Operations
Monday, May 17 2021 | 21:00 PM EST
Revenue Expansion with Direct Booking Automation Tools
This unit highlights different automations that can drive more direct bookings. Instances of these concepts in ecommerce will be reviewed along with specific examples in use in the tours, activities…
Wednesday, May 5 2021 | 20:00 PM EST
On-Demand Concierge Service and the Voice Assistant; A new way to market to the leisure traveler
See how virtual assistants and smart speakers are being utilized by lodging providers to safely provide on-premises services, including curated recommendations for guests of the best local tours and attractions,…
Wednesday, May 5 2021 | 12:50 PM EST
Rentals Rising (U.S.): Tapping Vacation Rentals as a Sales Channel for Your Experiences
We’ve seen a big shift toward vacation rentals and Airbnbs over the past year, and it’s likely to continue as Covid-weary travelers seek out homes vs. hotels. In this session,…
Tuesday, March 2 2021 | 10:30 AM EST
Self-Guided Experience Design: An Overview
This workshop walks through the essentials of designing self-guided experiences and how to create a successful experience. What you’ll learn: best practices on self-guided experience design, including itinerary development, scripting,…
Tuesday, November 24 2020 | 21:30 PM EST
Beyond Infotainment, Creating a Deeper Tour Experience
Tours are certainly about providing a fun, engaging time. But sometimes we're content to stay on the surface: stories become "infotainment" and guests leave smiling, but without substance. In this…
Friday, November 6 2020 | 00:00 AM
Multiday Tour Talk
Let's discuss the challenges and opportunities ahead for multi-day tour operators.
Friday, November 6 2020 | 00:00 AM
“Survive to Thrive” – Creative Ideas for Food Tour Operators
Let's discuss the challenges and opportunities ahead for food tour operators.
Friday, November 6 2020 | 00:00 AM
European Tour Talk
Let's discuss the challenges and opportunities ahead for tour operators in Europe.
Friday, November 6 2020 | 00:00 AM
Making Everyone Feel Welcome on Your Tours
The purpose of this session is to help participants evaluate their professional and personal lives through a people, place, and purpose framework designed to help guides view their own balance…
Friday, November 6 2020 | 00:00 AM
More than Just a Rainbow Flag: Building Actually Inclusive Tours
The LGBTQ travel market is over $200 billion annually. Making your LGBTQ+ guests feel truly part of your tour experience goes deeper than marketing. It speaks to the way you…
Friday, November 6 2020 | 00:00 AM
Leveraging and Selling Cultural Heritage Tour Itineraries
Cultural heritage tourism, one of the fastest-growing segments of the travel industry, is now gaining momentum in the U.S. as destinations now have the desire to engage community stakeholders who…
Friday, November 6 2020 | 00:00 AM
Telling Stories That Matter, Strategies for going deeper
Our tour experiences are only as good and meaningful as the stories told. Join in the discussion with Leon Burnette, founder of TripSchool's Diversity Project and leader of Civil Rights…
Thursday, November 5 2020 | 22:15 PM EST
Planning for Growth, Expanding Your Product Line
Growing your business means growing your offerings. But it's not simply a question of adding new neighborhoods or experiences. Lauren Shannon shares her secrets in growing her Arigato Japan Food…
Thursday, November 5 2020 | 22:00 PM EST
The Private Tour Option, How to Make It Work For You In 2021 and Beyond
Everyone's suddenly talking about private tours; come hear how one agency is helping an operator shift strategy, and seeing good results.
Thursday, November 5 2020 | 22:00 PM EST
Food Tour Talk
Come meet other food tour operators and share creative stories and ideas about food tours.
Thursday, November 5 2020 | 22:00 PM EST
Using Technology Creatively on Tour
It's 2020: time to look at some ways that you can creatively integrate technology on your tours! In this session, we'll run through a wide variety of smartphone apps, little-known…
Thursday, November 5 2020 | 22:00 PM EST
Letting go of control, Hiring the right person for organization and growth
As business owners, we hate to relinquish control. Learn how finding the right person to help run your operation can free you to develop and expand your business. Organizing and…
Thursday, November 5 2020 | 22:00 PM EST
Improving Photography for your Tour Business
As small business owners, we wear many hats. Marketing is often one of them. Photography is an important part in conveying our message and brand to the world. Learn some…
Thursday, November 5 2020 | 22:00 PM EST
No Bad Ideas, Designing and Pitching Your Most Unique Trip!
