How to Build a Review Engine Guests Actually Want to Use

How to Build a Review Engine Guests Actually Want to Use

90% of travelers read reviews before booking, yet most great trips never turn into a single review. Why? Timing. In this episode of the Tour Operator Growth Podcast, Nikki and Greg open the Sharing stage of the Resmark Growth Engine and break down how to build a review system guests actually want to use. They dig into the 24 to 72 hour window when guest excitement peaks, how to set up an automated SMS and email review sequence that feels personal, where to send guests to leave reviews, and how responding to every review (especially the critical ones) can turn browsers into bookings. What you'll learn: * Why reviews drive SEO, AI search, and OTA rankings, not just social proof * The 24 to 72 hour window when guests are most likely to leave a review * How to build an automated, personalized review sequence over SMS and email * Where to send reviews: Google for direct bookings vs. OTAs like TripAdvisor and Viator * Why a great response to a 3-star review can convert better than a 5-star one * How to handle negative reviews, fake or bot reviews, and total silence * Simple tactics you can implement this week to capture more reviews If this episode helped, share it with a tour operator who's earning reviews but not capturing them, and subscribe so you don't miss part two. 🚀 Take the Growth Engine Assessment to find out where you might need to improve: https://www.resmarksystems.com/growth-engine-survey 📲 Follow Us on Social Media - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ResmarkSystems - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resmarkllc - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RESMARKSystems - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/resmark-systems 📈 Want Help Growing Your Tour Business? Visit https://www.resmarkweb.com Book a call: https://www.resmarkweb.com/request-quote Call or text us directly: 385-449-4079 Email Nikki: nikki@resmarksystems.com Chapters: 1:15 The Sharing stage & the 5-stage Growth Engine 2:30 Why reviews matter: 90% of travelers read them 5:43 What's in a guest's head after a trip (the 72-hour window) 8:11 How to capture reviews in the moment 10:57 Building an automated review sequence 15:25 Where to send reviews: Google vs. OTAs 17:48 Why you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket 19:27 Responding to every review (and the 3-star secret) 24:43 Handling bad, fake & missing reviews 30:51 Top tactics to get more reviews this week 33:04 Recap & what's coming in part two

When Guests Show Up: The Trip Experience That Sells Itself

What actually makes a guest remember a tour for years after it ends? In this episode of the Tour Operator Growth Podcast, we break down the part of the customer journey that matters most: the actual experience itself. From guides who create unforgettable moments to small details that turn guests into lifelong fans, we explore why the best operators do not leave great experiences to chance. They build systems around them. Greg and Nikki share real stories from rafting expeditions, Kilimanjaro, safari experiences, and the tiny moments guests still talk about years later. They also unpack how tour operators can improve check-in, create memorable “surprise and delight” moments, empower guides, and turn every trip into a content engine that fuels future bookings. This episode is all about Stage 4 of the Growth Engine: Experiencing. Because the experience your guests have today directly impacts the reviews, referrals, and bookings you get tomorrow. 🚀 Take the Growth Engine Assessment to find out where you might need to improve: https://www.resmarksystems.com/growth-engine-survey 📲 Follow Us on Social Media - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ResmarkSystems - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resmarkllc - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RESMARKSystems - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/resmark-systems 📈 Want Help Growing Your Tour Business? Visit https://www.resmarkweb.com Book a call: https://www.resmarkweb.com/request-quote Call or text us directly: 385-449-4079 Email Nikki: nikki@resmarksystems.com Chapters: 00:00 Intro: Why the Trip Experience Matters Most 01:22 The Tours Greg Still Talks About Years Later 04:16 How a Kilimanjaro Guide Changed Nikki’s Life 07:20 Small Human Moments Guests Never Forget 09:41 Why Guides Can Make or Break Your Business 12:27 The Safari Story That Almost Became a Bad Review 15:18 The Check-In Experience Sets the Tone 16:48 Surprise and Delight Moments Guests Remember 20:47 The Jump Rope Story and Creating Fun During Downtime 22:14 Turning Guest Experiences Into Your Marketing Engine

Between Booking and Trip Day — The Pre-Trip Experience That Wins Reviews

Did you know that most guest satisfaction is shaped before the trip even begins? In this episode of the Tour Operator Growth Podcast, we break down the often-overlooked part of the customer journey that happens between booking day and trip day. This is the window where guests either become more excited and confident about their purchase… or start second-guessing whether they made the right decision. Greg and Nikki unpack how confirmation emails, post-purchase communication, real-time updates, and pre-trip messaging can dramatically improve guest confidence, reduce cancellations, increase upsells, and lead to more five-star reviews. They also share real stories from Western River Expeditions, Kilimanjaro, Svalbard, and more to show what great pre-trip communication actually looks like in practice. This episode kicks off Stage 4 of the Growth Engine: Experiencing. Because the guest experience starts long before anyone shows up at the meeting point. 🚀 Take the Growth Engine Assessment to find out where you might need to improve: https://www.resmarksystems.com/growth-engine-survey 📲 Follow Us on Social Media - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ResmarkSystems - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resmarkllc - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RESMARKSystems - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/resmark-systems 📈 Want Help Growing Your Tour Business? Visit https://www.resmarkweb.com Book a call: https://www.resmarkweb.com/request-quote Call or text us directly: 385-449-4079 Email Nikki: nikki@resmarksystems.com Chapters: 00:00 Why the Guest Experience Starts Before Trip Day 02:18 The Swamp Tour That Felt Like a Scam 06:06 How Great Pre-Trip Communication Builds Trust 11:32 The Confirmation Email Every Tour Operator Needs 14:41 Using Post-Purchase Emails to Increase Revenue 17:47 Smart Upsells That Actually Add Value to the Trip 19:46 Why Personalized Communication Reduces Cancellations 21:52 Real-Time Notifications That Improve the Guest Experience 26:07 Pre-Trip Messages That Eliminate Support Calls 29:36 How to Apply This to Day Tours and Short Booking Windows

