The autumn chilliness of New York, where I spent three months recharging my batteries last year, made me yearn for warmer places. As usual, my pockets weren’t exactly full, so I had to come up with a lucrative idea. After a week of futile searching for funds, it dawned on me. I gathered a group of people who crave guided tours with experienced travelers like myself and included a small fee for my services in the price – and it worked like magic! The following article is a step-by-step guide on how to pull it off yourself.
Choose the Theme of Your Trip
Almost any hobby can be turned into a travel theme. Yoga tours, tours for young moms, mountain hikes, tours for photographers, etc. – all of these are extremely popular.
Decide on the Destination
If you can’t figure out what theme to exploit, lure people in with exotic places. That time, I settled on Thailand, which I had visited twice before. Intuitively, I felt this would have enough people hooked: the destination is gaining popularity, but organizing such a trip seems difficult to many.
Let Everyone Know
Do it at the earliest possible stage of planning. This way, you will get ample feedback and understand what attracts people and what scares them away. Then, based on this mini-research, proceed with planning.
I made a couple of emotional and inspiring posts on my Instagram and Facebook pages and, to my surprise (I only have around 500 contacts on both), attracted enough people, both friends and strangers, to start the preparations for real.
Calculate the Budget
Once you’ve decided on your travel dates, calculate your usual list of expenses: lodging, transfers, car rentals, tours, sightseeing, and, of course, meals. Group size doesn’t matter unless you have people with special needs – just estimate yourself and multiply by the number of participants.
Assess the Risks
Think about what happens if somebody opts out from the trip, either before or on the road. Take this point seriously and ruminate on different outcomes – your money and reputation are at stake. Needless to say, other force majeure situations need to be taken into account.
Rally a Team
If there aren’t many potential travelers in your social circle, you will probably have to resort to targeted advertising. It is hardly possible to predict the costs in advance since they depend on the quality and price of the service you offer, as well as the skill of your internet marketer. If you are going to attract an unfamiliar audience, it is advisable to create a coherent landing page describing your offer. Then, share your idea via social media posts, verbal acquaintances, ads, and search engine optimization.
Booking Time!
You should only buy tickets when the minimum number of participants has already gathered – in other words, when the trip becomes a feasible business. Unfortunately, cheap fares are often non-refundable, so if you rush in too early, there’s no way back.
At this stage, I thoroughly skimmed several travel blogs for updates: must-visit places, how to get there, how much time it takes to visit a particular attraction, the best place to stay the night, etc.
With Thailand, it was relatively easy – I had a plan of outings and tours, which, if necessary, could be adjusted on the spot. With other destinations, though, things can get complicated: sometimes you would need precise daily timing, especially if your travel assumes multiple locations connected by short trips.
I booked accommodation as soon as I decided on the places of overnight stay – it is almost guaranteed that only expensive accommodation options will remain closer to departure. You can pay for tours and car rental right before leaving or on the spot. Everything is strictly individual: it depends on the destination and on whether your traveling companions paid the entire cost of the trip at once or only part of it.
Hit the Road
Now that you have everything prim and proper, all that remains is to go on your first group tour with coveted financial gains! Initially, some tension is inevitable, so you need to be prepared for it. You’ll have to micromanage and tackle unpredictable issues.
Imagine being bombarded with questions all the time: “Where is the toilet?”, “Where are we going?”, “What is the plan?”, “When is lunch?”. Relax and enjoy the ride! Once the group rallies (which also largely depends on you), everything will go smoothly. My first private tour experience was a huge success, and with this guide, I have every reason to believe yours will be too.
