What makes a vacation memorable?

Think, for a moment, about your last vacation and the experience you took home with you. What do you remember most, and what did you tell your friends about it? Was your vacation everything you expected? Did your vacation offer a mix of unexpected delights as well as planned-for activities?

As a commercial tour operator, I find that these questions easily give rise to other questions, such as:

• How do my guests feel after their tour is over?
• Did my guests get what they paid for?
• Would my guests choose me as their tour guide again?
• Do they recommend me to their friends?
• What would cause my guests to offer me written testimonials without my asking for them?

I find myself thinking about these kinds of questions more and more. I believe my success as a small business owner is directly tied to the answers I receive to them. And so I believe that I should think about these questions often. After all, a vacation, even if only for one day, is supposed to be a period of escape: a time devoted to pleasure, rest, and relaxation, free from duty and concern. If this ideal is realized by my guests – that is, if their experience offers them the joyful and carefree moments they desire – it is because I have chosen to listen.

Do I need to escape for awhile?
Peoples’ needs are simple. We want the basics – food, shelter, health, family – but we also need to know that someone, at least some of the time, is watching out for our welfare. These feelings stem from childhood, certainly – a time when we didn’t have to concern ourselves with responsiblity; things were taken care of on our behalf because we couldn’t effectively manage these things for ourselves. But because we have grown to bear the burdens of responsibility for our own basic needs throughout our adult lives, we occasionally develop a longing for an escape to simpler ideals, for being pampered, for having our needs met without regard for worry and stress. These feelings are quite natural to have, and we should respond to them more often than we typically allow ourselves to.

Should I consider a vacation package?
Naturally, when considering a vacation, a commercial tour package offered by a reputable guide is a fine choice. The best tour operators are knowledgeable about their locality and their area of expertise, and they’re often good educators and good with people. Many are still in business because they listen well and adapt to their guests’ needs. Because I choose to believe in the longevity of California Wine Hikes – in short, because I really enjoy doing healthy and fun things for people – I will be listening to you.

What’s important about my vacation choices?
As a consequence of listening, I’ll also be advising. Why? Because people seeking a rewarding and memorable vacation have a myriad of choices. First, however, people must realize that they need a vacation, and second, they must reward themselves by taking one. There are a number of reasons why that choice/reward scenario is important. In the coming months and years, I expect to talk about those reasons here in this blog. In fact, I already have.

Where shall I go, and which tour guide should I choose?
While advice may be free, so are memories. I offer a simple pledge: in the years to come, I will continue my endeavor to create joyful memories of carefree nights and days for all who choose to visit me here in the heart of the California wine country. I look forward to having you as my guest, to listening to you, and to guiding you toward some of your best memories.

~winehiker

Related posts:

• Touring Tuesday link
• Planning a California wine vacation? Read these five tips first.
• The Three E’s of the California Wine Hikes Active Travel Philosophy

This entry was posted on Monday, April 2nd, 2007 at 2:58 pm and is filed under grape squeezins. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.