Online Reviews: The Ultimate Guide for Tour Business Owners

First things first. To generate positive reviews, you need genuinely satisfied guests. To get satisfied guests, you should follow a guest-first approach to running your tour business. And then the reviews will flow.

To generate positive reviews, you need genuinely satisfied guests

First things first. To generate positive reviews, you need genuinely satisfied guests. To get satisfied guests, you should follow a guest-first approach to running your tour business. And then the reviews will flow.

Right up front, we want to strongly discourage you from purchasing fake reviews. It might seem like a shortcut to success, but it will harm your reputation when this deception comes to light. It’s not worth the risk.

Instead, play the long game of accumulating reviews consistently and persistently, and build a sustainable business in the process.

As a tour business owner, you’re likely always looking for ways to improve your online presence and attract more guests. One of the most important things you can do is encourage positive online reviews.

This article will take you through everything you need to know about online reviews, from how to generate them in the first place, to what to do with all of your positive reviews once you have them.

Let’s get started!

What are online reviews?

Online reviews are a form of user-generated content that guests can share on public websites such as Google, Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor. The majority of these sites present open-ended comments next to a rating from 1 to 5.

You can’t directly control what your guests say, but you can manage your online presence in a way that encourages positive feedback and by responding effectively to negative comments.

Online reviews are one of the first places potential guests will look to get an idea of what your business is like and what others think of your tours.

What’s the difference between a review and a rating?

A review is a detailed evaluation of a tour, product or service. A rating, on the other hand, is a score or judgment assigned to a tour by a guest. It’s typically just a number or star rating. Google, for example, allows reviewers to write both a review and provide a star rating, or simply provide a star rating without a review comment.

An example Google review that includes a 5-star rating, and a review comment below

How do online reviews work?

When consumers leave online reviews, they are typically rating your tour business on a scale of 1 to 5 stars (or green circles in the case of TripAdvisor reviews). They may also leave comments about their experience and photos too. These ratings, comments and photos are then visible to other potential guests who are considering that tour.

A TripAdvisor review that includes a 5-circle rating and review comment.

Importantly, a business can’t remove or hide reviews made about their business on review sites, such as TripAdvisor. If the review is in breach of the site’s terms of use, you can notify the site and ask that it be removed. Your only other option is to ask that the reviewer edit or remove their review.

Why online reviews are important for tour businesses

Have customer reviews ever influenced any purchase decision you’ve made? They’re pretty persuasive, aren’t they?

As a tour business owner, online customer reviews are important for three main reasons:

  1. They help potential guests learn about your business and what others think of your tours.
  2. They can impact your local search engine rankings, making it easier for prospective guests to find you online (which we’ll discuss later).
  3. They help to persuade prospective guests to book your tours.

BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review Survey 2022 found that 77% of consumers ‘always’ or ‘regularly’ read reviews when browsing for local businesses, which was a jump from 60% in 2020. This means that reviews are popular with consumers and are growing in popularity.

You see, our trust in traditional institutions such as governments, the media, and big business is declining. Instead, we are turning to our peers for advice, guidance, and information. Reviews fulfill this desire for advice from peers.

In one split test conducted by Growth Rock, an e-commerce site increased its conversion rate by more than 15% and revenue per session by 17% by adding the review star summary to its product pages.

As the research demonstrates, online reviews are one of the key factors in the guest decision-making process, especially when it comes to local businesses. In fact, 84% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

Moz reports that 13% of the 200+ factors in Google’s algorithm involve review signals, including the number, frequency, and the breadth of review sites.

So, if you don’t have any customer reviews or only have positive ones, you could be missing out on a lot of potential business. On the other hand, if you have a lot of negative online reviews, it could be deterring guests from booking a tour with you.

In addition, the qualitative feedback you receive is useful for 3 main purposes:

  1. You can discover what your guests value about your tours – because they’ll mention those aspects most.
  2. You will learn of any pain points your guests are experiencing on your tours and have the opportunity to correct them.
  3. You can see what words your guests use when talking about your tours and match their language when writing copy.

It’s no wonder that customer reviews are now so important; they provide an honest assessment of tours from the people who have experienced them. This is invaluable information for tourists who are looking to make informed decisions about where to invest their time and money.

What’s more, customer reviews are often far more accurate than the hype that surrounds a tour in traditional marketing channels. We’ve all been bombarded with advertising that claims a tour is the best thing since sliced bread, only to be disappointed when we go on it. Online reviews cut through the marketing fluff and give us the real story.

How online reviews impact tour bookings

Consumers regularly filter out businesses with less than a 4-star rating, according to ReviewTracker’s research. If you’re not actively managing your reviews, it’s highly likely your star rating is less than 4, which means you’re missing out on lots of bookings!

Positive reviews can help to attract new guests, but did you know that they can also lead to higher search engine rankings? That’s because they’re considered to be a form of ‘social proof’, which can help to build pre-booking credibility. More on this later.

On the flip side, negative reviews can do damage to your tour business’s reputation, but there are ways to mitigate that. For example, you can respond publicly to negative reviews and show potential guests that you’re taking their feedback on board.

