Today, we share tips and advice on staffing up your tour business and explain how to identify the right time to add employees to your tour company.
Our guests, tour business owners Brian Cain (CRAWL New Orleans) and Jarrod Riddle (Spirit of Arizona Tours) share lessons from the trenches in this episode. Brian reveals how he staffed up his tour company from just himself to nine tour guides.
We walk through determining where to place new hires in the company and delve into common concerns about adding new people to a solo business.
We explore empowering employees to give an authentic experience to tour participants and detail incentives and payment packages for tour guides.
Our guests provide tips on finding the best tour guides and suggest what to include in a job ad to attract the right people.
We also share the pros and cons of hiring employees rather than independent contractors, the best ways to interview new tour guides, and how to get over the fear of handing responsibility to new hires.
“You want your guides to really be likable and have your guests really fall in love with the experience that they’re giving.” Brian Cain, CRAWL New Orleans
This week on Tourpreneur, the Tour Operator Podcast:
- Identifying whether you need someone to lead tours or backend business tasks
- Questions you need to ask yourself when thinking about staffing your tour business
- Choosing the right time to add new people to the business
- Common concerns when considering adding new people to a tour business
- How you can empower new hires to help them deliver an authentic tour experience
- Incentive packages and payment structures for new tour guides
- Where to find tour guides for your tour business
- What to include in a tour guide job listing
- Employee vs. independent contractors for your tour business
- Tips on interviewing guides
- How to get over the fear of handing over responsibility to new hires
- How to approach hiring and training people for a seasonal tour business
Today’s episode of Tourpreneur is kindly sponsored by Tourism Marketing Agency and Arival Las Vegas
More about today’s guests…
Brian Cain
Brian Cain is the Owner of Crawl New Orleans, a tour company that encourages participants to immerse themselves in the uniqueness of one of the top destination cities in the country.
Brian has extensive experience in the travel, leisure, and tourism industries. He also graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, where he gained an Associate degree in International Business.
Jarrod Riddle
Jarrod Riddle is the Owner of Spirit of Arizona Tours. Jarrod holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Sociology and has worked in the history department for the state of Arizona.
He uses his passion for the area’s history to help visitors truly experience what makes Arizona a top tourist destination.