1. Describe what occurs during a briefing session. 2. Define the following: supplier, voucher, spot time, and escort’s itinerary. 3. Give two possible uses for blank rooming lists. 4. Name five routines that are specific to the first day of a tour. 5. List eight routines that should be repeated each day of a tour 6. What are four steps that should guide your seat rotation system? 7. Why will friends seated across the aisle from one another on a motorcoach eventually be separated in the seat rotation system described in this chapter? Why would saying “We’ll rotate seats every halfday” not work? 8. Give four ways to ensure that a luggage tracking system will work. 9. What are five general activities that can be used to keep a group occupied? 10. List six concerns you should have when telling jokes to a tour group.
CHAPTER 3: MULTI-DAY TOURS QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION Describe what occurs during a briefing session Most tour operator schedule training sessions just before the major tour season starts it is the time to learn or review company procedures, these procedures are often summarized in a company tour manual a compendium of facts, rules, and recommendations distributed to all tour leaders, many company also operate a training tours, composed entirely of new tour conductor, to demonstrate tour operations in a realistic setting, they may require a novice intern to go on a tour as an observer or assistant to a more seasoned tour conductor On the job experience is truly the ultimate teacher but in depth knowledge of exactly how a tour unfolds is also essential, for this reason tour operator often brief escorts before every trip , these briefing sessions may also serve as a debriefing from the previous tour Tour conductors review the itinerary for the upcoming trip and find out a little about a group makeup, they are told when to report to the airport ,the bus or train terminal , or the cruise ship , they are given all the material they will need to manage the trip in very unusual situations for example, when a tour director is hired in an emergency, last minute situation this briefing session may be the only training the tour director gets The tour manager may have to rely on the river's knowledge to keep one step ahead of the passenger 2 Define the following: supplier, voucher, spot time, and escort’s itinerary + Supplier Companies that provide tour operators with services the most common suppliers include hotels, arlines, cruise lines , bus companies, restaurants, and attractions, for each tour , you should have a list of all suppliers that will service your particular trip, with addresses, phone numbers, and the names of contact persons Or you can understand simply , supplier is “ Most local companies depend on a supplier to deliver goods to their store that they can sell to the general public ” “ When the company needed to purchase new instruments for their analytical department, they contacted their top supplier hoping they could get a great discount ” + Voucher: is a document indicating that a service has been prepaid, the tour manager then gives the voucher to the supplier , vouchers are often used for city tours, meals, hotels, buy transfer other terms for voucher are exchange order, tour order, and coupon + Spot time is the time at which the tour manager must report for duty , will be well in advance of the client’s arrival time The tour director determine whether all in running on schedule and check the terminal to find the location of restrooms , shops, restaurants, and other conveniences + An itinerary is a listing of a tour’s day-to-day activetives.tour managers work with two different itineraries The first is the one clients see, which often appears in the sales brochure.the second itinerary is a more extensive one for the tour managers’s use 3 Give two possible uses for blank rooming lists Several weeks before a tour begins, the tour operator must send a list of passengers for that tour to each hotel being used information specific to the hotel is filled in at the top of the form.on its copy , the hotel adds room numbers next to the passenger’s names.upon arrival at the hotel, the tour manager receives a copy of the completed rooming list for reference purposes.many tour leaders also use rooming lists to tract luggage, a procedure explained later in this chapter Name five routines that are specific to the first day of a tour - On the tour’s opening day, a tour manager reports to the place the tour will begin spot will be well in advance of the client’s arrival time The tour director determine whether all in running on schedule and check the terminal to find the location of restrooms , shops, restaurants, and other conveniences - When passengers arrive , the tour manager introduces himself or herself, checks luggage, hands out essential documents, and assigns seating.a tour director must be friendly and professional from the start - The tour conductor will have to review with the group the general itinerary for the tour as well as the rules and regulations - If the tour begins on a motocoach or train, it can be done on the bus or in the train passenger compartment, if practical, if the tour begins on an aircraft you will definitely have to wait until you get to your drestination - You can then the necessary introduction on the airport – hotel transfer bus or later at a group get together at the hotel 5 List eight routines that should be repeated each day of a tour A guide or tour leader must carry out certain routines every day on the tour, especially on motorcoach tours: + Inform the group of the day’s times and events first thing in the morning + Find out about any special free activities (e.g., a parade, fireworks, or free concert) and tell your clients about it +Research times and places for those passengers who wish to attend religious services (especially on a Saturday or Sunday) +Whenever clients leave the motorcoach, give them a precise time as a specific clock time + Inform clients of when a seat rotation will occur + Circulate among the group and encourage general cordiality and information exchange + In spare moments, reconfirm all appointments that are about to come up, including those for the next morning + At day’s end, give tour members a general outline of the next day’s event and specific information about the next morning’s first activities and departure times Immediately after they disembark, check the motorcoach’s seats and luggage racks to make sure nothing has been left behind What are four steps that should guide your seat rotation system? Seat rotation is one of the special routines on a tour, and four steps should guide your seat rotation system: + Establish an Initial Seat Assignment the First Time a Client Gets on the Motorcoach You must establish your authority in this matter right away If you have more seats than passengers, leave the back rows empty Try to seat friends across from one another, and start them from the back of the bus Some tour managers stick tapes