How to ask for online reviews

The best way to get online reviews is to simply ask your guests! You can do this by sending an email after their tour, asking them to leave a review on your Google Business Profile, TripAdvisor page, Facebook page, or Yelp page. You can also include links to these pages in your post-tour follow-up emails.

Here’s a quick guide on how to ask for online reviews in a way that will help your tour business grow. As a rule of thumb, you want to be asking for them promptly, authentically, and consistently:

1. Promptly

The best time to ask for a review is immediately after the guest has finished your tour. This way, they’ll be able to give you an accurate and honest review.

2. Authentically

When you’re asking for a review, be sure to do it in a way that feels natural and authentic – use your brand’s unique tone of voice. This means avoiding anything that might come across as spammy or dishonest.

3. Consistently

Finally, make sure that you’re asking for reviews regularly. This will ensure that you’re always getting fresh ones, which is helpful for search rankings (as we’ll discuss in more detail later).

Another great tip for encouraging reviews is to offer incentives. For example, you could offer a discount on future tours for guests who leave a review, run a monthly prize draw for reviewers, or make a donation to charity on their behalf for leaving a review. Just be sure not to offer anything that would violate the terms of service of the review site (such as offering to pay for positive reviews).

When asking for reviews, consider these pro-tips, too:

  • Include a framing sentence before asking and a reason for the guest to provide a review. For example, “If you had a great time on our tour, please help other people just like you to come on our tour, by leaving a review.”
  • Provide the guest with choices when it comes to online review platforms. We suggest Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Facebook as options (for reasons we’ll explain later).
  • Also, provide a way for the guest to give negative feedback without leaving a review. In this case, you don’t want the only method for the guest to provide feedback to be a review!
  • Mention that leaving a review is quick and easy. For example, “It will only take you 2 minutes to help others by leaving a review.”
  • Ask twice for a review – the first time via SMS and the second time via email 2 days later.

By following these simple tips, you can make sure that your tour business is getting the greatest number of positive reviews.

How to automate the process of gathering online reviews

There are a few different ways you can automate the process of asking for reviews. One way is to use a tool like ReviewTrackers, Podium, Birdeye, Delighted, or ReviewPush, which allows you to send automatic review requests via email or text to guests after each tour.

You should also consider rewarding your tour guides for positive reviews that mention them by name. The reward could be cash, a bonus (perhaps consisting of points per review), or gift cards. Discuss the options with your guides and go with whatever motivates them most.

Report on guide-generated reviews at staff meetings. You might even create a visual ‘review leaderboard’ to appeal sparingly to their competitiveness.

Where to display your reviews

Once you start receiving online reviews, it’s important to make them visible to potential guests. The best way to do this is by displaying them prominently on your website and social media profiles. You can also create a testimonials page on your website where you showcase positive reviews.

If you have a Google Business Profile, you can also embed them on your website using the Google Maps API.

Where should guests post reviews online?

According to BrightLocal, 59% of consumers use 2 to 3 online review sites before making a purchase decision. There are many great online review sites that tour businesses should use to satisfy a prospective guest’s pre-booking skepticism.

ReviewTracker’s 2022 research revealed that 88% of all reviews come from 4 online review sites. Tour operators should encourage guests to leave reviews on the most popular sites – which are Google (where 73% of reviews are left), Yelp (6%), Facebook (3%), and Tripadvisor (3%). However, it is important to note that this study was not specific to an industry and so TripAdvisor likely has a much greater market penetration among tourists.

Tour businesses need to make sure that they are active on these platforms and encourage their guests to leave reviews. That way, guests can leave reviews on the platform of their choice. And, if you’re actively encouraging guests to leave reviews, you’ll be more likely to get them.

Online reviews aren’t the only way to get feedback from guests. You can also encourage guests to fill out surveys or contact you directly with any feedback they have.

How to monitor online reviews effectively

If you’re not already monitoring customer reviews, now is the time to start! Here’s a quick guide to get you started:

1. Google Business Profile: Claim your business listing and keep an eye on new reviews as they’re provided by your guests. You can respond to them directly from your Google Business Profile dashboard.

2. Yelp: Claim your business listing and monitor your reviews. Yelp also offers a series of tools to help manage your online reputation, including the ability to respond.

3. TripAdvisor: Claim your business listing and monitor your reviews. TripAdvisor also offers a management center where you can view all of your reviews and respond to each of them.

4. Facebook: Claim your business page and monitor your recommendations. Facebook doesn’t allow reviewers to rate businesses, but you should respond to any comments made when a guest is recommending your business.

By monitoring online business reviews, you can get a pulse on what guests think of your tours and make necessary changes to improve them. What’s more, you can respond as they’re posted.

You can also set up Google Alerts, or a paid service like Mention, for your business name or keyword phrases related to your business so that you’ll be notified whenever someone leaves a review. This can help you quickly respond to comments.

So if you’re not already monitoring for every online review, now is the time to start. It could make a big difference to your profitability.

