This is a guest post from Kelsey Tonner from Be A Better Guide. Check out his website for excellent information on leading amazing tours.

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‍One of the largest gratuities I ever received while working as a tour guide took place on a cycling tour in Costa Rica. It was a wife and husband who were into birding in a big way, and were were pretty much in paradise with all the birds they were seeing. But part way through the group tour, I had an idea.I spoke with a local birding guide, and asked if he did early morning tours and how much it would cost. Later at dinner, I checked with my birding couple to see if they wanted to get up early for a private birding tour and told them how much it would cost. They were wildly excited, and had the time of their lives the next morning before our regularly scheduled activities.

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At the end of the tour I got a very generous tip from them (which essentially doubled my wages for the entire week) and they wrote a letter to my employer, stating that I was one of the best tour guides they've ever had. All of that for about 15- to 20-minutes worth of extra work on my part.

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‍And that's exactly what I'll talk about here: The techniques you can use to consistently earn large tips as a tour guide, and make it a regular part of your income.

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1. Learn to be an Amazing Guide

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The obvious must be stated: No matter how many "tipping systems" or "gratuity hacks" you know, nothing will compensate for being a mediocre tour guide. I spend a lot of time over at Be a Better Guide focusing on how to be extraordinary tour leaders—and this should be your primary focus. What are some areas you can work on? An amazing tour guide is patient, energetic, organized, funny, adaptable, empathetic, a problem solver, a powerful speaker, an incredible listener, and above all, a people person. It's a lot to tackle but remember: Exceptional service is in the details. The more you can hone these skills, the more you will make in tips—guaranteed.

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2. Delivering and Over-Delivering

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Expectations are everything in the service industry. Your clients are coming on your tours with a list of things they expect, including—but not limited to—how they'll be treated as a customer, what's included in the tour, what they'll see, how the tour will run, and more. You must work diligently to meet all of these expectations, and be crystal clear on what they are.This is where the majority of tour operators and guides fail. TripAdvisor is littered with terrible reviews from unhappy customers whose expectations were not met.

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TripAdvisor is littered with terrible reviews from unhappy customers whose expectations were not met.

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To get great gratuities, you must meet (and properly set) those client expectations. But to get fantastic tips, you must then go above and beyond those expectations, wowing and delighting your guests at every opportunity. On my tour in Costa Rica, for example, those guests were so impressed because I was not expected to give them that kind of personal service on a group tour. Had I been their private guide, hired for $10,000 to lead a completely custom tour—my actions would simply have been expected.

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But remember — Deliver first, then over-deliver.

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3. Increase your Perceived Value as a Guide

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Are you an expert in your field? Do you have unique or special connections to your subject matter? Are you a born and bred local? All of these attributes will raise the value you bring as a guide—and increase your potential tips.

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An example is my friend Dario who works as a private tour leader in Siena, Italy. He's a local, and therefore a member of one of the city's Contrada (or neighborhoods). Tourists to the city of Siena do not have access to these neighborhoods, but Dario has permission to bring guests inside as part of his tour. He receives incredible tips (beyond his high tour price) partly because guests feel it was because of Dario that they had this incredibly rare experience.

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Think of ways you can play up your perceived value, and build it into the design of your tour. Can you introduce your guests to some local colorful characters? Get them somewhere the public cannot access? How about using your special connections to meet the head chef, top brew master, or someone normally unavailable?

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Reinforce to your guests that the main reason your tour is so amazing is you.

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4. Increase the Price of your Tour

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There's a high correlation between the cost of your tour and what you earn in tips as the guide. Generally speaking, the longer your tour and higher the cost, the more you'll earn in gratuities.

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Consider the impact if you doubled the cost of your tour without changing much of the itinerary or content. While you'd need to focus your efforts on delivering a more premium experience, you'd also see a huge jump in tips.

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For example, National Geographic Expeditions is known for having scientists, researchers, and extremely knowledgeable naturalists lead their tours. By committing to this next level of expertise, they're able to charge premium prices for their tours, and their expedition leaders earn very generous tips.

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5. The Principle of Reciprocity

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Robert B Cialdini is the Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University and is best known for his book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. It's an incredible book, but his Principle of Reciprocity is especially relevant for us here.

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The principle states that we're all bound (and motivated) to repay debts of all kinds. If someone does something nice for you, you'll then feel obligated to repay that kindness. This principle is active in all of our social relationships, but it's especially important when trying to earn more tips.

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If you give first and freely, people will repay that kindness. Can you give away a small edible treat on your tour (e.g. a sweet or inexpensive local delicacy)? How about giving out a high-quality, homemade map with some of your favorite coffee shops or restaurants? Or perhaps a handout with instructions on how to have a truly authentic local experience?

