Born from a wine import business and shaped by deep relationships with multi‑generational wineries, Joy of Wine Journeys built a premium, multi‑day model with a ~75% repeat rate. Natalie shares why they skip big cities, how “depth over density” creates value, and how pricing, partnerships, feedback, and tight ops compound into growth.

Top 10 takeaways

1) Repeat guests keep coming back. About 75% rebook, often bringing friends and family. Nail the first trip and lifetime value follows.

2) Win the in between. Don’t try to run Paris or Venice. Guests fly into a gateway, then the tour connects the regions in between where long winery relationships unlock access and stories.

3) Fewer stops, deeper moments. Five wineries in ten days. Hosted visits. Family meals. Time to linger. People remember conversations and rituals, not mileage.

4) Price for the value you deliver. Raise prices as the experience improves. Let booking behavior and guest comments set the ceiling, not nerves.

5) Partners make you resilient. When a bus failed, local partners mobilized vans, cold water, and support within the hour. Good relationships turn problems into loyalty moments.

6) Feedback is the roadmap. Debrief during and after each tour, then keep, change, or cut. Trim bloat, smooth pacing, and upgrade hotels, meals, wines, and transport.

7) Know who you serve. Average age ~63. Well traveled. Hungry for hosted, exclusive experiences without snobbery. Design pacing, teaching, and access for that person.

8) Confirm, confirm, confirm. Book a year out, then reconfirm at six months, three months, one month, and day‑of. Fewer surprises. Smoother days.

9) Help in the cities even if you don’t operate there. Refer guests to vetted guides in Venice, Milan, Paris, Nice, and Florence so the whole trip feels looked after.

10) Use tech to support margins, not as the magic. TravelJoy for CRM, WeTravel for euro payments, Travelfy for itineraries, QuickBooks for the back office. The differentiator is still access, hosting, and relationships.

When Justin Buzzi launched a clear kayak tour in Florida, his goal was to offer something memorable. What he built was one of the most highly rated kayak experiences in the country—with over 50,000 five-star reviews and 30+ franchise locations.

In this episode, Justin joins Dustin Miller of Conversion Assist to unpack how they built a guest experience that keeps working long after the paddles are down. From guide training to personalized automations, they reveal the systems and strategies behind their flywheel of reviews, repeat customers, and referrals.

Whether you run one tour or many, this conversation offers clear, actionable ideas for tightening operations, earning stronger reviews, and building a reputation that scales.

Top 10 Takeaways

1. Start with experience. Build with systems. Clear kayaks got attention, but it was the systems behind the scenes—like training, hiring, and guest communication—that turned Get Up and Go Kayaking into a scalable business.
2. Google reviews matter most. While they still collect reviews on TripAdvisor, Airbnb, and Facebook, the team prioritizes Google for its impact on search visibility and conversion. That focus shapes everything from email copy to in-person asks.
3. Follow up with every guest, not just the booker. After each tour, automated messages go out to everyone who attended—not just the person who paid. That alone tripled their review volume in one year.
4. Set expectations before guests arrive. Automated pre-tour texts help guests feel informed, reduce no-shows, and create a smoother arrival. That positive start lays the groundwork for better reviews.
5. Empower guides to own the guest relationship.Top guides build connection, read the group, and ask for reviews in ways that feel natural. Some have personally earned over 2,000 five-star reviews through great service and follow-up.
6. Automation can still feel personal. With name-based SMS, segmented follow-ups, and smart timing, Dustin’s system balances efficiency with a human touch. Guests feel supported without extra strain on the team.
7. Use your off-season to get stronger. Slow months are for updating SOPs, refreshing content, replacing gear, and optimizing tools. When the season picks up again, the whole operation runs better.
8. Your reviews are a roadmap. Use AI to analyze common praise and complaints in your reviews. What guests love should shape your messaging. What they question should inform training or improvements.
9. Bad reviews are a chance to show who you are. Reply quickly, stay calm, and put future guests at ease. Dustin recommends using AI to help write thoughtful, emotionally neutral responses if needed.
10. Great reviews grow more than bookings. Consistent five-star reviews improve search rankings, boost conversion rates, and increase the long-term value of your company. It’s not just a feedback loop—it’s a growth engine.

When Christian Wolters rejoined Intrepid Travel, his goal wasn’t to reinvent the brand—it was to reconnect it to its core. As President for Canada and GM of Marketing for North America, Christian brought a global perspective to a local challenge: how to ensure that Intrepid’s messaging reflected its values, operations, and guest experience.

At the time, Intrepid already had strong credentials as the world’s largest B Corp-certified travel company—but its marketing had become noisy. Christian’s task was to bring back clarity and alignment.

In this episode, he shares how the team rebuilt trust through transparent messaging, simplified their email strategy, and launched bold campaigns—like “Offsetting is not enough”—that prioritized substance over slogans.

