March is Women’s History Month and we’ve got a lot to celebrate. We reached out to our clients to send us their amazing stories answering the following questions: 1. Why did you want to become a guide? 2. What's your favorite part of the job? 3. What's your least favorite part of the job? 4. What are some hard truths about guiding? 5. How do you see guiding evolving in the future? 6. What's something about your job most people don't realize? Maria Tucholke Laurie Watt Heidi Wirtz Meg Nickman Morgan McIntire Juliana Garcia Faith Dickey Anna Rollins "Gus" Klein...
Most of the emails you get in your inbox are probably automated. As in, someone made that email long before it was sent, used tags to customize it, and scheduled it to send when you’re most likely to open it. Email marketing is still a powerful way for guiding companies to reach their target audience and promote their tours to potential customers. However, managing email marketing is time-consuming and takes a solid chunk of effort to make it worth using. Fortunately, automating your emails can help you save time, increase your efficiency, and improve the overall effectiveness of your email...
Travel trends are just that: trends. While they may be true right now, know that some (or all or none) may not last into 2024. But knowing and staying on top of the trends could help your guiding business tremendously by understanding what your potential customers want and are willing to pay for. We reviewed five different organization reports on 2023 travel trends and picked out what’s most relevant for outdoor tour operators. The No-Normal by Expedia points out that travelers want out-of-the-ordinary experiences this year. Condé Nast Traveler's "17 Travel Trends You'll See in 2023" shares that transformation retreats,...
Home to really long climbs and sometimes, even longer descents, Josh Whitmore, owner and operator of MTB Skills Factory, knows how to play in the dirt of North Carolina. The state is abundant in trails. From everything to flowy bike park trails to national forests with rugged backcountry terrain, a mountain biker will never get bored. Luckily, Josh’s company, MTB Skills Factory, can take clients wherever they want to learn how to clear a sketchy rock garden, shred downhill, or gain confidence in their bike handling skills. We sat down with Josh to learn more about him as a coach...
The Winter 2022/23 travel season is hurdling towards us with Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and New Years plans on the horizon. With the “Summer of Revenge Travel” and a lackluster Fall, here’s what tour operators can expect this winter travel season. Online Bookings Drop For The Fall Season A new report by Similarweb used data from Airbnb, Expedia, and Booking.com to assess global web traffic and U.S. travel conversions and it seems like it’s in line with historical travel trends. Despite a murky economy and high inflation, summer saw the “revenge travelers” who spent their extra cash on travel. This...
There’s a saying that’s along the lines of, “If you want to go somewhere fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with people.” When starting your outdoor guiding business, you’ll have to network with other people and businesses to help your company grow. Because it’s true: no one is an island. This just means that you can’t build your business alone. Sure, you might be able to build it fast, but you won’t get very far by yourself. The biggest challenges with networking are (1.) knowing your partnership goals, (2.) who’s best to partner with, (3.) what...
Tour pricing can make or break your outdoor guiding business. Price your services too high and you won’t get enough customers to cover your costs or make a profit. Price your services too low and your costs will overtake your profits. Maybe you want to start an outdoor guiding business because that’s your passion, your hobby, and your lifestyle. Sure, it could be cool to make money on the side guiding, but if you really want to start a full-fledged tour operation, you need to make a profit, not just break even, but to make money so your business stays,...
Registering your tour company and getting the right licenses and permits to legitimately operate is actually a really big pain. Justin Wingerter of The Denver Post wrote an article in 2021 detailing just how messy the permitting process is.Wingerter said, “Due to understaffing at the U.S. Forest Service and a cumbersome process, it can take several years and hundreds of work hours before Colorado guides receive a permit to take small groups fishing, hiking or do other recreational activities on federal lands.”We all know how dangerous it can be climbing up a mountain. And it’s especially dangerous when an amateur...
Adventures in Arkansas are easy to find because there are loads of them. With 52 State Parks, seven national parks (home of the first national park), nine Arkansas Game and Fish Nature and Education centers, mountains, caves, rivers, and hot springs, you’ll be hard-pressed to find yourself bored when you visit this state. They seriously have it all—two mountain ranges, limestone caves, craters full of diamonds, and roughly three million acres of protected forest. After adventuring with all these operators and you’re ready to soak your bones, visit both the smallest and oldest national park in the United States, Hot...
Alaska has an unlimited number of things you can do, places to discover, and limits to reach. It was hard to narrow our list down to eight guiding companies in Alaska that hit all our interests. Below, you’ll find mountain guiding companies, anglers, ATV’ers, snowmobilers, rafters, and everything in between. If you'll be there for a Labor Day weekend, read what we recommend here or if you want to explore an underrated state national park, check out Kobuk Valley National Park. Credit: Alaska Backcountry Adventure Tours Alaska Backcountry Adventure Tours About them: The owners of Alaska Backcountry Adventure Tours, Matti...
Rock climbing in Arizona means you have more exposed rocks than any other state in the US. While it isn’t all climbable, Arizona has the best year-round climbing with crags at nearly every elevation. Not to mention, Arizona has some underrated spots to adventure like the Petrified Forest National Park. From The Pit and Paradise Forks in the north, to the crags of the Watson Lake Dells in Prescott and Queen Creek Canyon just outside of Phoenix in the center, and then Mount Lemmon and Cochise Stronghold to the south near Tucson. Arizona has a ton of climbing to choose...
Finding guiding companies in Alabama is pretty easy when you know what to look for. In fact, we found nine guiding companies who will introduce you to an Alabama you’ve never known before. We found everything from kayaking under a full moon to climbing deep below the Earth’s surface. What You’ll Find In Alabama Alabama is a great place for outdoor enthusiasts and adventurers alike. Considering that it’s actually 70% covered in forest, time to rethink this isn’t an outdoor lover’s paradise. And while mistletoe might not be the first thing you think of when you consider what grows in...
The SOAR Act will make your life as a guide easier. At least, that's the hope. As we know, federal land management agencies require guiding businesses and outfitters to get special recreation permits so they can operate on public lands and waters. Even though this is a legal requirement for professional guides, they aren’t easily obtainable. Not only is the process totally convoluted, a lot of businesses ask agencies about available permits to only be told there aren’t any available. Because of this, guiding companies can’t take their clients out on public lands and their businesses suffer. I. What’s the...
We scoured the internet for online booking stats that our clients will care about. While researching, we saw the shift to online booking has seen significant changes from pre-pandemic levels. While many guiding companies are making the move to online booking, there are still too many putting it off and gripping too tightly to the pen and paper. Those who don’t jump on board now will be left behind and lose out to their competitors. Here are 25 online booking statistics showing the shift to online booking, travelers’ habits and interests, and how important it is to adopt reservation technology...
“I realized guiding was another path in the industry and a blend of passion, sense of purpose, and being in nature,” said Jeff when we asked him why he wanted to become a guide. Smile Mountain Guides was founded on trust, caring, and respect for climbing. It’s a small but mighty team and we got the chance to hear from Meg, Michael, and Jeff about their experiences as guides. Why did you want to become a guide? Michael: I think at first it was seeing a lot of the people I looked up to in the climbing community working as...