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‍Remember, the more personalized and unexpected the gift/service, the more powerful the principle of reciprocity applies (i.e. the greater the reward you'll receive).

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6. Build a Social Connection

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Michael Lynn, a professor in food and beverage management at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, and someone who's been studying tips for many years, says the following:

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“If people in the service industry can establish a social connection with their customers, they'll get better tips. The simple fact is, we're more likely to want to help someone we're connected to, and we're more likely to care about someone's opinion if we have a social connection to them."

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Because we generally only have a small window of time to build this connection, here are 5 ways to quickly connect with your clients:

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1. Get your first impression right. Acknowledge clients right away as they arrive, and if you're busy or with someone else, give them a nod and smile. Ideally, be free and ready 10 to 15 minutes before your tour to spend extra time with your guests
2. Introduce yourself by name. Also be sure to repeat your name throughout the tour
3. Wear something unusual/something that gives you some identity. This will tell your guests something unique or special about who you are.
4. Learn your guests' names and use them when possible. (If you have a difficult time remembering names, repeat the customer's name when first introduced.)
5. Smile. Research has confirmed the cultural wisdom of smiling and has found that smiling people are perceived as more attractive, sincere, sociable, and competent than unsmiling people.

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7. Be Clear on Your Tipping Policy

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Whatever your policy on gratuities, make sure that your guests know about it before the tour. If you include tips in your tour or are not allowed to receive tips, then that needs to be communicated. If you warmly welcome gratuities on your tour—or are completely dependent on them—than that should be made clear as well.

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For tips on how to best communicate this, here are three examples from well-established tour companies. Note how specific they get with how much gratuity is suggested per tour or per guide.

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‍G Adventures: Tipping F.A.Q.

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‍Is tipping included and if not, how much should I budget? Although not compulsory, tipping is expected and is an expression of satisfaction with the people who have assisted you throughout your tour. Although it may not be customary to you, it is of considerable significance to the people who will take care of you during your travels. At the end of your trip, if you felt that your G Adventures CEO (G Adventures guides are called Chief Experience Officers) did an outstanding job, tipping is appreciated. The amount is entirely a personal preference, however as a guideline 20-25 USD/EUR per person, per week can be used.

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‍Backroads Tours: Tipping F.A.Q.

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‍Gratuities for most services during your trip are covered in the overall cost. We are often asked, however, whether it is appropriate to tip the Backroads Trip Leaders and what a reasonable amount might be. While we have considered including such gratuities in the overall trip cost, we always come back to the belief that recognizing excellent service is a personal matter. If you feel your Trip Leaders have provided an exceptional trip experience, gratuities are encouraged—and welcomed—at the end of the trip. A typical gratuity on a 6- day Casual Inn Trip is $140 per guest (about $23 per day). The gratuity is then divided among your Trip Leaders and other Backroads support staff (van drivers, etc.).

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‍Vermont Bike Tours FAQ: Is tipping included?

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‍All gratuities are built into the included features of your vacation with the exception of those for your Trip Leaders and drivers. Tipping for your Trip Leaders and drivers is optional and not included in the price of your vacation. Tipping guidelines are included in your VBT Welcome Handbook.“It is customary to express a personal 'thank you' to your VBT Trip Leader at the end of your trip, especially if he or she has provided you with excellent service or individual assistance. We recommend the local currency equivalent of $10 - $12 per person for each day of your trip for each Trip Leader."

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8. Give a Tip Speech

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A "tip speech" is when the tour guide reinforces their tipping policy while on tour. We all know that many clients may not read the pre-trip information, or thoroughly read your website, so it's important to re-clarify how gratuities work on your tour.

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I would suggest including this in your opening introduction to the tour and then a one or two sentence reminder at the end. You do not want to repeatedly be bringing up your tips, nor do you want to make people feel guilty or uncomfortable in any way. Remember though: communication and clarity about tipping will reduce stress for your guests. We all know how awkward it can be wondering how much money to leave, if tipping is expected, and what currencies might be appropriate.

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Conclusion

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As in life, we as tour guides should always be striving to be the best we can be. Seeking out ways to be more effective, inspiring, and extraordinary. I firmly believe that life is too short for boring—and our job as tour leaders is to create memories of a lifetime.And guess what? If we can do that, we'll get great tips too.