We explore how brand credibility starts internally, how even small teams can clarify their voice, and why the most effective growth strategy is simply this: make sure what you say matches what you do.

Here’s what stood out from Christian’s approach to brand leadership at Intrepid Travel—and how you can apply the same principles no matter your team size or marketing budget:

Marketing only works when it reflects what’s real

Before crafting new campaigns, Christian focused on whether the brand’s messaging matched the guest experience. Effective marketing starts with operational alignment, not just creative ideas.

Less content can create more impact

Intrepid eliminated 70% of its email marketing output. By reducing noise and focusing on relevant, high-quality communication, they saw stronger engagement and a better connection with their audience.

Transparency strengthens your position

Instead of promoting carbon offsets as a total solution, Intrepid launched a campaign that openly stated: “Offsetting is not enough.” That honesty sparked deeper trust among travelers who care about sustainability.

Internal stories are the foundation of brand identity

Christian built Intrepid’s external messaging around what employees already cared about and talked about. That made the brand more authentic, more consistent, and easier to rally around.

Clarity attracts the right people

Getting specific about Intrepid’s values helped bring in better-fit travelers, partners, and employees. When you know what you stand for, the right people find you—and the wrong ones self-select out.

Show up with your real voice, not someone else’s

Christian encouraged small operators to speak in their own words. You don’t need slick campaigns to earn trust—just a clear point of view and consistency in how you show up.

Sustainability starts with how you operate

For Intrepid, being a responsible travel company isn’t just a message—it’s built into how trips are run, how suppliers are chosen, and how decisions are made. Marketing simply tells that story.

Internal alignment makes external messaging stronger

Christian made sure every team member could explain the brand’s purpose and values. When your team understands the story, they can embody it and share it more naturally with guests.

Rebrands can help clarify—not just refresh—your identity

Intrepid’s rebrand wasn’t just about visuals. It was about focusing the company’s message and voice to reflect its mission more clearly and consistently across all channels.

Small teams can apply the same approach

Even without big budgets or a full marketing department, operators can build stronger brands by focusing on alignment, simplifying their message, and staying grounded in purpose.

When Kirstin Reeder’s first-ever bookkeeping client turned out to be a tour operator, she didn’t expect it to change the course of her business. But that relationship revealed how often tour operators are misunderstood by traditional accountants. Today, Kirstin and her teammate Amber Call run Purple Sapphire Business Solutions, a firm focused entirely on the unique financial needs of the tour and activity industry.

This episode is packed with real-world guidance on how to set up your books, track profitability, avoid fraud, and prepare for seasonality. Whether you are just getting started or running a multi-day operation, Kirstin and Amber share the habits and systems that help operators build financially healthy businesses and reduce stress at tax time.

• And if you're attending TourWeek 2025, you can come meet Kirstin in person!
• Download their free expense audit calculator

As part of our Growth series, recorded live in Berlin at GetYourGuide's 2025 Unlocked Summit, we now turn to Naples, Italy. Tourpreneur host Mitch Bach talks with Jasmine Palmieri, Commercial & Product Director for World Tours Italy.

World Tours has scaled by keeping everything in-house—from their fleet of vehicles to employed tour guides—allowing them to maintain strict quality control as they grow. Jasmine explains their strategy of offering small group tours in multiple languages daily, staying ahead of competitors through constant innovation, and creating unique experiences like a Roman-era dining experience paired with archaeological tours. She emphasizes the importance of personal connection, having guides proactively reach out to clients and serve as local advisors throughout their stay, turning tourists into enthusiastic advocates who spread the word to friends and family.

Episode sponsored by GetYourGuide. Join Tourpreneur in November for TourWeek 2025 in Charleston, South Carolina!

Welcome to the Growth Series! Tourpreneur hosts Peter Syme and Mitch Bach attended GetYourGuide's Unlocked event in Berlin in September, and recorded several conversations with tour operators who have scaled their businesses to tens and hundreds of thousands of travelers. They share their insights and secrets in this series.

In this conversation, Peter talks with Arzu Tutuk, Founder and Managing Director of Walks in Europe. She shares her journey from being a solo tour guide in Istanbul to running a scaled operation across multiple cities in Europe. They talk about the importance of delegation, leveraging technology, understanding pricing strategies, managing cash flow, and enhancing customer communication. Arzu highlights the need for small operators to expand their partner networks and adapt to market trends, particularly the growing demand for personalized and private tours.

Key takeaways

• Delegation is crucial for scaling a business.
• Your time as a business owner is more valuable than guiding.
• Invest in customer service to free up your time.
• Utilize technology to streamline operations and bookings.
• Pricing strategies should be dynamic and responsive to market demand.
• Cash flow management is essential for business sustainability.
• Effective communication with customers can increase bookings.
• Private and customized tours are becoming increasingly popular.
• Expanding your partner network can accelerate growth.
• Diversifying sales channels is key to reaching more customers.