How to respond to negative online reviews

It’s important to respond to both positive and negative online reviews. This shows potential guests reading your reviews that you care about what your guests think of your tours.

What’s more, research indicates that 89% of consumers are ‘highly’ or ‘fairly’ likely to use a business that responds to all of its online reviews, both positive and negative.

And on the flipside, BrightLocal’s research revealed that 57% of consumers say they would be ‘not very’ or ‘not at all’ likely to use a business that doesn’t respond to reviews at all.

The moral of the story (or the research), respond to all your reviews!

If you do receive a negative online review, remain calm. Remember, even the best tour operators get negative reviews from time to time. The important thing is how you handle them.

The first step is to take a deep breath and resist the urge to reply immediately. You must take the time to craft a well-thought-out response. However, don’t wait too long to respond because ReviewTracker’s research reveals that 53% of customers expect businesses to respond to negative reviews within a week.

When responding to a bad review, always be professional, courteous, and respectful. Avoid getting defensive or attacking the reviewer. Instead, focus on resolving the issue and making things right.

Here’s an example of how you could respond to a negative online review:

“Dear ____,

Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We’re sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy your tour. I will discuss the situation you’ve outlined with the tour guide mentioned, and provide training to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

We appreciate your feedback and will use it to improve our tours. If you’d like to discuss this further, please don’t hesitate to contact me on [email].

Again, thank you for your feedback. We hope you’ll give us another chance in the future.

Sincerely,

Your name”

How to respond to positive online reviews

You might be thinking, “Do I need to respond to positive reviews as well?” The answer is “yes” for two reasons.

  1. Responding to positive (and negative) reviews demonstrates your commitment to your guests.
  2. Responding to reviews is a local SEO factor, so it will help you rank in the search engines for important local search terms like ‘food tours near me’. N.B. SEO will be unpacked in greater detail later.

When responding to positive comments, you should do three things. Firstly, thank your guest for leaving a review. Secondly, add a personal touch to your response so it’s clear that you’ve personally responded to the review. Lastly, convey how much you’d like them on your tours again soon.

Here’s an example response to a positive online review:

“Dear ____,

Thank you so much for your kind words! We’re so happy you enjoyed the tour and our guide Tony was able to show you a great time. We would love to have you on tour again soon!

Sincerely,

Your name”

When you respond to online business reviews, you show your guests that you care about their experience. You also have an opportunity to resolve any issues they may have had. This can turn a negative review into a positive one! And, it can help to build trust between you and your guests.

Are online reviews trustworthy?

This is a question that prospective guests ask themselves constantly. With the power of the internet, anyone can say anything with little to no consequence. So how do you know if online reviewers are telling the truth?

The answer is: it depends.

Some online reviews are biased and should be taken with a grain of salt. However, other online reviews are more reliable and can be helpful for prospective guests in making booking decisions.

As a tour business owner you need to know that savvy travelers are discerning genuine reviews from fake ones using the following strategies:

  • Source checking: they’re checking that reviews are on reputable websites. That’s one of the reasons why we recommend promoting Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Facebook for the collection of reviews – they’re well-known brands.
  • Multiple sources: they’re checking several review sites to inform their decision. As mentioned earlier, 59% of consumers check out 2 to 3 review sites before making a decision.
  • Analyzing the reviews: they’re reading the comments carefully and looking for any red flags that may indicate they’re untrustworthy or fake. If the language in the review seems overly positive or negative, it may be fake.
  • Reviewer’s history: they’re checking to see if the reviewer has a history of leaving reviews for lots of other businesses in the same industry. If they do, it’s possible that they’re being paid to leave them.

Interestingly, many consumers believe that online reviews are more trustworthy than traditional advertising. The reason for this is that online reviews are perceived to be more unbiased than traditional advertising, which is often biased in favor of the business that is paying for the advertising.

What percentage of online reviews are fake?

According to a 2021 Uberall study on review fraud, Google has as high as 11% of all reviews being “inauthentic” on its platform, followed by 7% on Yelp, and approximately 5% on TripAdvisor and Facebook.

When it comes to online reviews, it’s important to be aware that not all of them are necessarily real. Just as businesses may pay for positive ones to boost their ratings, they may also pay for negative reviews to damage their competitors. We strongly recommend that you avoid both of these options!

If you think you’ve received a fake review (as opposed to a negative review), you should report it to the review platform that it’s been given on.

So what’s a tour business owner to do? You can’t control whether or not people write fake reviews, and you can’t control what people say in their reviews. But you can control how you respond to online reviews.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to handling online reviews like a pro:

Step 1: Check the source

Before you do anything else, take a look at who wrote the review. Is it a verified guest? If not, there’s a good chance the review might be fake. If you suspect it is, report it to the review site that it’s on.

Step 2: Read between the lines

Even if the review is from a verified guest, that doesn’t mean it’s 100% accurate. Pay attention to the language the reviewer uses and look for any red flags that could indicate bias, such as the reviewer being a family member of a competitor.