This fun, interactive session led by Atlas Obscura will focus on helping tour guides develop their own unique tour product possibilities!
Thursday, November 5 2020 | 22:00 PM EST
Luxury & Private Tour Talk
Discuss ways to up your company's game and discuss ideas in the luxury tour market.
Thursday, November 5 2020 | 21:30 PM EST
Tracking & Predicting Demand, Search Trends and Other Techniques
See what Google Search Trends can show you about the state of demand for tourism. We'll also chat about other ways you and other operators are gauging consumer demand. Presented…
Thursday, November 5 2020 | 21:00 PM EST
Turbo Tax, All things Business
From licenses to insurance, the co-founders of Group Tour Professionals, a small tour operator association will lead a discuss on the challenges of running a small tour business.
Thursday, November 5 2020 | 15:50 PM EDT
Tour Guide Training, Beyond the Script
Last, but certainly not least, we turn our full attention to tour guides. As well all know, a fantastic guide can make or break a tour. But guiding is so…
Thursday, November 5 2020 | 14:00 PM EST
Everything Is Storytelling: Bringing Emotion and Connection to the entire Customer Journey
The "wow moment" is really the soul of the tour. It's the moment when a place comes alive; it could be a story or a shared experience, but it always…
Thursday, November 5 2020 | 12:40 PM EDT
Entrepreneurship Panel: Tips, Tricks and Advice for New Businesses
When we start our businesses, it's rarely with a perfect roadmap. We learn while doing, and a lot of lessons are learned later than we'd like. Beginning and early-stage businesses…
Thursday, November 5 2020 | 12:00 PM EST
The Guide in the Driver Seat: Building Creative, Unique Experiences
Unique tours are the new normal. A new segment of guests have moved beyond the cookie-cutter, and want something original and special. Join this panel discussion as representatives from Atlas…
Thursday, November 5 2020 | 11:00 AM EST
The Future of Experiences: Empowering Guides and Engaging Guests
TripSchool is a training company focused on helping guides and operators create and lead phenomenal travel experiences, from storytelling to product development to guest experience. We'll start this Boot Camp…
Thursday, November 5 2020 | 00:00 AM EST
Guest Experience is Everything: The Power of Creating “Wow” Moments
The "wow moment" is really the soul of the tour. It's the moment when a place comes alive; it could be a story or a shared experience, but it's always…
Thursday, November 5 2020 | 00:00 AM
Profitability and Pricing, Walking the line of pricing structures
The challenge when pricing your tours is making sure that you are able to effectively sell to your guests and still cover your expenses. All too often, tour operators will…
Wednesday, November 4 2020 | 22:00 PM EST
Roundtable: The Future of Food Tourism
During these unprecedented times, the future of Food + Beverage Tourism hangs in the balance and seemingly out of our control. As anxiety and questions swirl around what the post-pandemic…
Tuesday, November 3 2020 | 00:00 AM
Multi-Day Tours
If you offer or want to offer multi-day tours, join this Buzz Session to discuss how multi-day tours are different than day tours, issues related to tour guides, and best…
Tuesday, November 3 2020 | 00:00 AM
Managing and Distributing Your Products in a Post-Covid World
Christian Watts starts off this Buzz Session with a brief presentation about the importance of high quality content. What makes content that sells? What are the best ways to distribute…
Monday, November 2 2020 | 00:00 AM
The Pre- and Post-Tour Customer Journey
Let's discuss creative tips, strategies and ideas for how to engage with our guests before and after the tour experience, setting better expectations beforehand and continuing the relationship afterwards, all…
Monday, November 2 2020 | 00:00 AM
Covid Christmas: How Operators Should Prepare
How should operators prepare to make the most out of this unique holiday season. Whether for the good or the bad, this Christmas season will undoubtedly be more memorable than…
Friday, October 30 2020 | 00:00 AM
The Tour (in a Box) Must Go On