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‍Read about Malibu Riders and how Peek Pro's tipping feature increased their tips by 50%

[two_third]If you're a Bike Rental shop owner and the idea of bike sharing coming to your neighborhood is keeping you up at night, you're not alone. It's already spread to cities like New York City, Miami, and Minneapolis, and continues to crop up in others as well—all with the hopes that bike sharing will deliver everything from increased tourism revenue to reduced emissions.A lot of bike rental businesses' fears stem from the still unknown effect the rise of bike sharing will have on them—will it be a boon or bane?To ease some of that worry—and to try and answer that question—here's some early research you can dive into, as well as some concrete things you can do to account for bike sharing in your neck of the woods.

The Implications of Bike Sharing

First and foremost, what demographic are these bike-share programs appealing to? Bike-share systems, "seem to attract a particular profile of user: male, white, employed and … younger, more affluent, more educated and more likely to be already engaged in cycling independently of bike-sharing," according to an article on Next City.It also seems highly likely that more large cities will jump on board the bike-sharing wagon. Larger cities will likely invest first because of the large costs of the infrastructure required to make bike sharing a viable alternative.But what else do we know about the bike-share market?

• Bike sharing is here to stay, as it continues to be rolled out in more and more cities. In the long run, bike sharing may commoditize the 30 to 60 minute rental part of the market. If you're not in that market, you may not have to worry too much just yet.

• The resulting infrastructure from bike sharing will likely increase the demand for bikes in your area.

• It could also create a healthy business ecosystem. For example, in a Smart Growth America (2013) study, businesses along Victoria Street in San Francisco's Mission District reported a 60 percent increase in sales due to increased pedestrian and bicycle traffic after the installation of a new bike lane.

• Bike sharing can actually have a positive impact on your business. For example, in Minnesota a bike sharing service called Nice Ride expanded its program and bike rental shops have seen positive effects on their businesses because of what owners see as an increased interest in biking overall. Penn Cycle, a local bicycle rental shop, found bike rentals increasing by 10 percent to 15 percent.Penn Cycle, a local bicycle rental shop, found bike rentals increasing by 10 percent to 15 percent.In this case, rental shops provide better deals for longer use, while Nice Ride bikes appeal more to those looking for quick commutes.

• On the flip side, it could also negatively impact your business. For example, Cody Anderson, manager of Calhoun Rental bike shop, describes business being noticeably down since bike sharing arrived in his area.

Prepare for Bike Sharing In Your City

So, your city has yet to roll out a bike-share program, but has announced plans to implement one in the near future. Don't fret—here's a few things you can do to prepare:

• Avoid overreacting to a potentially competitive force. Instead, research, plan, and develop a strategy depending on how your business could be affected. To determine the affects on your business, use online scheduling software to help you report on the number of monthly bookings. This can help you ascertain how bike sharing may be affecting your business.

• Review your pricing and make sure it's competitive. Construct your pricing logically, such that if you're using the bike for more than just a one-way trip, it makes economical sense to rent the bike from your shop instead. For example, DecoBike in San Diego charges $18 for a four-hour rental ($5 overage charge applies if you're late) for a pretty basic bike. A four-hour rental is probably not a round trip, so DecoBike is targeting a different market segment here that may compete with yours. Make sure you have a bike "somewhat" close to that price (i.e. under $25) for the same types of customers. It's okay to charge more for a four-hour rental, just be sure customers clearly see the difference in value (i.e. a more comfortable ride, planned activities, customer service, no overage charges, someone to call in case of a problem, etc.).

Compete with Bike-Share Programs

A bike-share program operating in your city is far from an automatic death sentence for your business. Still, you should take a few steps to insure that your competing to the best of your ability. Here's a few ideas of what to do:

• Introduce a loss leader to compete head-to-head with bike sharing alternatives. A loss leader is a pricing strategy where you sell a product below its market cost. For example, CitiBike's pricing in Miami will run you $24 for a full day rental. You could offer an equivalent bike for $20.
• Try to eliminate overage charges from your pricing model. Overage charges are designed to punish the customer for guessing wrong, and to encourage customers to estimate high. Since bike-sharing models use overage charges extensively, eliminating them from how you do business could be attractive to your target customers. For example, if your bike is $10 for four hours, that implies the bike was rented at $2.50 an hour. If your customer goes over an hour, you could give them a grace period and just charge them additional $2.50 instead of an overage charge of $4 every 30 minutes like CitiBike does.
• There are a lot of bikes you can own for under $200 that an average cyclist would probably be happy with. With that in mind, you could offer financing for local renters. As an alternative to purchasing a bike sharing subscription for $99/year, you could offer your customers a lease to own option where at the end of 2 years they would actually own the bike for a similar amount spent. Alternatively you could offer rental credits that customers can cash in later for discounts on buying a new bike.

