I have been in the travel industry for close to 25 years and the one thing that can make or break a vacation is your accommodations. It is that first impression when you insert the key, open the lock and throw back the door. It is a WOW moment or is it an UGH moment.

UGH Hotel Room

If it is an UGH moment, your vacation is off to the wrong start. You begin to see all the flaws in not only the room but also the service of the employees and the features of the hotel. You try to change to a new room but the hotel is full. You will have a good vacation but you may have to work a little harder to overcome the disappointment.

Now, if the first impression of your room is a WOW moment, then all is right in the world. The sun seems to shine a little brighter, the birds are chirping, you check out the bathroom and bounce on the beds. “This is going to be the best vacation ever” you say to your roommate.

Hilton New York

The location of your hotel is just as important as the room. Are you close to restaurants, shopping, attractions and transportation? This is especially important if you are visiting New York City. The price of your package may be real inexpensive but you then need to be aware of where you are staying. At that low price, you may be staying across the Hudson in New Jersey. The hotel may be nice but in order to see the sights and sounds of the city you came to visit, you need to be transferred by bus over to Manhattan and spend the entire day and evening before returning back to the hotel.

Having your hotel located in Midtown or Times Square gives you freedom; freedom to see an amazing city on your own schedule. You can start your day as early as you want and stay out as late as you want. Want to rest your tired feet for an hour after walking through Central Park, go back to your room and put your feet up. Want to freshen up before a night of theatre, head back to your room and get ready.

Having all this convenience and freedom does come with a price. Hotels in Manhattan can be three to four times more expensive than staying across the Hudson River in New Jersey. It is your vacation so you should choose the best package that suits your budget.

Hampton Inn Portsmouth

At Target Tours, we take pride in the quality of our hotels. Most of our packages use Hilton Brand hotels such as Hampton Inns & Suites, Doubletree Hotels and Hilton Hotels. In New York City, we stay at the Hilton New York in Times Square. It is a quality 4 star hotel and does generate those WOW moments. We have also started using the Doubletree Chelsea in Midtown.

So, to answer the question in our subject line, yes it does make a difference where you sleep at night. We want to provide those WOW moments for you when you decide to spend your hard earned money on a vacation. It goes a long way to “Creating Memories, One Journey at a Time”.

I was inspired to share this story after we received a very thoughtful testimonial from one of the passengers on one of our most challenging trips to date which proves our team’s commitment to providing the best possible customer experience. It also demonstrates the great lengths we will go to, to make sure no passenger on a Target Tours adventure will ever be left stranded.

Our defining moment occurred on the 10th of November which, by all accounts, had started out as any other day. Our New York Theatre tour was set to depart from Charlottetown at 6am. As with all tours, I was there to welcome the group in the morning. I introduced myself and Tour Director, Merv McAdam to the excited passengers. After wishing them a great trip I got myself a Tim’s coffee and headed back to my office.

Meanwhile we were busy making last minute preparations for the two buses that were departing PEI for Maine and New Hampshire the next day. I would be Tour Director on one and Donalda Doucette would be Tour Director on the other.

On November 10th, we got an email from someone at the Confederation Bridge. Due to forecasted high winds, there was a very good chance that the bridge would be closed to high sided vehicles the next morning. Now we were forced to come up with a Plan B to get our clients across the bridge in the morning. Plan B involved calling Adam Doiron at Trius Tours. (Remember we had two groups of passengers excited about this tour and another bus already on its way to New York.)

Trius Tours to the rescue!

On one of the busiest weekends of the year, Trius Tours was able to find us a 47-seat and a 36-seat passenger coach, 3 vans, and 5 more drivers. Trius also positioned the two coaches for the shopping trip on the other side of the bridge for us so they’d be ready the next day.

Next step was to call Discount Car and Truck Rental to get a cargo van for all that luggage. Remember Donalda? She was a Tour Director on one of the coaches for the Maine and New Hampshire tour. Well her husband Reggie stepped up and offered to drive the cargo van.

Then when everything was all set up I wrote out the detailed plan for the next morning and reviewed it with Target Tours team member Janet Victor-Bryant as she offered to assist in the morning (more teamwork).

Then the phone rang at noon.  Merv was calling from Woodstock, New Brunswick where the New York Theatre group was having lunch. The driver had taken ill and was getting checked out at the hospital. I put in another call to Adam to try and secure another driver for New York City tour. After dialling many phone numbers for an hour, they could not find anyone available to drive to New York. Remember, this was one of the busiest weekends of the year.  

Our first concern is always for the passengers.

