Here are 5 tips to start a bus tour company.
If you offer coach travel services, or specialize in bus tours to popular attractions, then you probably already understand the importance and value of providing a great customer experience. The expectations of your customers go beyond just getting them to their next attraction. Travelers want to have an unforgettable experience. Consider these bus tour company tips to help your tour company and bus service grow.
Hiring tour guides with powerful personalities
Your tour guides are your company’s face and voice. Not only will customers recall their experience at a destination but also, most importantly, they will remember your guide. Your company’s tour guides are one of the reasons customers will remember you. Recognizing the importance of your tour guide role, you will realize how important it is to hire the best guides.
Tour guides should have strong and engaging personalities in order to represent your company. The following are the key characteristics of a top tour guide personality:
- Personable
- Profesional
- Expert
These traits will make your brand’s tour guides the most trusted ambassadors. They will give your customers an authentic and unique experience.
Busy Blue Bus, for example, is a company that hires professional tour guides that are admired by travelers. They are often praised for their exceptional and memorable experiences and the majority of their reviews include their tour guides.
For your travel companions, you can send reminder messages for bookings
You can reduce last-minute cancellations by reminding travelers about their upcoming bookings to help you plan efficiently. Implementing an online bus booking platform that can manage your itinerary and send reminders by e-mail is the best way to do so. With the right bus booking software, you can send out confirmation emails as well reminder messages. These messages will provide more information to your customers about their tour and what they can do to prepare. These messages will allow you to build a relationship and trust with your customers long before they arrive for their tour.
Ask for feedback from customers of your bus tours
Your relationship is not over once the tour is over. It is important to keep in touch with your customers and get feedback. It is possible to schedule online reviews or ask for feedback immediately after the tour has ended. While there are many incentives to customers leaving feedback, one of the best ways for them to give honest and reliable reviews is to politely inquire. People are aware of the power and value of reviews, and they will often share their experiences with your company.
Offer unique and distinct experiences
It is not only important to have great buses and tour guides, but it is also important to provide memorable moments. Unique experiences can be created by:
Add stops to your bus tours which other local tour companies don’t offer. You can find hidden gems around your area that will give you a local experience that is unique.
Add luxury touches to your bus tours. Enjoy a relaxing ride with champagne toasts, charcuterie snacks, or blankets.
Personal interactions with customers. Your customers will feel more at ease when you treat them like friends. They will remember these interactions and be more likely recommend your tour company.
Hop It in Australia is an excellent example of a company which has succeeded in offering a truly unique experience. Hop It in Australia provides bus tours to Australia’s top wineries, breweries. distilleries. Hot springs and other landmarks within the Yarra valley and Mornington Peninsula areas. Their tours allow customers to choose where they would like to go and how long they want to stay. Hop It transports their passengers to their desired destination, without them having to worry about who is going to drive next.