Whether it's planning for bike sharing in your area or better competing with bike sharing, take the time to do your research first. Remember that correlation doesn't necessarily mean causation. In other words, just because bike sharing arrived in your neighborhood and your sales have changed, doesn't necessarily mean that bike sharing is the culprit.

If your tour business is having a hard time attracting new customers, or just can't seem to boost your customer acquisition, it may be time to revisit your marketing strategy, customer service approach, and take a closer look at your website. Today's tech-savvy travelers have access to an array of online booking options from tour and activity operators in your area. When they're in the mindset of booking an experience, you need to do whatever you can to attract and engage them, walk them through the booking process, and complete the sale.Here are six reasons your tour may be losing customers right now and effective strategies for getting them back:

Reason #1: No Follow Up after a Company-Initiated Cancellation

If you have to cancel a tour or activity because of inclement weather, staffing issues, or overbooking, prioritize the customer. Research from NewVoice Media reveals that 53 percent of customers switch to another company or service provider because they feel unappreciated. Even if you have issued a full refund and explained the situation to the customer via phone or email, the customer is now in a disappointed frame of mind.

How to Win them Back:

Instead of parting ways and hoping they will book again, make the effort to get that customer re-booked immediately. They have already trusted you to provide a great experience and you still have a chance to do that by offering alternatives. Consider extending a re-booking offer or discount—up to 20 percent off a tour or activity—as a courtesy. You can set up a special promo code for these customers right within the Peek Pro platform and send the customer an email containing the code. Alternatively, have a staff member follow up with a special offer so that the customer feels like they've been invited back and can take advantage of an exclusive offer.

Reason #2: Poorly-Designed Website

If your website is difficult to navigate, takes a long time to load, or isn't too easy on the eyes, you may be turning customers off before they even have a chance to see what you offer. Results of a survey published in The Gomez report in 2010 revealed that 88 percent of online customers are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience and almost half expressed a less positive perception of the company after a single bad experience.A poorly-designed website, coupled with a bad checkout process, will make things even worse. This infographic reveals that the average shopping cart abandonment rate—the rate at which online shoppers load up items in their cart and then fail to proceed with payment—is more than 65 percent, and that 11 percent of shoppers abandon their cart because of a complex checkout process. In addition, 7 percent would abandon the cart if they do not have enough payment options.

How to Win them Back:

Walk through your website as if you were a customer. What do you see? What type of impression do you get about the company? Is it easy to book a tour or activity, or do you have to do some work to get to the checkout phase? Redesign or update your website to make the entire visit and checkout process as simple and streamlined as possible.

Walk through your website as if you were a customer.

Implement online booking software that helps you implement one-click booking buttons around tour or activity descriptions and takes the visitor through a secure checkout process without any hiccups.

Reason #3: Weak Tour and Activity Descriptions

You've done the hard work: you got prospects to visit your website to learn more about your offerings—don't disappoint them with weak tour and activity descriptions. How you describe your lineup of experiences can make or break the sale. Customers want to know what to expect with the activity and determine whether the tour or activity is the right fit for them.Summarizing the activity in a few lines and adding a book it button may not do much to initiate the sale; your prospect could get bored very easily and hop over to a competitor's site for a more engaging experience. Online retailer Shopify explains, “Writing weak copy is a huge lost opportunity…You lose the chance to tell a story, as well as the ability to differentiate your product along yet another dimension."

How to Win them Back:

Consider each and every description to be a marketing tool for that specific tour or activity. Set yourself up for more bookings by fleshing out your tour and activity descriptions with creative language and walk the customer through the experience. What will they see? What will they learn? What can they expect to walk away with? Consider placing colorful photos alongside each description or posting a short video showcasing highlights of the tour or experience near the description.

Reason #4: Trail of Negative Reviews Online

According to survey results from Dimensional Research, 86 percent of customers report their buying decisions were influenced by negative online reviews. If you've noticed a trail of negative online reviews on major review sites—or even on your Facebook Page—you may be losing customers based solely on your online reputation. (We shared some useful tips for handling negative reviews online with professionalism here.)

How to Win them Back:

Become extremely proactive with monitoring online reviews so that you can respond to negative feedback in a timely manner and offer up a solution. Start promoting positive reviews and testimonials you receive on your website, in marketing materials, and across your social media accounts so that prospects are exposed to an overwhelming number of glowing reviews. Your goal is to make a great impression quickly so that any dissenters are left in the dust.

