u/AudienceOwn3845

Every once in a while i get clients who want to skip the typical touristy stuff and do something different when in a city. Like hidden spots or local experiences not on the usual lists.

I run small group tours as a side thing to my travel agent work. Booking standard hotels and flights is easy enough but for tours and activities its a pain. I need something with good travel agent support and commissions that lets me build custom itineraries fast.

I was pushing these limited time summer offers hard like 20% off sunset cruises and beach experiences in Miami thinking urgency would bring people in. Made a landing page, posted in travel forums, shared it everywhere I could. But nothing.

Then it hit me. I was acting like everyone just wants a cheap summer tour but nobody actually searches like that. People look for specific things like romantic sunset cruises, family friendly boat days, party vibes or chill local experiences not just random discounts.

My listings were way too broad, no real targeting on who the experience was actually for. Just generic best summer deal type messaging.

Last week I change it up started focusing on niche angles, added more detail on what makes each experience unique like small group sunset cruise for couples, or laid back daytime trips with snorkeling, but it's still early.

Curious if anyone else here had the same issue and what actually helped you break through especially during peak summer season?

Tried jumping into city tours without checking booking platforms first. Set up a few organizer trips in my area thinking word of mouth would handle it. Got one booking but the guy cancelled last minute because he found something cheaper on online platforms. Also priced my trips way too low at first, like 20 bucks a head for a 3 hour tour, thinking volume would come. Nobody bit except sketchy groups that ghosted. Now I am sitting on empty weekends wondering if booking platforms actually helps new guys get steady bookings or if they just eat your margins.

How do you use those sites without getting screwed on the first few runs? Open to all kinds of suggestions.

I'm a tour guide in the US booking experiences for clients mostly in Europe. Time zones kill me sometimes, they book late night my time and expect instant confirms. Then tours flake, like tours cancelled last minute or no shows, and I'm stuck refunding and finding backups while the client is pissed abroad.

Tried a few platforms but not sure. Heard some helps with vetted experiences and reliability, guys what u are using for Europe stuff and any that does cut down on no shows or bad suppliers?