Step 3: Take it with a grain of salt

Remember, online reviews should be one of many tactics in the marketing strategy of your tour business. Don’t put too much stock in any one review, positive or negative.

Step 4: Respond thoughtfully

Whether you’re dealing with a positive or negative review, your response should be professional and respectful. Thank the reviewer for their feedback and let them know you’re taking their comments seriously. If you’re dealing with a negative review, offer to make things right.

Marketing of online reviews

Leveraging your online reviews has become a powerful marketing strategy for tour business owners because people are generally distrusting of authority figures. By collecting and posting online reviews, you can build trust with potential guests and increase your chances of conversion.

In addition to the logistics of asking for reviews, and responding to them, you can actively leverage online reviews for broader marketing purposes.

Here are 3 ways to leverage reviews for marketing:

  1. If you receive a truly standout review, you should send a message to the reviewer asking if they’d consider providing a video testimonial on Riverside.fm or similar which you can use on your website or in social media marketing.
  2. Once you’ve generated positive reviews, start adding them to your website. Make sure you include them on your sales pages at the very least.
  3. Ask positive reviewers for referrals. It’s much easier to convince a guest who has provided a positive review to give a referral than someone who hasn’t. You might want to offer an incentive for referrals or introduce a loyalty program with rewards.

In addition to the above strategies, be sure to highlight positive reviews in every possible marketing channel. You’ll be delighted by the increase in your conversion rate that this will provide.

How online reviews impact local SEO

As I hope you’ve realized by now, online company reviews are important. But what you may not know is that they can also deliver SEO benefits.

A high Google rating is the most important element in determining conversions on a Google Business Profile, according to the experts. Even though, in 2021 Google announced that a blend of good and bad reviews boosts the trustworthiness of a local business. That’s because consumers believe a business to be more credible if they have a percentage of negative reviews.

Think about it – when someone is looking for a tour business in their area, one of the first things they’re going to do is go online and search for reviews. If your tour business has a lot of positive ones, and a few negative ones, it’s going to show up higher in the search results, which means more people are likely to find and book your tours.

But it’s not just about getting more reviews, it’s also about maintaining a good rating. If your rating dips below 4 stars, you’re going to start losing business. So it’s important to keep an eye on your rating and make sure that you’re doing everything you can to encourage happy customers to leave a review.

Here are the key factors when considering the impact of reviews on local SEO:

  • Quantity – for local searches, search engine users are shown what’s known as the ‘3-pack’ at the top of the results. The businesses in the 3-pack are those with more reviews with a high star rating. What’s more, searchers tend to trust the review results of businesses with over 40 reviews, a lot more than those with only a handful.
  • Star rating – similar to quantity, Google also prioritizes your overall star rating. While a few negative ones won’t be detrimental to your search ranking, lots will.
  • Frequency – how regularly you’re receiving reviews also impacts your local search ranking. You want a steady stream coming through consistently.
  • Diversity – how many review sites your tour business is receiving reviews on matters because gaining them across a diversity of sites appears more authentic to the search engines. As mentioned, we suggest collecting them on Google, TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Facebook.
  • Responding – whether the business owner responds to reviews or not is also a local ranking factor as is the timeliness of those responses.

You have a better chance of getting discovered and clicked on in search results if you receive more reviews with high ratings and positive sentiment across several high-authority review platforms.

Case Study: Bulldog Tours generates 8,249 TripAdvisor reviews … and counting!

Bulldog Tours in Charlestown, South Carolina has accumulated 8,249 TripAdvisor reviews alone … and counting! The number of reviews is especially impressive given that most are 5-star.

A Bulldog guide sharing her local knowledge with guests

What’s their secret?

Simple: they offer an experience that can’t be found anywhere else.

Most tour companies simply provide a guide who points out the sights and gives a little history along the way. But Bulldog Tours offers something different – their guides are residents who have lived in Charlestown for years, and they share personal stories and anecdotes about the neighborhood that you just can’t find in a history book.

In addition, Bulldog Tours has a systematic way of generating reviews that includes incentivizing their guides for each review given that mentions them by name. They also relentlessly collect customer feedback and act on it. Generating more online reviews forms one part of their guest-centric approach to attract new customers.

If you’re looking for a way to stand out from the competition, consider offering an experience that can’t be found anywhere else, collecting customer feedback and incentivizing your guides for generating reviews. It just might be the key to generating an avalanche of online reviews – and growing a profitable business!

Action Plan

1. Make it easy for guests to leave reviews.

Make it easy for your guests to leave reviews by providing links to your review sites on your website and social media pages. You should also send review requests via text message or email after every tour.

2. Respond to all reviews, both positive and negative.

When you get a positive review, thank the guest for their feedback. When you get a negative review, try to resolve the issue with the guest. This shows other potential guests that you’re committed to providing a great experience for everyone.

3. Use positive reviews to promote your business.

Make sure to share your positive reviews on social media and your website. This can convert lookers into bookers and build trust with potential guests.

4. Get reviews from multiple sites.

Don’t just focus on one review site. Get reviews from multiple sites, such as Google, Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor. This will help you reach a wider audience, improve your chances of getting positive reviews, and improve your local search rankings.