Reason #5: Weak Social Media Presence

If you aren't active on the primary social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, you could be missing out on several opportunities to not only engage a prospect but also develop a positive online presence. Thisinfographic from Go-Gulf reveals that approximately 46 percent of web users turn to social media when making a purchase. That means almost half of your prospective customers are checking out your Facebook page or Twitter profile to learn more about your business and determine whether they even want to book with you. If you're not updating these sites with relevant content and actively responding to or engaging your following, you may be turning customers away.

How to Win them Back:

Get into a routine of posting to social media sites regularly so that you can keep followers and fans engaged. Encourage loyal customers to post positive reviews and ratings on Facebook since those reviews are seen immediately upon visiting the page and, as mentioned earlier, may prompt a booking decision. The aforementioned infographic by Go-Gulf points out that seeking out promotions and discounts and getting the latest information about products are among the top five reasons why people follow brands on social media. You can use this to your advantage by posting details about promo codes and special offers for various tours and activities, spotlighting some of your experiences and packages, and sharing photos or video clips of different offerings.

Reason #6: Poor Customer Service

Poor customer service, whether that's in the form of a lack of following up after a booking reservation is made, not returning phone calls in a timely manner, or neglecting to greet guests in a positive and professional way upon arrival, can reflect badly upon your company and turn people away. Experts at NewVoiceMedia report that 93 percent of customers will take action following inadequate service—this could range from posting negative reviews online (34 percent would "take revenge" by posting a review online, reports NewVoiceMedia), rating your business poorly on rating sites, or simply spreading the word to friends and family to stay away from your company.

How to Win them Back:

Take the time to train your staff to deliver exceptional customer service at every opportunity—from the moment the customer contacts you by phone or talks to a staff member in person, to the point that they leave after a tour or activity. Carol Roth, author of the bestselling book The Entrepreneur Equation, shared some valuable insights for creating customer loyalty in business, pointing out that promptly returning phone calls and delivering more than expected can boost customer satisfaction.As a tour and activity operator, you can go above and beyond the call of duty by making sure every customer phone call gets a response within 24 hours, over-delivering on experiences by offering complementary gifts or freebies at the end of the tour, and following up with customers to find out what they liked or didn't like about their experience. The simple act of opening up the lines of communication with customers can help to boost customer confidence and increase the chances of a positive customer experience. Eoghan McCabe, cofounder and CEO of Intercom, tells CIO.com it's important to, “Always give the customer a way to easily [contact or] reply [to you]. Make your phone number, email address, and social media links readily available so that customers have multiple channels to choose from."

Final Thoughts

Increase bookings every season and improve customer loyalty by changing the way you approach and manage your customers. Use these six tips to stop losing customers to your competitors and attract more happy customers season after season.

Adventure tourism is booming! According to a report published by Allied Market Research, the global adventure tourism market was valued at $444,850 million in 2016, and is projected to reach $1,335,738 million in 2023. That's 17.4% growth in 6 years (2017-2023). This great news is also a bit of a double-edged sword for tour and activity operators, though, as it means you're also working in a very competitive market. So if you want to maximize your reach and attract more customers each season, it's going to require a bit of work.Whether you're selling kayak tours, zip line adventures, sailing excursions, or brewery tours, make sure you're not missing out on these five revenue opportunities that many tour and activity operators overlook.

Missed Opportunity #1: Streamlined Booking and Checkout Process

If you operate seasonally, or are located in a high-traffic tourism area where you compete for customers with complementary businesses, keeping your schedule full each season can be a struggle. Setting up an online booking and checkout process can help you attract and secure more customers. In 2018, digital travel sales are expected to reach $198 billion, as making travel bookings online becomes the standard around the world.Cash in on this trend by implementing a streamlined booking and checkout process for all travelers who wish to book online. Use an online booking software program like Peek Pro to take your visitor through a simple, secure, and efficient checkout process directly from your website. Robust features such as real-time calendar availability updates, convenient and secure credit card payment authorization, and automated email communications will help customers complete each transaction with ease.

Missed Opportunity #2: One-Click Online Booking Options

As more travelers turn to the web to conduct research and compare options, make sure your site is ready to close the sale with a large call-to-action button available across all relevant pages. Place a large "Book It!" button across all relevant pages to capture site visitors' attention.Make it extremely easy for travelers to book immediately—no phone calls, lengthy contact forms, or email communication required—so that they stop shopping around and can secure their reservation within a few clicks.