with passengers names on them to the top of each seat, then changes the tapes at each rotation + On Each Seat Rotation of a Typical-length Tour, Have the Client Move One Row Forward For example, the rotation will happen after lunch, tell the clients to take their things and drop them off in the seat in front of them when they leave the coach for their meal Tell them to leave their things on the coach’s front dashboard to pick up when they return This system ensures that each passenger moves through all the crows during the course of a trip The one exception: on a trip of two or three days clients may have to move two rows on each rotation in order to move through the full length of the motorcoach + Calculate Each Seat Rotation Based on the Time Clients Spend in a Given Row Explain to the group that you will rotate rows after two or three hours of seat time On multi-week tours, you may wish to rotate only once every day Wait for a stop when clients exit the vehicle or tell them at the end of the day that they’ll rotate the next morning + Track the Number of Seat Rotations on Your Seating Chart If clients get confused, then the whole system may crumble Expect client to occasionally become uncertain about where to sit By consulting your chart and checking the number of rotations up to that point, you can easily determine where they should be seated 7 Why will friends seated across the aisle from one another on a motorcoach eventually be separated in the seat rotation system described in this chapter? Why would saying “We’ll rotate seats every half-day” not work? + Try to seat friends across from one another, and start them from the back of the bus because they will soon be sitting near each other + Every client who gets a good seat, another client will not It wouldn't be fair to rotate passengers out of the first row after a half-day morning tour in which they've been mostly out of the motorcoach, with almost no time spent in their seats Give four ways to ensure that a luggage tracking system will work Don’t track luggage according to total luggage count Track luggage by using a blank rooming list or a passenger list Do luggage checks whenever possible and necessary Tell clients not to add extra pieces of luggage or use luggage tags they did not use on the first day, without telling you in advance What are five general activities that can be used to keep a group occupied? Airlines provide a parade of drinks, meals, movies, and audio programming to break up the monotony of long flights Ships stage a multitude of social events The dramatic scenery that can sweep by your motorcoach or train window is often enough At other times, though, on a long motorcoach ride, you may notice that many members of your group are dozing off On a long motorcoach ride, the tour manager should be on the mike about 50 percent of the time 10 List six concerns you should have when telling jokes to a tour group Avoid any jokes based on race, sex, or ethnicity or that are vulgar in any way Don’t allow your passengers to tell jokes on microphone Try to tie in your joke to a passing or relevant attraction Keep your jokes as short as possible Don’t exclude corny jokes Draw on personal escorting experiences for humor ACTIVITY 1 How many flights does this tour feature? Which are the only flights that clearly will be on Singapore Airlines? How many meals (including flight meals) are included? (Note: F indicates a meal white in flight.) 26 meals (6 flight – 14 breakfast – lunch – dinner) How many hotel will be used? Four hotels: Grand Hyatt hotel, Raffles hotel, Sheraton hotel, Bali Hyatt hotel, Hyatt Regency hotel Indicate whether the following are included as a part of the tour price (Y or N) a, b, c, e - yes; d - no How many days (out of sixteen) are entirely free for shopping, individual sightseeing, or whatever? days (4, 7, 10, 13, 14, 14) ACTIVITY How many meals are included in the tour price? There are 18 meals are included in the tour price Where will this trip’s best scenery be? This trip’s best scenery will be White River Junction Where will we cross the border into Canada? You will cross the border into Canada at Highgate Springs How long will the Thousand Islands cruise be? About two hours five minutes, from 11:55 A.M to P.M in the “Winter Palace” on 43 rd floor 5 Is there any meal for which we will have to dress rather formally? Yes, there is a meal you will have to dress rather formally At 7.30 P.M on Tuesday When will we have free time to shop? You will have free time for shopping at 12:30 A.M on Wednesday The major shopping center (Eaton’s) is only to blocks from hotel Is a trip on Maid of the Mist included? No, it’isn’t It is not included in admission When we will have chance to get a view of the Fallsilluminated at night? Time after meal at 8p.m in Friday, clients can go to open-air observation tower on level below restaurant to see Fall illuminated ACTIVITY Which days will we use a bus other than our own from Bonanza Bus Lines? Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday Why will we use another bus on those days? Because on Sunday, we will take part in full-day city tour (MONTREAL) aboard coach from GRAY LINE BUS CO Tuesday, we will arrive for noon 1000 Islands cruise at Gananoque, so we will use GANANOQUE BOAT LINE Wednesday we also use coach from GRAY COACH SIGHTSEEING for city tour (TORONTO) 3 This itinerary doesn’t give all city routings How could a driver or guide find out how to get from, say, the hotel to the Festin du Gouverneur? Driver or guide can find out how to get from, say, the hotel to the Festin du Gouverneur by searching on the internet, asking person who have experience, using software or equipment suport locate help to search for places easier, … Meal and admission costs aren’t given here How could the tour director obtain this information? All meals and admission included in tour price are indicated in parentheses or at website of company, tour directors can click on the route them coach will be taking and obtain detailed information on places along the way How many step-on guides are used? In itinerary, there are step-on guides: on Monday and on Thursday Which bus trip will be the longest without stops? Full-day city tour aboard bus from GRAY LINE BUS CO will be the longest without stops What is the company’s position on tips for step-on guides and for drivers from other companies seem to be? The company will be the main and only thing that is responsible for tipping the step-on guides and drivers from other companies The tips should be taken from the petty cash and escort should not organize tip for anyone on trip 8 If seats were rotated after every two to three hours of in-seat time, about how many rotations would this tour have? (Assume that on each city tour, clients will be in their seats at least two hours) About 16 rotations would be made based on the tour timeline Three times on the first day, three on the 2nd day, three on the 3rd day, two on the 4th day, one on the 5th day, one on the 6th day and three on the last day