5. Analyze your reviews for ways to improve your tours.

In keeping with the Guest Focus philosophy, continually be looking for ways to improve your tours based on the guest feedback contained in your reviews.

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Avital Ungar is the founder and owner of Avital Food & Drink Experiences, a culinary company that hosts in-person and virtual events for corporate team building, client entertainment, and conferences. Her mission centers on deepening human connection through storytelling, food, and drink.
Ungar’s passion for the finer points of life began while living in Paris and the quaint town of Aix-en-Provence in Southern France, where she embraced the cultural norm of afternoon wine and explored the countryside’s culinary offerings. Upon returning to the United States, she pursued formal wine education and is now a certified sommelier.
A Phi Beta Kappa UCLA graduate, Ungar studied Art History, French, and Mandarin Chinese, though she jokes she wishes she could have majored in Chocolate. After living in Shanghai and working in the Chinese Contemporary art market, she returned to her hometown of San Francisco to pursue her professional interests in art and food.
Since April 2011, Ungar has operated Avital Food & Drink Experiences, offering progressive dining food tours in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City, where each course is served at a different restaurant. The company also provides dining experiences, conference activations, and interactive meals in 12 cities nationwide. Her virtual offerings include culinary experiences with ingredient delivery featuring award-winning chefs, bartenders, and sommeliers, along with virtual mixology classes, cooking classes, water tastings, and aperitif hours.
In September 2022, Ungar launched Edible Architecture, which creates innovative holiday products including Charcuterie Chalet Kits – savory gingerbread houses made from charcuterie and cheese board items, complete with “Salami Shingles” and “Parmesan Snow.”
Ungar has been featured in The New York Times, served as a judge at the Good Food Awards, International Chocolate Salon, and Best of The West Rib Competition, and has appeared on the Travel Channel, CNN, and in USA Today.
Midgi is the owner and Chief Eating Officer for Juneau Food Tours and Taste Alaska! She has lived in Alaska for more than a dozen years and got her start in the culinary industry as a food writer and blogger. Her tour company opened in 2014 and has hosted thousands of hungry visitors in Alaska’s capital city. In spring 2020, Midgi launched Taste Alaska!, a subscription box service to ship shelf-stable Alaskan food gift boxes.
The pandemic also presented the opportunity to create www.globaltoursconnect.com, an online boutique marketplace for food, history, and cultural tours.
Her passion for food and telling the story of Alaska have been noted in the New York Times, Washington Times, Washington Post, Vogue.com, Forbes.com, AARP, as well as countless blogs and international and national television shows, including All the Best with Zita and Gordon Ramsey: Uncharted.
Gez Hamer is an entrepreneurial leader with extensive experience building and scaling businesses from startup to growth phases. He possesses strong strategic decision-making abilities and hands-on leadership skills, with experience across startups securing Series A investment, scale-ups obtaining continued funding, and post-acquisition companies ranging from SMEs to publicly listed global players.
Since June 2025, Hamer has owned Nautica Collective, a company reshaping luxury yacht travel for the new generation of travelers. Nautica Collective offers curated, boutique yacht experiences designed for over-30s millennials seeking connection, culture, and comfort through small groups, hidden anchorages, and chef-hosted dinners under the stars. The company operates routes in Mallorca, Greece, the Caribbean, and beyond, positioning itself as “aspiring luxury meets authentic adventure.”
In January 2025, Hamer co-founded Transcend Consultancy, which helps businesses navigate growth challenges with cost-effective solutions. The consultancy works with founders to streamline operations and expand into new markets, specializing in the transition from startup to scale-up with strategies built for today’s fast-changing business landscape.
Previously, Hamer served as Chief Operating Officer at ExperienceFirst from November 2022 to December 2024, Interim Chief Commercial Officer at Bundl from July to November 2022, and CEO/Management Consultant at GJH Consulting from October 2016 to November 2022. His diverse background spans consulting, operations, and commercial leadership across multiple industries and business stages.
Akila McConnell is a dynamic entrepreneur and cultural historian who owns Unexpected Virtual Tours and Training, and Unexpected Atlanta Tours & Gifts. She creates radically creative cultural training sessions for remote teams and immersive tours for visitors to Atlanta.
Since 2020, her virtual tours company has been featured in The New York Times and Forbes, specializing in cultural awareness events around Juneteenth, Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month, and Pride. Her Atlanta tours business, operating since 2015, has been named one of Conde Nast’s 16 best things to do in Atlanta and National Geographic’s top tour in the city.
As a freelance culinary historian and writer since 2009, McConnell contributes to major publications including Conde Nast Traveler, USA Today, and National Geographic Traveller. Her book “A Culinary History of Atlanta” was a finalist for Georgia Author of the Year in History in 2020. She also hosts “Savory Stories,” a food-focused podcast on WABE, Atlanta’s NPR affiliate.
McConnell specializes in sharing stories of disenfranchised and minority populations through food, history, and immersive experiences that challenge the perception that cultural education has to be boring.
A Colorado native, Staci left a job she loved designing dental offices and funeral homes, to accompany her husband on a job transfer to the Central Coast of California in 2009. At the height of the Great Recession, jobs in an area known for its high density of retirees – let alone jobs in her industry – were scarce to non-existent.