Make it easy for travelers to book immediately so they stop shopping around on your competitor's websites

Missed Opportunity #3: Having a Mobile-Friendly Website

Though today's tech-savvy travelers are comfortable going through the entire booking process using their mobile device, it's important to note that many use their smartphone and tablet for different purposes. According to an article by tnooz, many travelers use their smartphone to coordinate a last-minute booking, while most will use their tablet as a replacement for a desktop or laptop when browsing sites and completing a purchase.Either way, the odds of completing online bookings are in your favor when you have a mobile-friendly website available for smartphone and tablet users, making mobile bookings a viable revenue opportunity for any tour and activity operator.A mobile-optimized website is typically a pared down version of your full website, spotlighting key services and travel packages, information about your company, and making the "Book It!" feature a prominent feature of each page. We shared some tips for creating a mobile-ready website specifically for your tours and activities in this post.

Missed Opportunity #4: Providing Add-Ons for Every Booking

You've done the hard work of attracting a customer and guided them through the booking process. They are ready to confirm their reservation and have completed their payment information. But the transaction shouldn't stop there—now it's time to up-sell. The experts at Groove point out: “Up-selling is easier than selling to new customers, and it helps you grow". In their blog post, they highlight findings from the book,Marketing Metrics, which finds that the probability of selling to an existing customer is 60 to 70 percent versus a meager 5 to 20 percent to a new prospect.Add-ons can be an easy up-sell when presented at an opportune moment—you don't want to push the traveler to buy more than they had planned, but you also want to make sure they are fully aware that more isavailable. For example, brewery tour operators might offer purchases of the visitor's favorite brew at a discount, biking tour operators might offer sport water bottles with the company logo, and a boat tour operator might offer guidebooks for sale at checkout.When you use an online booking software program like Peek Pro, you can place add-on options at the checkout page at just the right time. Peek allows you to set up add-ons such as additional activities, complementary gear, or souvenirs available for sale, or you can use Bundles to group tours at a discount at the checkout page so travelers can simply drop a few more purchases into their cart and complete their purchase.

Missed Opportunity #5: Issuing Promo Codes and Discounts

Approximately 93 percent of shoppers use a coupon or discount code throughout the year, according to HotelMarketing.com. Budget-conscious or not, the average traveler will be seeking out a great deal, and anything you can do to make the deal an irresistible one could boost the likelihood of a sale. Make sure your marketing strategy includes issuing promo codes and discounts throughout the year, and make these deals readily available on your website, social media networking sites, and on all marketing materials.Use an online booking software program that makes it easy to issue, redeem, and track promo codes and discounts. You need to be able to set up discounts for seasonal specials and random offers, run promo codes on certain tours and activities, track redemptions, and issue automated email with special offers or codes embedded within the email. Relying on an online booking software program to manage promo codes and discounts eliminates administrative tasks related to keeping track of offers and also presents opportunities to coordinate a variety of promotions and special offers throughout the season and throughout the year—and all within a few clicks.Staying competitive in today's growing adventure travel market can be easier when you make full use of technology and online booking software programs that help to streamline many of your business processes. Increase bookings, maintain a high level of customer service, and keep your business running smoothly by taking full advantage of these five revenue opportunities.

If you own a brewery, tours can be a boon to your business: they inject a new source of income, introduce new customers to your business, and allow fans to sample your products straight from the source.But whether you host weekly tastings or ongoing guided tours of your brewery, you need an effective system to coordinate these tours and manage the inflow of customers eager to book tours in any season. Just take it from some of the nation's biggest breweries, which offer online bookings to simplify the process.Here are some key reasons why your brewery needs to offer online bookings as an option for brewery tours:

Eliminate Manual Administrative Tasks Related to Bookings

Your staff is already taking care of day-to-day brewery operations. Even if you have a designated marketing team to handle promotional activities for your business, team members may have limited time available to take care of tour reservations over the phone, via email, and in-person. Make it hassle-free for your team: Set up an online booking system for your tours so all a customer has to do is visit your website and click through the "Book It!" button.Offering one-click online bookings eliminates the need for staff members to set up bookings via phone and email, and keep manual records of all activities. Online booking software programs, like Peek Pro, take care of everything digitally and can even automate confirmations and email messages so that the entire booking process is a 'hands-off' activity.Both large and small breweries can benefits from an online booking system—Great Lakes Brewing Co, has already implemented Peek Pro into their website to help visitors make reservations in just a few clicks.

Share a Live Calendar with Tour Availability

A live calendar allows prospective visitors to see when tours are available, what days of the week the brewery is closed for cleaning or maintenance operations, and what types of special events you are hosting throughout the month. This feature gives visitors a chance to plan their trip around your availability and makes it much easier to share information about brewery happenings without added effort. It also prevents you from over-selling tours because tours booked can be updated in real time and you can set limits on the number of tour spots available on any given day.

