Friends and family on a Yosemite Wellness Retreat.
The San Francisco area is the land of startups. Several times per week any number of bright entrepreneurs pitch their new ideas to investors, with some presentations stellar and others that could use improvement. And some of those pitches are in the tour industry. We enjoy new ideas because the tour industry should evolve. To stay the same year after year is to stagnate. The more ideas on the table, the better.
However, many of the new ideas are not coming from experienced, private tour guides. Instead, computer programmers and coders and wannabes are pitching them, sometimes even suggesting replacing private guides with recordings. We believe every idea should be given its proper regard but will never believe it’s best for private groups to experience less interaction with locals.
Tour California Like a Local
Tour like a local — the words are quickly becoming overused. Whether Airbnb is using the sentiment for their marketing campaigns or a national tour company uses the line to sell a watered-down product, everyone wants to offer a “local’s tour.” The words, really, are losing their value.
In downtown San Francisco, rarely do you run into someone who was born and raised here, anyway. Perhaps someone has lived here 10, 20, even 30 years, but most working downtown are not from the city. Regardless, most know how to have fun and know several good spots of entertainment in San Francisco.
And where might those be? Anywhere, really — from a stroll to a popular coffee shop, a hike through Russian Hill’s fascinating stairways or a swim at Fisherman’s Wharf — free time is a glorious thing in San Francisco, mostly because we are lucky to have the advantages of a city, plus nature and quirkiness all in one. It will keep you coming back for more…if you are given a proper introduction to the city, and not by a recording that can’t interact or respond to questions.
Photograph the Painted Ladies on a San Francisco Corporate Retreat.
San Francisco Introduction Tour
What is considered a proper introduction to you? It obviously involves comfort, whether you want to ride in a private luxury Mercedes or sightsee in a top-end, private motorcoach for 50 colleagues. No matter how you travel, we can help you gain an understanding of San Francisco so you comprehend the significance of each landmark and enjoy other unusual sites, all while showing a concern for your time. Can a phone app accomplish all of that? You be the judge.
When it comes to offering comfort, each guide is different, with some are better than others. Personally, we find the best private tour guides (when we travel the world) are the ones who believe in the same things we do — providing an unparalleled, memorable and comfortable experience. We usually find this by perusing their websites, advertisements, and even phoning them (which is Stone Age to some, we know) to understand their views and thoughts. We know the key to comfort is choosing the right host.
Group understanding comes next. And yes, a robot can spout off facts over a loudspeaker, but can a recording hold your private group’s attention? Anyone who has traveled since 2005 knows how distracting a cell phone can be; many people will stop a conversation mid-sentence to answer a text message. And you want a pre-recorded speech to compete with that?
Hiring a private tour guide for us is showing travelers there is more to adventure than technology, including face-to-face camaraderie. A conversation catered to your group’s interests helps, and as the guide learns more, the conversation adapts. Here is an example: Let’s say we finish our selfies at the Golden Gate Bridge and are on our way to Chinatown, except the roads are detoured for a parade. Will your recording know how to sidestep this problem? Will your recording know how to keep the city interesting, even when not on the main route?
And finally your time, which means the efficient use of it. What if, during your corporate retreat, you come across road construction? Or an unusually large crowd is at Fisherman’s Wharf? Can a recording set your group’s expectations properly? Or maneuver you around long waits or other last-minute problems?
Although there is usually a market for technology in travel, these are a few reasons why a private tour guide can beat out a robot every time. Remember, it’s about your guests’ understanding and enjoyment of San Francisco, and with questions on people’s mind such as the California homeless dilemma or history, the expertise of a one-on-one host is unparalleled…if you want the best experience for your guests.
Privately camp in Yosemite National Park, away from the tourists.
Digital Detox Tours from San Francisco
To go one step further, have you ever considered leaving your phones behind altogether and experiencing a technology-free retreat? We know some of you may panic at the thought of it or ask yourself, “What if somebody needs me?” but you might remember that travel existed before iPhones. Where did your sense of adventure go?
Are you a larger tour company looking to add a private California tour to your repertoire, especially when it comes to technology-free travel? Or a group leader who wants to get the group off their iPads and iPhones and instead interacting with each other?
As you can see, with or without technology, a wide range of options is available for your private group. Digital detox, camping retreat, call it what you want — when it comes to technology, how much you use on a tour is your choice, and our private tour guides can make a digital detox tour happen, especially if you want to venture into the wilderness such as on a private corporate retreat in Yosemite.
It’s About Service
In almost any industry, a business wins when the customer feels welcome. It’s all about a mutual respect and the feeling of yeah, they’ve got our back — almost like the traditional Southern hospitality in the U.S. And do you need technology to enjoy that? Or a better question, is technology a better way to accomplish that? Not likely.
We are all humans with the same emotions and feelings. Travelers come from all over the world, but even with language barriers, the right vibe from a local host can make all the difference. When visiting a new city, everyone wants to feel valued, not disrespected, not talked down to, and feel part of an insider’s club, not exploited. If your private tour guide can accomplish these objectives for you, then he or she is doing the job correctly.
We know above-average service fits in with your desires. Are you looking to reserve a private, luxury tour? Or a carefree family tour? What type of host you hire depends on what your goals in San Francisco may be, whether you want an abundance of technology on your corporate retreat or not.
Discover your zen on a Yosemite Corporate Retreat
Hire A Private Tour Guide vs. Technology
Technology in the tour industry is coming whether we like it or not. Self-driving cars, Googling to find the best restaurants, even private tour guides. We are not naïve; we realize a corner of our industry will eventually be replaced, mostly because many people will take the path of least resistance, and whether you agree or not, many feel more comfortable on the phone these days, especially the younger generation.
That’s why we use our skills to understand both sides and offer something unique. Remember, it’s about making our guests feel welcome in California and getting our message across smoothly, whatever we choose that message to be. The ability to adapt on the fly on a corporate retreat, with or without technology, is our strength.
Yes or No to Technology?
We are old school. No matter how much technology comes along, even though we enjoy its advantages (and sometimes we really, really do), we always focus our retreats on people, not things, and on how we’d like to be treated. And that, for many, especially those looking for specialized and catered tours, means eliminating laziness — in other words a recording — and instead providing a polite host with attention to detail.
Some may disagree with us and we’re okay with that. We know a large portion of travelers do agree with us, and those are the ones we are reaching out to.
As private tour guides, we’ve had the honor of leading and educating guests from all over the world around our country, before and after WiFi was around, and we can say firmly believe one thing: travelers, without a doubt, leave happier and more fulfilled when their technology is set on airplane mode.
Think of the last time you created lifelong memories and laughed until your belly hurt — did you enjoy the moment or interrupt it by going online to tell others about it or check the weather?
