Know Your Abcs When Choosing a Tour Operator
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KNOW YOUR ABCS WHEN CHOOSING A TOUR OPERATOR Knowing the ABCs of choosing and working with a tour operator will ensure a successful pre-tour, on-tour and post-tour experience for your student group. Six Flags Great America So much to do. So Convenient. Let’s go! For an unforgettable student getaway, head to Lake County, Illinois, just 30 minutes north of Chicago. Experience the thrills on high-flying roller coasters and schedule a performance opportunity at Six Flags Great America. Splash down at the new Great Wolf Lodge Illinois indoor waterpark. Check out the largest outlet and shopping destination in Illinois at Gurnee Mills. Lake County has it all, so close together. Plan your group trip today! Find more group tour ideas and a sample student-themed itinerary at VisitLakeCounty.org/StudentSpaces, and request the free Lake County Visitors Guide by contacting Jayne Nordstrom at (800) 525-3669 or [email protected]. Great Wolf Lodge Illinois Gurnee Mills VisitLakeCounty.org Copyright © 2018 by Premier Travel Media. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission or further information should be addressed to our offices at: 630-794-0696 Legal Notices While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this publication, neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, omissions or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein. This publication is not intended for use as a source of legal or accounting advice. The Publisher wants to stress that the information contained herein may be subject to varying state and/or local law or regulations may apply to the user’s particular business. The purchaser or reader of this publication assumes responsibility for the use of these materials and information. Adherence to all applicable laws and regulations, both federal and state and local, governing professional licensing, business practices, advertising and all other aspects of doing business in the United States or any other jurisdiction is the sole responsibility of the purchaser or reader. The author and Publisher assumes no responsibility or liability whatsoever on the behalf of any purchaser or reader of these materials. About the author Lisa S. Curtin has more than 20 years of experience operating tour for one of the world’s largest tour operators. She now consults to the tourism industry and speaks on topics related to tourism and business continuity planning. Currently, Lisa is the Chief Operations Officer at Caldwell & Companies, a Certified Public Accounting Firm in Bethesda, Maryland. Know Your ABCs When Choosing a Tour Operator A AUTHENTIC hen seeking out a tour operator, keep “authentic” in mind. Does the tour operator have a website? WCan the operator provide references or testimonials from schools that you can verify? This consideration becomes even more important when choosing a tour operator outside of the US. For example, if traveling to Costa Rica, a quick Google search may result in multiple hits. Digging deeper is paramount to the authenticity of the operator. In cases such as this, one question to ask is if the tour operator accepts payment in U.S. currency. Does the tour operator belong to any of the premier travel associations such as the American Bus Association (ABA), Student Youth Travel Association (SYTA), National Tour Association (NTA) or World Tour Operators Association (WTOA)? 1 Know Your ABCs When Choosing a Tour Operator B BUDGET udget is always a topic that should be addressed early in the conversation with your tour operator. Knowing your Bbudget helps the tour operator customize a trip that will work for your group. Be realistic in your expectations. Don’t expect a 4-star hotel if your budget won’t allow. Do, however, expect a quality hotel, tour itinerary and quality motorcoaches. 2 Know Your ABCs When Choosing a Tour Operator CANCELLATION C POLICY he tour operators cancellation policy should be clearly stated in the Terms and Conditions of the tour agreement T(may also be referred to as a contract). Pay attention to the Cancellation Policy. Tour operators often front money on your behalf to suppliers such as hotels and coach companies, and are bound by the contracted terms with those suppliers. As they are obligated to pay the costs, they must pass those along to you if numbers fall short of expectations or participants cancel. Most tour operators need final counts at 60-90 days prior to travel. Do be diligent in communicating to your tour participants that cancelation penalties will apply as stated in the Terms and Conditions. 