Reduce or Eliminate No-Show Rates

A poorly-managed booking and reservation system—usually one that involves calling customers directly and confirming reservations over the phone or by email—can increase the chances of no-shows when the customer is unaware of the consequences. If you are already experiencing problems with no shows, use an online booking software program that requires visitors to pay upfront and agree to your cancellation policy that accounts for no shows. Imposing a cancellation fee or a no-show penalty can prevent no shows and keep your tours booked to capacity with minimal effort.

Use an online booking system to make visitors pay upfront and agree to your cancellation policy to combat no shows

Manage Customer Information Effectively

When a customer contacts you to book a tour, you need to collect all of their information, which is a time-consuming process and runs the risk of data entry errors and mistakes.Online booking software programs collect and organize all customer data for you. So all you have to do is log in to a dashboard to reveal contact information and details about the customer's inquiry. Even if the inquiry comes to you via phone, a staff member can log information directly into an online form for easy retrieval.Maintaining a current database like this makes it extremely simple to send out welcome emails, newsletter updates, and "thank you" emails to an entire list—or a segmented list—in a few clicks. Take advantage of the software program's built-in templates and automation tools so that you can communicate with customers in a timely manner and keep track of customers interested in booking tours as efficiently as possible.

Personalize the Tour Experience

Creating an unparalleled customer experience is much easier to do when you can gather information from the customer efficiently well before they arrive.In addition to gathering customer information with ease, you can set up a series of questions for the customer during the checkout process in an effort to personalize their experience. For example, you could ask the visitor what their favorite type of beer from your brewery is so that you an surprise them with a complimentary glass of their favorite brew at the end of the tour. You could also find out if they are celebrating a special occasion and surprise them with a gift such as a beer glass with your logo on it or other brewery memorabilia.

Accommodate for One-Click Mobile Bookings

Research shows that more travelers are using a smartphone and other mobile devices to do research and confirm reservations. According to the latest State of Mobile Commerce report by Criteo, 66 percent of travel-related mobile transactions come from smartphones and 27 percent of travel-related online purchases come from a smartphone or tablet.Take advantage of this trend by creating a mobile-friendly version of your website, complete with a one-click booking button. Travelers can read descriptions about tours you offer, special events at the brewery, and other offerings on their mobile device and make a reservation without having to log in to the desktop version at any time. It's an attractive feature for today's tech-savvy customer and may help you generate more bookings each season.

Provide an Automated Voucher Redemption Process

If you run special offers, issue discount codes, or work with third-party daily deal sites, you need to implement a streamlined voucher redemption process so that customers can use their coupon codes without any hassles during checkout. Using an online booking software program that makes it simple to issue discounts and keep track of redemptions. Make use of reports that reveal how many vouchers were redeemed over a given time period so that you can determine the success rate of different marketing and promotional activities.

Fully Monetize Tours with Add-Ons

Many breweries miss out on the opportunity to fully monetize tours by offering add-ons and product purchases as part of the experience. For example, you could include the option of purchasing brewery memorabilia, such as hats, t-shirts, beer glasses, bottle openers, coasters, and other souvenirs at the checkout process. Add-on services might include a private, one-on-one tasting experience with a beer maker or special pricing on a batch of specialty brews. This is also the perfect place to sell a gift card. Take advantage of add-on features available with an online booking software program so that you can maximize revenue potential from each and every brewery tour booking.

Easily Produce Manifests for Tour Guides

Tour guides can use manifests for a roster of visitors and relevant information about customers, such as special celebration or special requests. Use an online booking software program that provides both online and printable manifests for tour guides to reference at a glance. You can customize the fields for your brewery tour manifests, such as including information about the customer's beer preferences, birthday or anniversary celebrations, and any special requests made upon booking.The tour guide could access these reports on a tablet computer, smartphone, or just print out a copy before the tour to check in customers with ease.Marketing and managing these tours can be tricky without a streamlined booking software program by your side. Using a robust online booking software program like Peek Pro can help you coordinate and book brewery tours with ease. Consider these features and benefits of offering online bookings to keep your tour calendar full season after season.Many breweries and distilleries around the nation use Peek Pro to manage their brewery tours and offer online bookings. Read about how we helped the Catoctin Creek Distillery here.

Unlike other tours and activities businesses, kayak operators need a certain set of tools at their disposal to manage their fleet of kayaks, schedule and manage reservations, and communicate with customers effectively. If you're not using online booking software designed to fit the unique needs of your business and kayak rentals, not only are you missing out on revenue opportunities, but you're also compromising your ability to deliver exceptional customer service.

