Scaling Your Tour Business with Comprehensive Guide Training Systems
This is where comprehensive guide training systems and detailed tour documentation come into play. By having these in place, you can maximize the possibility that every tour is delivered with consistent excellence, no matter who is leading it.
In this deep dive, we’ll explore the best practices for creating tour documentation and guide training systems that will help your growing tour business scale beyond just yourself.
We’ll also provide step-by-step guidance and real-world examples to help you in ensuring consistent quality across all your tours.
Benefits of Detailed Tour Documentation
Detailed tour documentation offers a range of benefits for your business. First, it ensures consistent excellence, allowing you to deliver high-quality tours to your guests every time. It also streamlines your guide training, making it quick and effective to onboard new tour leaders, even during your busy season. Additionally, comprehensive documentation empowers your team to accurately represent your brand, ensuring uniform quality standards regardless of the guide.
All of this can lead to cost savings through reduced training expenses and resource waste.
Finally, by having a well-documented system in place, you can free up your own time for other business priorities, making your operation less dependent on your constant presence.
Key Deliverables and Expectations
To create effective tour documentation, start by establishing key deliverables and expectations. These may include:
1. Guest-facing tour descriptions and sales materials
2. Pre-tour checklists covering logistics and timing
3. On-tour logistics and best practices
4. Post-tour checklists
Real-Life Example
Let’s take a closer look at some examples. In our coaching program, Simon, one of our Guest Focus coaches, shared his tour documentation for his Paris sidecar tours. He includes guest-facing tour descriptions, allowing guides to review what guests have been promised and their likely expectations. Simon’s pre-tour checklist covers items like cleaning helmets, prepping the sidecar, and ensuring the availability of spare gloves and blankets. For on-tour logistics, he provides a table outlining each stop, approximate timing, and notes on best practices or common issues. Finally, Simon includes a post-tour checklist for guides to complete after each tour.
All of this documentation gives guides fool-proof support to ensure that every guest receives the best quality service possible.
When creating these checklists, avoid common mistakes like using overly broad statements. Instead, focus on specific, measurable behaviors you want your guides to exhibit before, during, and after the tour.
For example, instead of simply saying “Make sure guests are having a good time,” provide a more detailed directive like “During lunch, individually check in with each guest, group, or family. Ask if they’re enjoying themselves and if they have any questions or concerns.” This level of specificity helps eliminate confusion and ensures consistent delivery.
Tour Content Documentation
Another critical aspect of tour documentation is your tour content – what your guide will actually say and the informational content they’ll share. This brings up the question of whether to script or not to script.
At Guest Focus, we believe that tours should be adapted to each group. Empowering your guides to adjust content in real-time allows them to better serve each individual’s interests and needs.
Instead of rigid scripts, we recommend building a “story vault.” This is a collection of engaging, memorable stories guides can draw from and adapt as needed. These stories should have a clear narrative structure, including characters, conflict, and resolution. By providing a variety of stories for each stop or section of the tour, you give guides the flexibility to tailor their delivery while still ensuring consistent quality.
Not to mention stories are not only scientifically proven to be easier to remember for your staff – but they’re also more emotionally impactful and memorable for your guests.
In addition to the story vault, create a “Guest FAQ” document that addresses the most common questions guests ask on your tours. This serves as a valuable resource for new trainees and helps guides build strategic knowledge. Regularly update this document as new questions arise to keep it relevant and comprehensive.
Additional Best Practices
To further enhance your tour documentation, consider these best practices:
1. Record your most talented tour leaders in action using smartphones or professional equipment. Include links to these recordings in your documentation, allowing new guides to model their delivery after your top performers.
2. Provide visual aids and prompts that guides can use to create more engaging and informative experiences. Document how and when to use these tools for maximum impact.
3. Leverage technology like ChatGPT and generative AI to transform dense informational content into compelling stories that guides can easily remember and share.
4. Break down your documentation on a per-tour basis, including different stories, content, and FAQs for each unique itinerary.
Remember, the goal is to empower and set your tour leaders up for success. Avoid overwhelming them with lengthy, dense texts or an overabundance of external links. Instead, focus on providing easily digestible, narrative-driven content that they can absorb and deliver effectively.
Start Taking Action
Creating comprehensive tour documentation may seem like a daunting task, but even small steps can yield significant benefits. Begin by establishing key deliverables, creating checklists, and working on your story vault. As you continue to refine and expand your documentation over time, you’ll see improvements in tour quality, guide performance, and overall business efficiency.
Many of the best practices shared here come from the personal experiences of our coaching team, who have built and scaled successful tour and activity businesses while maintaining excellence in tour leading. By implementing these strategies, you can create a resilient, scalable business that consistently delivers unforgettable experiences to your guests.
So don’t be overwhelmed – start taking action today. Break down the process into manageable steps and watch as your tour documentation evolves into a powerful tool for growth and success. With a comprehensive guide training system in place, you’ll be well on your way to building the thriving, profitable tour business of your dreams.