Not to be stopped by a global pandemic, this food tour operator of 13 years has sold nearly $250,000 worth of food boxes since March, and she’s just getting started.…
Friday, October 30 2020 | 00:00 AM
Creating New Tours, Partnerships and Opportunities
This roundtable explores new ideas that have arisen from data during this environment that have proved to be successful. Join us and share (and hear about) opportunities that you have…
Thursday, October 29 2020 | 13:20 PM EDT
Diversity: Serving the Black Traveler
From the Americas and Africa to Europe and the world, there is a large, diverse yet distinct segment of global travelers whose travel aspirations and ambitions have been changing and…
Thursday, October 29 2020 | 00:00 AM
Pricing in a Pandemic (and the Rebound)
In times like these, every dollar matters. Even small changes in pricing strategy can have a big impact on your bottom line. This workshop explores the essential topics on pricing,…
Monday, October 26 2020 | 11:40 AM EDT
The Planning Mindset: Let’s Dive In
This workshop delves into the methodology outlined in the morning’s Planning amid Uncertainty keynote. Join Casey as he walks through each step, helps you run your own self-assessment to hone…
Monday, October 26 2020 | 11:20 AM EDT
Keynote: Planning Amid Uncertainty
Keynote: Planning Amid Uncertainty Casey Clark, CEO, Cultivate Advisors Many in tours, activities and attractions face big questions: how to keep going, how and when to restart, how to plan…
Friday, June 5 2020 | 11:00 AM EST
Successful Pivots: How to Not Go Out of Business
Successful Pivots: How to Not Go Out of Business Times like these call for innovation and creativity. Every company that wants to stay in business has an opportunity to do…
Friday, May 29 2020 | 11:00 AM EST
Managing Your Insurance Program for Tourism Operators
Managing Your Insurance Program We’ll discuss approaches to risk management and insurance specific to tourism operators as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. What should you be doing now to scale…
Monday, May 11 2020 | 10:00 AM EST
Improving the Feedback Loop of Tour Reviews
Many companies are making mistakes in processing tour feedback. This is directly impacting the reputation and referrals of tour operators and OTAs. In today’s event, we look at how to…
Friday, May 8 2020 | 11:00 AM EST
Online Experiences: How to design, build and sell them
Online Experiences: How to design, build and sell them now and in the future Arival is bullish on online experiences, and we're not the only ones. Online experiences are not…
Wednesday, April 22 2020 | 11:00 AM EST
Virtual Tours: Should You Do It? (and if so how)?
Virtual Tours: Should You Do It? (and if so how)? Virtual Tours have become the latest COVID-19 fad. Is there really a business here? Is it worth the investment in…
Wednesday, April 15 2020 | 09:00 AM EST
Beyond the Crisis: Designing Digital Experiences for Today & Tomorrow
Beyond the Crisis: Designing Digital Experiences for Today & Tomorrow The coronavirus quarantine may disrupt the day-to-day of our businesses now, but tour and activity operators must not let it…
Monday, March 30 2020 | 17:00 PM CET
Our Greatest Assets – Managing Guides and Staff in Turbulent Times
Our Greatest Assets - Managing Guides and Staff in Turbulent Times Monday, 30 March 2020, 11:00 EST & 17:00 CET Kelsey Tonner, Founder, Be a Better Guide Project and Online…
Monday, March 23 2020 | 18:00 PM CET
Financial Management in a Downturn: 8 Steps Tour Operators Should Take Right Now
Financial Management in a Downturn: 8 Steps Tour Operators Should Take Right Now Monday, 23 March 2020, 13:00 EST & 18:00 CET Kate Presto, President, KIS Accounting The economy may…
Thursday, March 19 2020 | 16:00 PM CET
Workshop: Pricing & Marketing in a Downturn
Presenter: Lukas Hempel, Managing Director, bookingkit How do you price, market and push your products amid a global downturn in travel demand? When should you discount? What messaging and promotions…
Wednesday, October 30 2019 | 11:00 AM
Using Customer Insights to Create Culinary Experiences
What makes the ideal customer experience? How do you design your tours, activities or experiences to great the best possible outcome? The co-founder of one of the largest online culinary…
