Be a Better Guide Podcast - Tourism Training, Hospitality and Travel Business Success

Be a Better Guide Podcast - Tourism Training, Hospitality and Travel Business Success

By Kelsey Tonner: Award-winning Tour Guide Trainer, Tourism Consultant and Travel Business CoachSociety & CultureBusinessPlaces & TravelManagement
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Be a Better Guide Podcast - Tourism Training, Hospitality and Travel Business Success episodes

  • Episode 16 – When Should I give Refunds on my Tour Refund Policy Help
    If you as a guide have ever asked yourself, When should I hold my ground on my refund policy? or What should I do when a guest is demanding their money back? – then this video is for you!

    For those seeking refund policy help, the honest answer is that the no matter what your guidelines are, you should always follow this golden rule: No matter what the reason, give them their refund. So the answer to the question: When should I give a refund on my tour? Is: Whenever a guest wants it!
     

    What if they are at fault? Give them the refund. What if they are being a jerk about it? Give them the refund. What if in your heart of hearts, you fully believe you should not give this person a refund – give them a refund.


    -Kelsey T

    Finished Listening?
    Share this podcast using any of the social buttons and let me know in the comments how you keep your tours running on time! I know for a fact that many of you have a ton of experience, and I’d love to hear your tips.
     


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  • Episode 15 – How to Give Amazing Customer Service Examples and Tips
    Exceptional Customer Service can come in many forms.
    As a tour guide or tour operator, you want to be taking care of your customers as much as possible, but how do you give amazing customer service? Well, it is an enormous topic, and one we will revisit many times here at Be a Better Guide!
    In this video, I thought I would give you three concrete tips and examples, just to give you a sense of what great customer service can look like. Think of it as some inspiration as we continue to grapple with giving top notch service and incredible tours.
    Share this video if you know someone who might appreciate it and have them join the conversation!
    -Kelsey T
    Finished Listening?
    Share this podcast using any of the social buttons and let me know in the comments how you keep your tours running on time! I know for a fact that many of you have a ton of experience, and I’d love to hear your tips.
     


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  • Episode 14 – How to Avoid Burnout as a Tour Guide. How to keep up your Enthusiasm on Tour
    It is a hard thing to lead a tour with no energy… when you have almost no enthusiasm left in your body.
    This week we finally tackle the tough question of how do you avoid burnout as a tour guide? This is one of the most common questions I’ve received from tour leaders around the world and it is one of the biggest challenges we can face.
    You don’t have to be a tour leader for very long during a busy peak season to understand how much energy you need as a tour guide. And we all know that the more enthusiasm and passion you show, the better the experience for your guests, right? But we know there are times when all you want to do is run and hide from your group.
    In this episode, I share eight techniques I’ve learned over the years for keeping your energy up. As a full time tour guide for five years, I had to balance my life and work constantly, and this is how I was able to survive.
    Have a look through and give them a try. Maybe some will work for you, maybe some won’t. But I know from experience it takes a lot of discipline to keep yourself balanced, healthy and happy.
    Hang in there if you are in the midst of an energy crisis… we are going to get through this together! As a kindness, pass this video along to someone who might need a little bit of a booster.
    -Kelsey T
    Finished Listening?
    Share this podcast using any of the social buttons and let me know in the comments how you keep your tours running on time! I know for a fact that many of you have a ton of experience, and I’d love to hear your tips.
     


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  • Episode 13 – How to Handle Cultural Differences as a Tour Guide (i.e. Tips for Intercultural Exchanges on Tour)
    Everyday, tour guides and tour leaders face the challenge of how to handle cultural differences.

    It is our job to educate, entertain and inspire travels and allow them to appreciate different parts of the world. In many ways, we are cultural translators ourselves. We explain things that might be difficult to understand and point out things that travellers may otherwise miss.
     