3 Know Your ABCs When Choosing a Tour Operator D DELIVERY elivery of a successful tour depends on a number of factors. The single most contributing factor to successful Ddelivery of your tour is clear communication between you and the tour operator. Ask questions, lots of them, pre- tour, to ensure you and your tour operator are on the same page. Questions to ask may include how tour emergencies are handled, who pays for extended stays due to flight cancellations and how food allergies are handled. 4 Know Your ABCs When Choosing a Tour Operator E EMERGENCIES mergencies happen on tour. Just as in everyday life, people may become ill, flights cancel, flat tires happen Eand traffic delays occur. A quality tour operator will have contingency plans in place for almost every occurrence that can possibly be imagined. 5 Know Your ABCs When Choosing a Tour Operator FLIGHT F CANCELLATIONS nfortunately, flight cancellations happen. Your tour operator will work to rebook your flight, but this process Udoes not happen in the blink of an eye. In advance of your trip, discuss with your tour operator how flight cancellations are handled, who pays for hotel rooms should an overnight stay be required, and how are meals and activities accommodated should the cancellation warrant additional time in a destination. To learn more about the reality of flight cancellations, click here. 6 Know Your ABCs When Choosing a Tour Operator GUARANTEED G COUNTS our operators contract services on your behalf and are bound by guaranteed counts with suppliers. Suppliers Tdepend on these counts to manage staff, inventory such as food and revenue projections. It’s almost like supply chain management – one service depends on another. Know that when your tour operator asks for a final count of participants at a certain number of days prior to travel, this is the reason. Tour operators can manage one or two additional participants after the final count, but cannot absorb the cost of lost participants. Additionally, managing 10 additional participants can prove challenging, especially during peak travel season, when attractions, airlines, restaurants and hotels are filled to capacity. 7 Know Your ABCs When Choosing a Tour Operator H HOTELS otels vary in quality and levels of service. In general, student tour operators use quality hotels with varying Hlevels of service. A quality tour operator will use a variety of metrics to determine if the hotel meets its expectations (one metric I’ve used in the past is “would I stay here myself”), and if the hotel meets the criteria, chances are your group will be placed in the chosen hotel. To learn more about hotels for student groups, click here. 8 Know Your ABCs When Choosing a Tour Operator I INSURANCE our operators carry liability insurance and other coverages. While not necessarily an insurance policy, tour operators Tshould have in a place a form of consumer protection to protect consumer deposits should the unfortunate occur and they cease business. Check to see if your tour operator is a member of ABA, SYTA, NTA or USTOA, which make consumer protection a criteria of membership. Don’t be afraid to ask your tour operator about insurance and consumer protection coverages. It is also wise to ask your tour operator if its liability insurance expressly covers you as a chaperone should a claim against you ever be filed. In most cases the answer will be yes, but check to be sure and get it in writing. 9 Know Your ABCs When Choosing a Tour Operator J JET LAG n long-haul trips, especially those from coast to coast or destinations abroad, work with your tour operator Oto ensure the first day’s itinerary allows for jet lag. The trip will be much more pleasant with well rested tour participants. Also note that jet lag often sets in on the second day, as participants are excited about the trip and adrenaline may be present on day one. 10 Know Your ABCs When Choosing a Tour Operator K KEEP hen traveling with your group, be sure to keep a list of all tour participants’ cell phone numbers, Wemergency contact information and medical release forms. Obtain a medical release form template from your tour operator and be sure you have one for every participant on tour. 11 Know Your ABCs When Choosing a Tour Operator L LENGTH OF TRIP etermining the length of your trip will be managed by several factors – budget, educational objective of trip, Ddestination and age of participants. Younger participants, for example fifth graders, may only be able to handle being away from home for three days. Older participants, especially teenagers, can often handle trips of five or more days. They welcome the opportunity to be away from home and the chance to be “adult-like” with the supervision of their chaperones. 12 Know Your ABCs When Choosing a Tour Operator M MOTORCOACHES our operators generally use their own internal rating scale when selecting motorcoach partners.