Merv was doing his best to keep the passengers entertained and informed on what was going on. Trius Tours went to work to find another coach company to move our group to their first night hotel at the Hampton Inn in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. They were able to find a bus from Cyr Bus Lines out of Bangor, Maine. It did mean a delay to get our clients to Portsmouth but at least they knew they would get there that night.

Now we could turn our attention to getting a driver for the trip. It wasn’t looking good. But then I had an idea. A wild one. I would drive the group to New York City myself (my first time) and make my wife Lynn Tour Director on the shopping tour.

It was just crazy enough to work.

The decision was made at 2pm and I was in a van travelling to Woodstock by 3pm. I still recall my conversation with Lynn:
Me: “I need to drive a bus to New York and you need to be the Tour Director on the shopping trip. Water and supplies are on the coaches and the Tour Director binder is beside my desk. Have a look through and call me with questions. Good luck.”
Lynn: “Do what you have to do and I will be fine.”
Now you see why I love her so much.

Off I went in a van to pick up the coach in Woodstock and drive to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The group was very happy to see me the next day. Merv and I had an opportunity to take an unfortunate situation and turn it into a great experience for our passengers. We got into New York City at 4pm the next day thanks to a patient group (and a GPS).

The weekend was a success. Our shoppers made it across the bridge to their waiting buses and had a great weekend. The bridge did in fact open when we were crossing so there was very little disruption. Thanks to Janet, Lynn, Donalda and Reggie for taking care of our shopping clients.

Meanwhile back in New York City, our clients had an amazing time. Merv and I split up to help show some of our passengers different parts of New York. We rode the subway, visited the World Trade Centre Memorial, shopped at Macy’s, and went up to the Top of the Rock for a great view of Manhattan.

Other guests ventured out on their own to visit museums, see Central Park, or take in a matinee or evening performance of a Broadway show. The weather was great for walking around New York City on that particular weekend and it’s a weekend none of us will ever forget.

Top of Rock with Gordon and Ruthann

We measure our performance as a company in part, by our testimonials. Below you will find one from Gordon and Ruthann Brown of Truro, Nova Scotia. I had the pleasure of showing Gordon and Ruthann around New York along with a few other guests. It is a testimonial we were proud to receive.

When you run a business, unexpected events are going to occur. How you respond to these events determines your success or failure and creates a company’s defining moments. Our team pulled together one weekend in November to create positive memories for our passengers.

Our clients may not have known or realized what went on in the background to pull it all off but they appreciated the effort we made to ensure they had a great time.   

Now as we move into a new year of ‘Creating Memories, One Journey at a Time,” we look back at our defining moment in November of 2011 and we can be proud of what we accomplished together as a team.

John and Lynn Dunphy
Target Tours

Testimonial Gordon and Ruthann Brown

I can remember being able to make that last minute decision to take advantage of a sell off to the Caribbean. It turned out to be one of the best vacations we ever had. Being spontaneous and leaving all your worries at home to spend a week on a Caribbean beach with your spouse, friends or family can be invigorating.

Having an expired passport is not only frustrating but can also be very expensive. I know because we have been there. Back in 2002, we decided to take a family vacation to Varadero, Cuba…..in two weeks time….and our passports had expired. The process to fill out the applications and get the photos was the easy part. We had to travel to Fredericton to appear in person with our applications and then paying an extra fee ($60.00) to guarantee receiving it within a week. That’s $60.00 per passport or $240.00 extra on top of the regular passport fee. It was embarrassing to have it happen but the fact that I was in the travel industry at the time only added to my dismay. I was not practising what I preach.

It is not only the cost but the stress of waiting for them to arrive. When you have paid for your vacation, waiting for your passport to come in can be a humbling experience.

In June 2009, Canadian citizens were required to have a passport for entry into the United States by land. Needing a passport for entry by air was in effect a few years earlier. There are some countries that require you to have a valid passport with an expiry date 6 months after your visit.

My advice is to take a look at your passport and see when it expires. Have a look at your schedule in the next few months and pick a time that is convenient to start the paperwork, get your photo and send it away. You can plan on a two week to one month turn around depending on the time of year.

A little planning on having a valid passport will ensure that the time between booking your travel and your departure date is one of anticipation and excitement instead of stress and frustration.

Thanks John

At Target Tours, “We are Creating Memories, One Journey at a Time”

During our time at these festivals, our staff has done a remarkable job of introducing our touring product and describing the fun we have on our tours. It has been refreshing for us to have face to face time with our potential customer because they see the passion we have in our product and the belief that they will have an amazing vacation on one of our tours.

