marketing

This is the first in a series of posts from Erik Hormann, owner of successful San Francisco tour operator Vantigo. Here, he shares some of his best tips on how to tactfully utter those words that no operator wants to say: “You’re fired!”You did it! You created an amazing tour company, and you grew fast. You built a solid team around you and spent time making them great.But... then came the slow seasons, the economic downturn, the unpredictable weather. Now, you’re facing the prospect of letting some of your staff go. Sound familiar?I started my company five years ago, and in that time I’ve seen my fair share of tour guides come and go. As the man in charge, firing staff is a tough but necessary part of the job. The perfect guide shows up to work 30 minutes early, covers for other employees, gets five-star reviews and donates all his tips to Save the Whales. But we’re not talking about that guide. We’re talking about the guide you spent two months training. The guide who started out great, but then started showing up later and later for their tours - and sometimes not at all. The guide who, on more than one occasion, came into work smelling like the bar from the night before. Unexpected changes like these are a reality for any tour operator. Sometimes the guide doesn’t perform as expected, or slow season hits and you need to shrink your team.Whatever the reasons for firing your guide, here are some of my best tips for making the process as smooth as possible:

1. Run the numbers

Sometimes the financial realities speak for themselves. Can you really afford to keep a guide that isn’t booked out all the time? Slow seasons and slow profits often require reductions in staff. If this is the case, it could also be a chance to “clean house” and get rid of anybody not pulling their weight. After all, it’s hard to argue with the numbers. If the machine isn’t making money, your guides can’t rage against it.

2. Stay calm and take your time

I once had a guide who was due to co-lead a tour with me. The only problem: they didn’t show up until 30 minutes after it ended. At the time I wanted to explode - but instead, I told the guide to go home and take the rest of the weekend off. By the time Monday came around, I was calm and collected. I met up with the employee, gave them their last paycheck, and we parted ways with no hard feelings. Protecting your reputation as a boss as well as a tour operator is vital if you want to hire and retain the best guides.

3. Use the hard facts

Does this guide have a ton of bad reviews? Are there a bunch of emails from unhappy clients with their name mentioned? How much in refunds or canceled tours have they cost you? I like to make my staff imagine themselves in the shoes of the father-of-four who only had one day to explore the city with his family. How would they feel if their experience wasn’t top-notch?

4. Put yourself in their shoes

How loyal has your guide been? Did they see you through some hard times? If an employee was really there for you or even helped you grow your company, letting them go can be super tough. If this is the case, let them know how much you valued them and thank them for their help. Breakups are never easy, but sometimes they’re necessary. If you handle the situation well, your guide will understand.

5. Leave the door open (or open another door for them)

As a boss, one of my personal goals is to have every person that leaves my company be headed towards another great opportunity. Like I said, sometimes it’s nothing your guide did, and you want them to succeed. I found myself in this situation recently: one of my team members was burnt out in his role but didn’t have the network to find a new path. Using my connections, I reached out to several industry contacts to see if they had any positions available. Fast forward two years, and that team member is thriving with a nearby brewery —and even comes back to guide a tour with us from time to time.

5. If all else fails, keep it simple

I truly believe in meeting face-to-face when letting staff go. But occasionally, employees won’t want to face reality in person. If you’ve tried your best to get in touch with no response, send them a text thanking them for their service and mail them their last paycheck. After all - you have a business you need to focus on.

Here’s a simple fact: More Positive Reviews = More SalesTo gain an understanding of what makes guests write reviews, we analyzed over 4,000 reviews from Peek.com. We looked for the most commonly used words in both positive and negative reviews.Words like “experience”, “knowledgeable”, and “nice” are among the top 25 commonly used words in positive reviews. On the other hand, words like “disappointed”, “time”, and “guide” are among the top 25 commonly used words in negative reviews. What the data above means is that a customer is more inclined to write a positive review if their experience matched their expectations, and less inclined if their experience fell short of expectations. Alternatively, a customer’s overall impression is influenced by - and this is key - how they felt while interacting with members of your staff. Here are some tips to get more online reviews:

1. Create realistic expectations for your activities.

Get your guests excited about their upcoming experience with you, but be realistic about what they should expect.When describing your tours, we recommend writing with the senses. What will people see, hear, feel, taste and touch? Are there any highlights worth mentioning? Recreating the experience will make it easier for customers to imagine themselves on your tour, and will also give them a sense of what to expect.

2. Train your staff in excellent customer service practices.

This is especially important if you rely on tour guides. Take advantage of free online resources, like Be a Better Guide, which offers short tutorials on best practices for tour guides.

3. Leave a lasting impression on your customers.

Make a good impression by introducing customers by name to key staff members or by giving a tour of the premises. At the end of your tour, you can also gift customers with a token of your appreciation. This can be a thank-you card, gift bag or any other tangible souvenir.

4. Optimize Smart Reviews in Peek Pro.

We can’t talk about getting more online reviews without mentioning Peek’s Smart Reviews. This feature can automatically send email follow-ups to customers based on the reviews they gave to Peek. For example, customers who gave high ratings can be sent an email directing them to share their experience on other public review sites. Alternatively, guests who gave lower ratings can be sent a follow-up email to help remedy their potentially negative experience.Peek’s review system can also generate reports to analyze performance based on specific dimensions, so you can see what’s working and what needs improvement moving forward.