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Here are some key reasons why kayaking businesses need to use kayak rental software.

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1. Streamlined Online Booking Process

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Giving customers a chance to book their entire trip online saves time and administrative costs related to scheduling and communicating with your customers. Consider how many people are involved and how inefficient it is to log customer information, manage a paper calendar, track kayak inventory, and keep track of cancellations. Pen-and-paper methods can be time-consuming, inefficient, and also run a high risk of errors that can lead to customer dissatisfaction, low ratings, and negative reviews.

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Setting up a booking process with a secure and streamlined checkout system boosts customer confidence and helps to ensure a positive customer service experience. Use an online booking software that allows you to embed a "Book It!" button directly on your website that links to a guided, secure checkout where customers can pay online and get an immediate email confirmation about their reservation. And, don't overlook the benefit of having a mobile-friendly site available. MMGY Global reports that 9 of 10 "digital elite" travelers have made travel reservations online this year and 57 percent of those travelers used websites optimized for mobile.

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2. Impactful and Efficient Customer Communications

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Use an online booking software program that allows you to manage and navigate your customer database with a few clicks. This database is populated with customer information the moment they register on your site or go through the booking process, capturing essential information such as the customer's full name, email address, phone number, address, and billing details. You'll be able to set up automated confirmation and email "thank you" messages directly through the software program—reducing and even eliminating the need to communicate with the customer directly at any time during the booking and checkout stage. And customers will still have the chance to call or email you for assistance about their kayak rental or reservation, and you can respond to those inquiries individually.

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Sending personalized emails to customers, whether they're in the booking stage or not, is another benefit of using online booking software to manage your customer database. With email marketing, you can maintain contact with each customer and subtly promote your business in the form of an email newsletter, special offers, and sharing interesting content such as articles, blog posts, or videos to keep the customer engaged and interested in your kayaking business.

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3. Fast and Efficient Scheduling

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Stop worrying about overbooking and missed reservation opportunities by using an online booking software program that updates your availability and bookings in real-time. Use a program that shares a virtual calendar of all available kayak excursions and rentals based on real-time inventory data. This eliminates the risk of overbooking and gives customers a chance to choose from several available dates and options as they go through the online booking process. Since overbooking is no longer an issue, you will only need to purchase and maintain enough inventory for daily operations—there is no need to buy extra inventory to cover times of peak demand or as backup.

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Online Booking Software eliminates the risk of overbooking

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4. Multiple Pricing Configurations

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Rental pricing formats for kayak businesses can be tricky since the final price is dependent on several factors, such as the length of the rental, number of people, types of kayaks, days of the week, and even the season of the booking. You'll need an online booking software program that can handle complex pricing configurations so that every booking is confirmed without any hiccups. Look for a software program that allows you to set up a variety of different configurations in the backend so that you can price and sell each option effortlessly. For instance, Peek Pro has special features designed specifically for rental equipment pricing configurations.

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5. Tiered Pricing Options

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In addition to setting up multiple pricing configurations, you may want to offer tiered pricing for groups, couples, and individuals. Small business owners and executives agree that tiered pricing gives customers choices and can help the bottom line, as this QuickBooks article suggests.

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If some of your business offerings involve organizing group outings or extending packages for different events and occasions, you will need a tiered pricing option built into your booking software program. Tiered pricing allows you to organize all booking options based on the number of people in a group—couples or groups may be eligible for a discount compared to individual bookings by selecting a certain package. Make this process as simple as possible by using a software program that can be configured for tiered pricing.

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6. Track Inventory with Ease

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When you need to keep track of a fleet of kayaks available for use and those that need to be repaired, take advantage of booking software that allows you to manage your entire equipment inventory from a single screen. Inventory tracking features allow managers and tour guides to quickly assess what equipment is available for an upcoming tour or event and plan accordingly. You can obtain accurate, up-to-date information about every kayak you have available for rental, in repair status, and in storage so that you can coordinate an outing effortlessly.

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7. Options for Add-On Services

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Even though kayak rentals may be your primary business offering, you may want to give guests a chance to book add-on services such as one-on-one classes, specialty excursions, or make a purchase of a kayak and related supplies from your store. You can make all of these options available with little effort by using a software program with add-on service features. Just select what types of add-ons you want to include with each type of rental from a drop-down menu and these will appear next to each offering at checkout.

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Using online booking software to manage kayak rentals can help you and your team take care of customers with a high level of customer service and ensure your kayaking business runs smoothly. Look for all of these robust features and options when shopping around for an online booking software program.