    The other side of the coin, however, is that we as guides and presenters, first have to bridge that intercultural gap ourselves. We need to make our guests feel comfortable, respect their boundaries and communicate in a way that doesn’t offend any of their unique sensibilities.
     

    Not an easy task, and not one that you can get right all of the time. To help you with this sometimes daunting task, here are six tips to set you up for success when handling cultural differences on tour!
     

    -Kelsey T

    Finished Listening?
    Share this podcast using any of the social buttons and let me know in the comments how you keep your tours running on time! I know for a fact that many of you have a ton of experience, and I’d love to hear your tips.
     


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  • Episode 12 – How to use Periscope for Your Business & Using Pericope to Promote your Tour
    You may have heard about live streaming apps already, but have you ever wondered how to use Periscope for your business?
    Can it really be used to promote your tour and drive more sales??
    In this video, I answer that question with a resounding yes! I’ll also explain why I think that tour guides are uniquely positioned to kick butt at live streaming and grow their potential customer base. Periscope is about to take the tourism industry by storm and I want you to be ready.
    Finished Listening?
    Share this podcast using any of the social buttons and let me know in the comments how you keep your tours running on time! I know for a fact that many of you have a ton of experience, and I’d love to hear your tips.
     


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  • Episode 11 – How to Get Your Voice Ready for Tour – Vocal Warm up Exercises
    Tour Leaders and public speakers of all kinds know that their voice is the most important tool in their toolbox.
    That’s why this week we are focusing on how to get your voice ready for tour and sharing a number of our favourite vocal warm-up exercises.
    As a treat for you, we are featuring a special guest: Rocco, an experienced guide from the Netherlands. Not only is Rocco a great guide but he has also been a performer, actor, and dancer ever since he was eight years old. Rocco sent in some video clips of the warm-up exercises he uses before every tour.
    These vocal techniques are used by voice coaches all over the planet to help rockstars, broadway performers and opera singers get primed for the stage. Warming up your vocal chords is also one of the best ways to avoid injury or losing your voice!
    Finished Listening?
    Share this podcast using any of the social buttons and let me know in the comments how you keep your tours running on time! I know for a fact that many of you have a ton of experience, and I’d love to hear your tips.

     


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  • Episode 10 – How to Keep your Tour Running on Time Insider Guide Tips
    This week, guides of the world ask: How to Keep your Tour Running on Time ?

    Well, my friends, you are not alone. This is one of the most common questions I am asked here at Be a Better Guide and a challenge we must all continually face.
     
    Luckily, over the years I’ve learned how to adjust my wording and behaviour, so that guests know exactly what happens on my tours: We leave on time – ALWAYS. By handling this right early on in your tour, you will set a great precedent, plus you will earn the respect and gratitude of all of the folks who actually show up on time.
     
    It may sound harsh to be leaving before many in your group have arrived, but if done properly you will save yourself a ton of headache later in your tour.
     
    Check out the podcast to learn five insider tips on how to keep things moving along – and set your guests expectations properly!
     
    KT
    Finished Listening?
    Share this podcast using any of the social buttons and let me know in the comments how you keep your tours running on time! I know for a fact that many of you have a ton of experience, and I’d love to hear your tips.
     


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  • Episode 9 – Profile Photo Tips for Tour Guides – The Perfect Profile Shot for Tourism
    There is a pretty good chance that your tour guide profile photo isn’t very good…
    It’s nothing personal, it’s just that almost all tour guides have bad profile photos. As I look back, almost 100% of my own profile photos were terrible too! In a moment, I’m going to share some profile photo tips.
    The problem is that most profile pictures are treated as something of an afterthought. Often times we only spend 30-40 seconds looking around our computer and choosing from the photos we happen to have on offer. We upload it and then forget about it.
    Unfortunately, when we do this we fail to appreciate just how important profile photos are. When a potential customer is looking at a tour, it only natural for them to want more information on the tour leader. While having a captivating and interesting written profile is important, remember that your picture can be worth a thousand words! Visitors to your page will be judging how friendly you are and utlimately deciding wether you look like someone interesting enough to spend some time with.
    Other Profile photo tips:
    To help you examine your own profile photos I’ve created a list of do’s and don’ts when it comes to your profile pictures. (think of them as profile photo tips) Furthermore, we’ll even check out a few of my favourite profile photos from tour guides around the web.
    Finished Listening?
    Let me know in the comments what your biggest pet peeves are when it comes to profile photos. Any profile photo tips for the rest of the community? We’d love to hear from you!
    PDF Resource – Profile Photo Tips for Tour Guides – The Perfect Profile Shot for Tourism