Building an Adventure Tour Company People Come Back To for 20 Years with Dan Oberlatz of Alaska Alpine Adventures

What makes a tour feel truly transformational? And how do you build an experience guests never stop talking about? In this episode, Nikki sits down with Dan Oberlatz, founder of Alaska Alpine Adventures, to talk about building one of Alaska’s most respected wilderness adventure companies over the last 28 years. Dan shares how Alaska Alpine grew from a single guest and a Backpacker Magazine ad into a thriving adventure travel business serving more than 400 guests a year. They dive into attracting the right traveler, creating experiences that genuinely change people’s lives, why expectation-setting matters so much in adventure travel, and how word of mouth, repeat guests, and emotional connection have fueled long-term growth. You’ll also hear: - Why “transformational travel” creates stronger referrals and loyalty - How Alaska Alpine filters for the right-fit customer - Lessons learned from working with OTAs vs direct bookings - What makes email marketing still incredibly effective - How storytelling and emotion drive bookings - Why great experiences start long before the trip begins This episode touches every stage of the Growth Engine — from Dreaming and Planning to Experiencing and Sharing — and is packed with insights for tour operators who want to build a business guests remember for the rest of their lives. Learn more about Dan and Alaska Alpine Adventures: https://alaskaalpineadventures.com/author/dan-oberlatz 🚀 Take the Growth Engine Assessment to find out where you might need to improve: https://www.resmarksystems.com/growth-engine-survey 📲 Follow Us on Social Media - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ResmarkSystems - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resmarkllc - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RESMARKSystems - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/resmark-systems 📈 Want Help Growing Your Tour Business? Visit https://www.resmarkweb.com Book a call: https://www.resmarkweb.com/request-quote Call or text us directly: 385-449-4079 Email Nikki: nikki@resmarksystems.com Chapters:  00:00 Welcome to the show - Alaska Alpine Adventures 01:50 How Dan Fell in Love With Alaska 04:20 Starting an Alaska Tour Company With $5,000 05:57 Competition in Alaska Adventure Travel 07:16 What Creates a Transformational Guest Experience 09:40 Why a Better Booking System Increased Sales 10:18 Defining the Right Adventure Traveler 12:19 Why Alaska Alpine Had to Filter Out the Wrong Guests 15:58 How Transformational Travel Creates Word of Mouth 17:44 Why Guests Keep Coming Back to Alaska 21:13 Why OTAs Didn’t Work for Alaska Alpine Adventures 24:07 Email Marketing Strategies That Still Drive Bookings 33:00 Dan’s Advice for Tour Operators Starting Today

Build a Checkout Flow That Actually Closes the Sale

You did the hard work — they clicked Book Now. So why are so many of them dropping off before they finish? In Part 2 of the Booking Stage, Nikki, Greg, and Brandon Lake dig into what happens after the click: the checkout flow, mobile experience, upsells, and the small friction points quietly costing tour operators bookings every day. We talk through how many steps your booking process should really have, the calendar and form mistakes that send visitors to a competitor, why mobile-first matters more than ever, and how smart upsells can lift your average order value without adding a single new customer. Plus how offline conversions — phone calls, chats, and emails — fit into the bigger picture. In this episode: * The biggest checkout killers: friction, uncertainty, and a broken mobile experience * Where to place upsells (and how to grow average order value on any tour) * Why post-booking silence is killing your conversion rate — and what to do instead 🚀 Take the Growth Engine Assessment to find out where you might need to improve: https://www.resmarksystems.com/growth-engine-survey 📲 Follow Us on Social Media - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ResmarkSystems - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resmarkllc - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RESMARKSystems - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/resmark-systems 📈 Want Help Growing Your Tour Business? Visit https://www.resmarkweb.com Book a call: https://www.resmarkweb.com/request-quote Call or text us directly: 385-449-4079 Email Nikki: nikki@resmarksystems.com 0:00 Intro & Welcome to Part 2 of the Booking Stage 0:42 How Often Do People Abandon Checkout? 2:47 Traffic Is Down — Why That's Not Always Bad 5:08 Conversion Rate vs. Traffic Volume 9:02 How Many Steps Should a Booking Process Have? 10:23 Common Friction Points That Cause Drop-Offs 14:13 Eliminating Dead Ends in the Checkout Flow 17:12 Mobile vs. Desktop: Why Conversion Rates Differ 20:15 Mobile Checkout Issues to Watch For 24:06 Uncertainty: The Hidden Checkout Killer 26:18 Silence: Why You Need a Way for Customers to Reach You 27:22 Post-Booking Communication & Customer Confidence 28:33 What to Include in a High-Converting Checkout 30:25 Borrowing Amazon's One-Click Concept for Tours 33:14 How Visibility & Conversion Rate Compound 34:52 Upsells & Increasing Average Order Value 42:13 The Power of Strategic Upsells 42:51 Offline Conversions: Phone, Chat & Email 47:52 Why Personal Connection Drives Bookings 48:46 Wrap-Up & What's Next: The Experience Stage