After a couple unsuccessful years trying to resurrect her thriving career, someone mentioned a Food Tour. In a few short months she researched, built, and launched Carmel Food Tours (CFT). Now in its 12th season, CFT is expanding and rebranding to Enjoy Carmel, offering more than just food tours. CFT employs 6 guides, and plans to grow the staff by 50% in 2023.
In her free time she enjoys traveling, pickleball, and Pilates with her husband, and tossing a tiny ball at the beach for her fluffball Chuck.
Simon began his career in tourism as a tour guide with Fat Tire Tours – Paris. As a trained social studies teacher and a dual FR/US citizen, this job fits like a glove! After three years as a tour guide with Fat Tire and side-hustling as an independent motorcycle guide, Simon returned to FTT – Paris to create its human resources department.
Specializing in local compliance and talent acquisition, Simon took over the hiring strategy for FTT’s European operations in autumn of 2019. With a new group of trainees set to begin work in several cities, COVID required an immediate 180 degree turn for everyone. After a decade of building tour leader teams, Simon combined his two passions and started a motorcycle sidecar tour business, and welcomed his first guests in Paris in spring of 2022.
Born and raised in Charleston, SC, Catherine began her 18-year career in tourism waiting tables while in college at one of Charleston’s busiest restaurants. What started as just a fun job that paid the bills and allowed for many social outings with friends, had turned into something that made her realize that working in hospitality was the only industry she ever wanted to be in.
After graduating from the College of Charleston, she came to work at Bulldog Tours in 2007. Serving as Operations Manager, Catherine oversees a staff of 50+ tour guides and customer service members. The best part of the job for her is seeing guests experience and love Charleston in the same way the staff does. When she’s not working, she enjoys playing volleyball, going to the beach and spending time with her husband and two super adorable daughters.
Chad is an experienced tour leader, trainer and tour business consultant. He’s been the go-to-guy for developing world-class training programs and leading global teams for tour operators such as G Adventures and many small to medium tour and activity businesses. Chad also comes from a background of startups in the tech industry, having worked for Adventure.com, Airbnb Experiences and other great companies.
Live the life you dream of living… That’s Chad’s mantra and he does his best to bring it to life every single day. Chad’s a big fan of micro adventures and spending quality time in the wilderness, sailing, hiking and camping with his wife Julia, daughter Cali and friends.
John founded Bulldog Tours in 2001 as a hobby with a goal of helping preserve his hometown. This sustainable tourism model has raised over $4M to help preserve many of Charleston’s most historical landmarks. Bulldog Tours offers a variety of history, food, pub and ghost walking tours with over 50 tour guides.
John is the Chairman of the Charleston Area CVB’s Travel Council and on the Advisory Board for the College of Charleston’s Hospitality Tourism Management Department.
Ralph Velasco is the founder of Continental DRIFTER® Experiences, where he has developed more than 200 once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences since 2008. He specializes in travel product development, researching and vetting local partners in destinations worldwide, conducting scouting trips with local operators, and creating unique itineraries that guests remember for a lifetime.
Velasco has personally led small group tours (4-10 participants) to more than 30 destinations including Antarctica, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Cambodia, Lapland, Vietnam, India, Bhutan, Romania, Mexico, Morocco, Turkey, Iceland, the Baltics, and the Adriatic. As founder of Continental DRIFTER®, he handles every aspect of the business from branding and trip design to marketing, social media management, contract negotiations, and client follow-up.
Since December 2018, Velasco has expanded his expertise through The Continental DRIFTER® YouTube channel, which features more than 75 videos offering travel advice, photography tips, destination guides, and interviews with locals. The channel targets GenX and Baby Boomer travelers and serves as the hub for his international tours. He conceives and films all content, oversees channel branding and optimization, writes scripts, records voiceovers, and manages social media distribution to increase viewer engagement.
Through his comprehensive approach to travel experiences and content creation, Velasco combines his extensive international travel expertise with practical advice for mature travelers seeking authentic, well-curated adventures.
Yaron’s love for travel turned into an 18-year career building one of Israel’s most successful travel companies. What started as personal wanderlust became Abraham Tours and Hostels – a business he co-founded and grew from scratch into a powerhouse serving 100,000 travelers annually.
As CEO from 2010 to 2022, Yaron learned how to turn great experiences into profitable business. The early years weren’t profitable despite rave reviews – they focused on creating amazing content without understanding business fundamentals. Once they cracked variable pricing, team management, and operational efficiency, everything changed.
Yaron and his team built systems that let him step away from answering every email. He developed bonus schemes that kept their best guides and drivers loyal for years, reducing industry turnover. Most importantly, he learned how to scale across multiple destinations while maintaining quality and profitability.
After stepping down as CEO in 2022, Yaron spent eight months traveling before launching his consulting practice. Now he works with the Israeli National Parks Authority on major system overhauls and helps tour operators worldwide through Guest Focus coaching, as well as other consulting projects.
Yaron brings this scaling experience to operators ready to grow beyond the one-person show, helping them delegate, systematize, and make data-driven decisions that improve both profits and personal freedom.