More on tourpreneur.com

Today Tourpreneur host Mitch Bach goes to Budapest!

When a video game designer accidentally lands on MasterChef thanks to his partner’s prank, he doesn’t expect it to change his life. But that twist launched Joseph Szakács into founding Foodapest, one of Budapest’s most unique food experiences. In this episode, Joseph shares how he turned a surprise phone call into a purpose-driven business built around cooking, culture, and human connection.

The (Hungarian) meat of this conversation focuses on Emotion Design. Joseph reveals how his background in video game development taught him to craft emotional journeys, not just itineraries. We dive deep into his ideas on “vibe guiding,” emotional storytelling, and why frustration and delight both belong on a tour.

• Visit Foodapest
• Join Tourpreneur for TourWeek 2025 in November!

Good tour design doesn't just help create memorable experiences, it's also a way to build a defensive moat around your business that protects against competitors, copycats, and even AI disruption.

In today's episode, TP hosts Mitch Bach and Peter Syme dismantle the traditional information-based approach to tour guiding and argue for a shift in thinking towards emotional design. They explore how customers drowning in content and knowledge need tours that create feelings rather than deliver facts, introducing frameworks like the "connection triangle" (guide-guest-place), the peak-end rule for memory formation, and the psychology of surprise as a core human emotion. The discussion reveals why designing around emotions like awe, connection, and surprise creates experiences that can't be replicated by competitors or generated by AI.

Mitch and Pete dive into how tour operators can build defensible businesses through unique access, authentic personal stories, and continuous iteration rather than relying on replicable scripts or famous landmarks. Using examples from speakeasy-style walking tours in New York to bonfire dinners with base jumpers in the mountains, they demonstrate how value-based pricing comes from designing experiences that surprise and transform rather than simply meeting expectations.

For more on tour design, join us at our annual conference TourWeek, November 10-13, 2025 in Charleston, SC!

Tourpreneur hosts Mitch Bach and Peter Syme come to you live from Berlin! They attended GetYourGuide's Unlocked conference, where over 300 of their tour, activity, and attraction partners gathered from around the world to have a day-long discussion that will shape the future of the platform, and our industry in part. (Last year's supplier discussions focused on the need for curation, leading directly to a major shift in the platform's direction.)

Peter and Mitch spent most of the day speaking with tour operators there, but when end-of-day drinks happened, GetYourGuide's COO Tao Tao said "let's grab some beers and go have a chat!" And we couldn't resist the chance to pepper him with questions.

In an age of carefully scripted, PR-focused corporate conversations, we appreciated Tao's candor and willingness to answer everything we threw at him. Our questions were a little wacky, a little philosophical and extremely eclectic. But he didn't shy away from anything. And the result really exposes GetYourGuide's vision (and bet) for how an experiences marketplace should look in 2025 and beyond.

This conversation is wide-ranging to say the least, and a good follow-up after our podcast in January (which is also a must-listen).

In this episode we cover a lot of terrain:

• Mitch gets a little wacky with social commentary: Are reviews actually good for our industry? Are we all better off experiencing travel through serendipity and wandering, rather than organized, booked experiences?
• Pete notices an end-of-day discussion on "moods" and asked Tao whether GetYourGuide should be developing mood and feeling filters!
• Tao shares why they created a conference to show up for their suppliers, even when there's tough love in the room.
• We ask how, 9 months later, the shift to a more curated marketplace is progressing. Are we nearing the end of the process, or just the beginning?
• We veer into a strange conversation around which movie or TV show best describes the current OTA situation, and how GetYourGuide thinks about what they're doing as an organization that partially sets the tone for what tours & activities are.
• Tao shares how in the age of AI, product differentiation and curation will only get more important.
• We all agree our industry needs to grow the pie. But how? In what direction?
• New AI reviews and filters point to a future possibility where the right tour is surfaced in a more personalized way, and quality is assessed beyond star ratings.
• Finally, we get Tao's advice for new businesses and how they should position themselves in the industry and the platform for best success.

And GetYourGuide is a sponsor of TourWeek 2025, our global conference with 400 tour & activity industry players coming to Charleston, SC for more meaty, frothy conversations!

More show notes and resources on tourpreneur.com

If there's one thing we at Tourpreneur have learned about running an online community, it's how important it is to have in-person gatherings to anchor the online conversations in the friendships that develop in-person.

So far this year we've welcomed nearly 1,000 people to our small group "Shindigs" (meetups) held all around the world.

And we're planning on more, plus launching a brand new style of conference for the whole industry, TourWeek.

So in this special episode, Mitch, Peter and TP Head of Events Kyle Campbell sit down for a chat about the importance of tour operators meeting up together in-person and how we want YOU to join or host an in-person gathering!