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  • Episode 8 – Can I make up answers as a tour guide The answer may surprise you – Tour Guide Training
    There are few things quite so embarrassing as being publicly asked a question you don’t know the answer to – especially if you are a tour leader.

    Tour guides have it especially bad because 1) we are claiming to be knowledgable 2) People are paying us to entertain/inform them and 3) It is expected that we field questions constantly during a tour!
     
    There are a couple of ways to respond when you are caught in the moment and in today’s Be a Better Guide Community QnA, we look at whether or not you should ‘fabricate’ answers to the questions you don’t know.
     
    Is this something tour guides can get away with? Is making up answers the best way to avoid losing credibility? Find out today in this week’s tour guide training!
     
    -Kelsey T
     



    Finished Listening?


    Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever been caught in a lie to a guest. How do you answer questions you don’t have the answers to?

     


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  • Episode 7 – Tour Guide Jobs – How to get a job as a tour guide Tips for getting a job as a travel guide


    Tour Guide Jobs
    Let’s start with some good news. The overall number of tour guide jobs is growing globally, and the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) reports that global tourism continues to be one of the fastest growing sectors of the global economy! When asking how to get a job as a tour guide, I believe there are at least 7 questions you will need to ask yourself first. This video will go through those questions one by one!
    I also share some insights into looking for a tour guide job, discuss some of the advantages of working for a smaller or larger tour company and how you can work as a guide internationally or locally.
    How to get a job as a tour guide – Resources
    First:
    Our amazing Be a Better Guide Team put a lot of effort into researching a list of the largest tour guide employers on the planet. There are over 63 companies on this list that hire guides from all over the world! Use it to research what they are up to and reach out if you are interested in their hiring process. This free PDF can be downloaded right here .
    Second:
    Here is another one of our videos that will help you understand the distinction between ‘tour guides’ and ‘tour directors’. You’ll need to decide which has more appeal to you, as it will mean approaching different companies to get your tour guide career underway!
    Third:
    Here is a list of 101 different tour ideas from our friends over at Tourism Tiger. This list is not only amazingly long, but it also shares company websites for each different tour type. Scroll through for inspiration, or maybe even reach out to some of the companies to find your dream job.
    Fourth:
    Another list from Tourism Tiger that shares over 92 different places where you can list your tours and activities online. This list will be a big help to you if you are interested in becoming a freelance guide or starting up your own tour company! Furthermore, I highly recommend checking out these listing sites and services, as you can find out what other guides and companies are doing in the area you want to work.
    Holy cow… that’s a lot of resources!
    I know that the getting a job as a tour guide is not easy, and sometimes it can be discouraging. Hopefully, these resources will help you on your way to finding that perfect tour guide job.
    As always, be sure to join the Be a Better Guide community for more videos, helpful tools and thoughtful discussions on what it means to lead unforgettable tours.
    All the best and happy hunting!
    Kelsey T
    Finished Listening?
    In the comments, share any other resources or websites that you found useful when looking for a tour guide job!
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About Be a Better Guide Podcast - Tourism Training, Hospitality and Travel Business Success

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Kelsey Tonner is an experienced, global tour guide and founder of the Be a Better Guide Project, a movement that brings together tour guides and tour operators from around the world to learn from one…