Accomplishments:

  • Co-founded and grew Abraham Tours & Hostels from startup to serving 100,000 tour participants and 200,000 hostel guests annually

  • CEO from 2010-2022, scaled company to 4 hostel locations plus a multi-destination tour operations

  • Established Israeli Hostel Association 17 years ago, served as general manager and chairman

  • Developed variable pricing schemes and team management for 100+ subcontractors/guides

  • Successfully exited as CEO in 2022, now consulting & mentoring various businesses in Israel and globally

After receiving his Applied Degree in Ecotourism & Outdoor Leadership from Mount Royal University in Alberta, Canada, Dave Kratt has made a living for the past 20 years in the alternative tourism industries as a guide, researcher, instructor, teacher, facilitator, manager, business owner, and naturalist. He has worked in many world regions including Central America, Australasia, Asia, and North America, applying his skills and training to various tourism, cultural, and environmental initiatives.
Kratt has been fortunate to find success through starting a number of businesses, which he tailors to achieve a more personal work/life balance. Recently, he made the significant decision to sell his farm and offload all personal and business assets, relocating his family (wife, daughter, and two dogs) to be more present in aiding his aging parents. This transition has provided him with the opportunity to share his business expertise through new and exciting channels.
In addition to his regular business coaching role with Guest Focus, Kratt recently started a consulting business called Wild Kratt Tourism Consulting Ltd. The two operations complement each other and have helped him find ways to share his passions for recreation, tourism, travel, and nature while enabling others to engage in these activities safely and consciously toward their potential social, economic, and environmental impacts.
Klaudija packed her bags in Slovenia 20 years ago with no plan except to see the world. A travel rep job in Turkey was supposed to be temporary – just long enough to fund the next adventure. Instead, it launched a global career building tour businesses from nothing and selling them for profit.
Her biggest win came with Urban Adventures, joining when it was just an idea without a brand. Over 10 years, she helped grow it to 500,000 passengers working with 170 tour operators worldwide. She spearheaded expansion into experiential products and negotiated one of the industry’s first media partnerships with New York Times Journeys.
Klaudija also built and sold two tour businesses in Ljubljana and London. Not many coaches have walked the startup-to-exit path.
Now she’s Head of City Experiences at TUI, leading an experimental department testing new products. This year her team achieved 75% revenue growth and 50% growth in passenger numbers.
Klaudija brings startup grit and corporate scale to Guest Focus coaching. She specializes in sales strategy, marketing optimization, and distribution channels. Her coaching clients particularly value her website development expertise – she’s guided three members through complete overhauls.

Accomplishments:

  • Grew Urban Adventures to 500,000 passengers working with 170 tour operators worldwide over 10 years
  • Negotiated one of industry’s first media partnerships with New York Times Journeys
  • Built and sold two tour operating businesses in Ljubljana and London
  • As Head of City Experiences at TUI: achieved 75% revenue growth and 50% passenger growth in one year
  • 20 years in travel industry across multiple roles: rep, guide, marketing, sales, managing director

Angela Shen is a proven business builder with deep roots in entrepreneurship and brand management.

Angela founded Savor Seattle in 2007 and grew it to a $1M business in under 5 years without outside investment. During the COVID shutdown in 2020, she pivoted the business from food tours to curated food boxes and grew revenues more than 2x her best tour year! Angela was named in Puget Sound Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40, and started a second tour business Savor the Wild Tours in 2023.

Angela’s expertise in business strategy and operations hails from the consumer packaged goods sector where she previously worked in brand management at PepsiCo and looked after iconic brands including Quaker Oatmeal and Life Cereal. Angela is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business and serves on the board for Visit Seattle.

Ana stumbled into tourism backwards in the 1990s—first as a guide in remote Northwest Argentina mostly because she spoke English where few others did. As a horse rider, mountaineer, and fitness trainer, she naturally fell into adventure guiding, learning the hard way by doing first and studying later.

Everything began to click when she attended her first ATTA Adventure Travel Trade Summit in 2014. Suddenly, the entire structure of the travel industry made sense—the difference between operators and travel advisors, how B2B relationships actually work, or how marketing for a B2C audience is so different. That clarity saved her years of trial and error.

Since then, Ana has built her own travel company, Adentrando, initially as an active inbound tour operator for Northwest Argentina serving multi-day B2B clients, and since 2023 as an Argentina DMC and also operating trips in Latin America, working together with trusted partners. She’s become an ATTA trainer, developed Adventure Travel Guide Standards, and spoken at major industry events about responsible tourism and community partnerships.

