Newsletter: Hiring a Private Tour Guide on a Business Trip
April 30th, 2012Even though I’m not traveling as much as I used to, I still stay on top of the travel industry and business travel topics by subscribing to several RSS feeds that I have found useful. This month I came across an article on CNN that reminded me of a practice that I recommend for layovers in interesting but unfamiliar destinations.
Http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/30/travel/business-travel-tour-guides/index.html
If you have the time and the cash to spare, hiring a private guide to help you maximize your available time in your destination is a wise investment. I’ve done this several times for differing reasons, and I have always felt like I got my money’s worth.
Tour Guide as Direct Support for Your Business Objective
During a business trip for my as-yet incomplete travel guide to Hong Kong, I hired a hotel car to drive me. I needed to photograph specific locations and landmarks without the fuss of having to drive on the left side of the road or find parking for what would ultimately be a 3-5 minute stop. I very carefully created a list of locations, stopping points, and estimate durations that I could give to my driver so that we would make the most of the 3 hours for which I was willing to pay.
On that trip I was staying at the Grand Hyatt, so hotel cars and drivers were a bit pricey, but considering that I had the opportunity to take stock photos from which I would ultimately profit, I felt it was a good use of my business funds. Through careful planning, we were able to visit about 20 destinations in 3 hours, and I took over 300 photographs during that time. That’s an average of 8.5 minutes per stop, which was all I needed.
The driver dropped me off, I ran to the location, snapped photos from a variety of angles, and then I ran back to the prearranged pickup spot (usually where I got out). It worked out beautifully. I think the driver was surprised that we got through the entire list!
Free Time During a Business Trip
The first time I hired a private guide for a trip during my free time was during a 5-day visit to Brisbane (Queensland), Australia. I was working for Microsoft at the time, and I had a 3-day layover between conferences. I found out that I was relatively close to the Coogi store in Surfer’s Paradise on the Australian Gold Coast, but I knew that I would not be comfortable trying to drive there to pick up the specific sweaters I wanted to buy for McAlister and myself. Driving on the left side of the road is a skill I have not yet had time to develop.
The hotel recommended a private guide named John, but I found out that his minimum tour time was 5 hours. I explained that my ultimate destination was the Coogi store, but that I was open to seeing other sites in and around Brisbane.
My experience with this guide is what I think most business travelers fear they might have to endure if they hire a private guide. I learned more about Brisbane in those 5 hours than I ever expected to know. Some of the information was fascinating, some of it less so. I think John was unaccustomed to having only one person to talk to, and felt that he had to talk the entire time, but he was diligent and accommodating, and I didn’t mind him sharing everything he knew.
I do agree with the CNN author though about the value of using a private guide for free time adventures. Like some of the people the author quoted, I also mostly travel by myself, so getting photos of take of me in these locations is tricky. I am never comfortable handing my 4-pound professional camera to a total stranger who can probably run faster than I can! So having John there to take a photo of me with my toes in the water on a beautiful Australian beach was a real plus.
John also took me to a kangaroo farm where I got to pet a kangaroo and wave at a wombat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wombat). I could have also held and been photographed with a koala, but all I could think about was it sinking its razor-sharp teeth into my arm, so I passed on that idea. So I have these memories (and photos and sweaters) to treasure, all of which would have been missed had I not spent the money and time on a private guide.
Mixing Business with Vacation Time
When I was considering Asian destinations for my first round of travel guides, I visited Bangkok on one of my around-the-world trips. I stayed at a hotel near the airport, but asked for a private tour guide to take me into the city. I have never been to Bangkok nor did I feel comfortable trying to get around on my own, so having a driver was ideal. I wanted to take photos of and visit specific locations in and around Bangkok, so as with the Hong Kong trip, I made a list of destinations and planned our route.
My visit to Bangkok was in late August. Normally I tried to put trips to Asia into September or October when the weather was a little cooler, but this was going to be my only opportunity to decide whether to write about the city, so I went for it. Having the driver then turned out to be an extra benefit, because the heat and humidity was more than I could bear.
We made all of our stops, but every time I got back into the car, the driver handed me a COLD, wet, hand towel which I pressed to my forehead and neck. I have very pale, sensitive skin, so because my face was flushed from the heat, I think the driver thought I might keel over! I can’t tell you how wonderful it felt to have that respite, along with the bottles of water he kept feeding me.
We rounded out the trip with a visit to the Bangkok equivalent of a duty-free store (or so I was told — I got the invoice about 6 weeks later!). There I purchased a beautiful hand-woven Persian-style rug that still graces my family room, along with a woven cashmere shawl and some other treasures. I suspect that the driver got a commission for taking me to that specific store, but I didn’t mind. He deserved it for keeping me cool and comfortable in Bangkok.
Tell Me About Your Experiences with Private Tour Guides
Have you ever hired a private guide on a business trip? Leave a comment below about your experience with private tour guides on business trips.