Ana brings her hard-earned industry knowledge to Guest Focus members, particularly those starting out or pivoting their business models. Her specialty is multi-day trip design—creating itineraries that tell a story and have a positive impact, rather than just connecting attractions. She helps operators avoid the mistakes that cost her years of learning, turning complex industry relationships into clear, actionable strategies.

Accomplishments

  • First woman adventure travel guide in Northwest Argentina, driving Land Rovers across deserts
  • Been an ATTA trainer since 2016, traveling to Jordan, Chile, Colombia working with suppliers
  • Co-creator of Adventure Travel Guide Standards (2015) – one of 15 people who developed industry standards
  • ATTA business partner since 2012 and trainer for their Adventure EDU program
  • Speaker at major industry events like Pure, Lata in London, ATTA World Summit, Adventure Elevate on responsible tourism and adventure travel product design.

Casey spent 14 years at Zegrahm Expeditions, climbing to VP of Marketing Communications where she managed a million-dollar budget. Through her leadership, Zegrahm increased business with travel advisors by 10% and cut direct mail costs by 23% – real money when working with those numbers.

After Zegrahm, she spent a decade at the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), growing net revenue by 30% and profit margins by 60%. Through COVID and its recovery, as President of the ATTA maintained a 90% team retention rate by keeping people engaged and motivated.

Now running Casey Hanisko Coaching and Consulting in Seattle, she’s doubled her own revenue in one year while becoming ACC certified through the International Coaching Federation. She’s also Dare to Lead and DISC and EQI assessment certified, bringing structured tools to her approach.

Casey specializes in strategic planning and getting tour operators out of the daily grind so they can work on their business instead of in it. She helps solo entrepreneurs and small teams document knowledge, define roles, and build growth systems. Her Guest Focus clients have hit major milestones – one reached a million in revenue, others doubled income, and several Guest Focus members have brought on new team members, consultants, and partners.

She’s passionate about supporting women leaders and purpose-driven operators focused on responsible tourism.

Accomplishments:

  • Grew ATTA net revenue by 30% and net profit margins by 60%
  • Maintained 90% team retention rate during COVID challenges
  • At Zegrahm Expeditions: managed million-dollar marketing budget, increased travel advisor business by 10%
  • Cut direct mail costs by 23% (significant savings on million-dollar budget)

Jess quit her high school teaching job for what she thought would be one fun summer guiding bike tours around Paris. Eleven years later, she’s still there. Turns out, trading lesson plans for tour routes was the best career move she never planned to make.

She worked her way up from tour guide to director at Fat Tire Tours, learning every role – designing tours, training guides, managing ticketing, overseeing operations. This ground-up experience taught her what works for staff. She now works as Europe Head of Retail, as well as overseeing Paris/Versailles operations.

Her biggest win? Maximizing operational efficiency while keeping the human element intact. She redesigned scheduling systems to reduce labor costs and spoilage, automated data processes, and streamlined operations without losing Fat Tire’s family-friendly culture.

What she’s most proud of is her team development approach. Using her teaching background, she focuses on staff satisfaction and growth, helping guides and managers build confidence. Many told her the training changed not just their work performance, but their lives outside the company.

Jess brings this dual focus – operational efficiency plus people development – to Guest Focus coaching. She works with operators from solo startups to multi-million dollar companies, helping them increase profitability while maintaining authentic culture. Her coaching clients especially appreciate her reminder to take breaks and prioritize self-care.

Accomplishments:

  • Worked way up from tour guide to director at Fat Tire Tours over 11 years
  • Maximized operational efficiency – redesigned scheduling systems to reduce labor costs and spoilage
  • Automated data entry processes and streamlined operations without losing company culture
  • Developed team management systems with 60+ guides, created buddy system and quarterly reviews
  • Created staff retention program with traditions, events, and ‘dominate’ t-shirt recognition system

Fieldbook focuses on one thing: simplifying all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into delivering a tour.

The Fieldbook platform makes it easy to:

  • Publish stunning, interactive itineraries digital and paper itineraries
  • Equip guides with a comprehensive run-sheet
  • Streamline supplier management and track reservations and rooming lists
  • Bring all your tours into one connected workspace

Unlike other platforms, Fieldbook is simple and easy to use. And because it’s a small business just like you, you’ll get the kind of support big software companies can’t offer. That means getting up and running in days, not weeks.

If you want to give Fieldbook a try for your next tour, you can sign up here or if you want to have a chat feel free to reach out to me directly at [email protected].

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ResmarkWeb delivers results for tour operators.
When All Ways Adventures had zero bookings on July 4th, they knew something had to change.
That’s when they partnered with ResmarkWeb – a digital marketing agency that specializes in the tour industry.

ResmarkWeb’s solution delivered:
– 30% revenue growth this season
– Higher search rankings for qualified traffic
– A website that converts visitors to bookings
– Responsive ongoing support (changes happen with just an email)

What sets ResmarkWeb apart? They understand tour operators. Their team walks you through every step, from understanding your vision to optimizing for conversions.

Nathan’s takeaway: “Don’t wait until you’re burned out. ResmarkWeb helped us grow without compromising our values.”

Schedule a free consultation

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