So as we wrap up our season of festivals, we can be proud of the hard work and effort that went into the preparation and staffing of our booth at the various communities we visited.. We feel we have made some connections with potential customers. Now when they see our ads in their local newspapers, they will remember speaking to the helpful representative from Target Tours at the Potato Blossom Festival in O’Leary, Prince County Exhibition in Alberton, Crapaud Exhibition in Crapaud, Tyne Valley Oyster Festival in Tyne Valley, Harvest Festival in Kensington, Old Home Week in Charlottetown, Provincial Plowing Match and Agricultural Fair in Dundas and most recently the Queens County Fair in Gagetown, NB. We will soon be putting our plan together for 2012. If you know about a festival that we should attend, please drop us a line at info@targettours.ca .

Last week, I had the pleasure of starting our Spring in New York City Tour. Starting a trip allows me to meet our guests and also put a face to a name. For those of you who are curious, starting a trip simply means that I begin driving the motor coach, pick up the passengers along the way and meet the actual driver in Moncton. This driver will go the rest of the way to New York City with the group.

Our driver for this trip was Bill Duplisea with Trius Tours. Bill has been to New York City many times, so much so that he feels he is a resident of the Big Apple.

On this particular bus load of excited passengers, we had a group of 12 ladies in their 40’s and 50’s. (we had a similar group in November who graduated from nursing together) It all started with an email in early January that there was a potential group of ladies planning a trip to New York City. After a few emails and phone calls, we started taking their bookings. Each one that called showed the same excitement of visiting this amazing city. It also helped that their first point of contact at Target Tours was with Janet Victor-Bryant in our office. Janet visited Manhattan the previous November and was just as excited explaining the must see and must do’s.

Once everyone was booked, we arranged to meet with the group. Also joining us was Donalda Doucette, our Tour Director for the trip. Donalda has been to New York City a number of times and has first-hand knowledge of this destination. (Donalda actually will be accompanied by Joyce Gill, another one our fun loving Tour Directors. Joyce will be there to learn the destination in preparation for the New York City Theatre Tour in November.)

At the meeting with the group, we reviewed the itinerary, passed out maps and gave an overview of the city. Donalda spoke about the excellent shopping areas in Manhattan, especially on Canal Street. At the meeting, you could tell that this was going to be a fun group to have on the bus. There was lots of laughter.

On the morning of departure, I showed up at 5:45 am to meet the group. Everyone was happy to pass me their luggage and find their seats, even that early in the morning. Donalda got things rolling with a welcome and where our next pick-ups would be. As we drove, the laughter continued, I knew they were going to have a great time. Also the laughter was contagious. The rest of the passengers were feeling the great vibes and smiling as well.

This group of ladies were going on a trip without husbands or children. They were giggling like school girls. This might be the same for a group of guys on a hockey or NASCAR tour, minus the giggling of course, but they were among their close friends and were going to an exciting destination, New York City. They made their plans in advance; where were they going to meet if they got separated, what Broadway shows would they see, what attractions they wanted to visit and also the shopping they wanted to do. They were going to have an amazing time.

You will also see groups travelling on our shopping trips. We have guests who work together making sure they get a specific weekend off so that they can go away with the girls for a shopping weekend. The shopping is only a part of the fun. Putting fake spiders in your sister’s bed and waiting for the scream has been one of the most memorable pranks we have heard about.

So, the next time you want to make an escape without your spouse and children, think about getting a group of friends together and plan your tour. We can help by arranging to meet with your group to go over an existing itinerary or plan out a new one specific to your group.  When you arrive home from your trip, we hope we hear that “This was the best trip ever!” and that you need to do it again next year. That’s when we know we have “Created a Memory, One Journey at a Time”.

I jumped at the opportunity to take them to the Scott Tournament of Hearts this past February to watch Team PEI play Manitoba. It was the highlight of the winter for them. As my mother put it, “Other than church, the Co-op and the post office, we don’t go too far in the winter.”

My folks have also traveled on some of our tours. A few years ago, Mom came with me on a summer trip to New York and her and Dad both came with me to the Nova Scotia Tattoo this past summer. They really enjoyed the experience and they talk about it all the time.

People are living longer and staying in their own homes longer. More seniors are also becoming quite tech savvy. I was talking to a friend the other day and he told me he communicates with his mother more by email than by phone which I found pretty surprising. But I suppose a lot of older people are online even if just to snoop around on Facebook and to see more photos of their grandkids.

Today’s seniors are also travelling more than their parents ever did.

I want my parents to be independent and to explore the world which is, ironically the same goal my parents had for me when we were all younger. I am happy that they are getting the chance now to experience other cultures and to see landmarks up close that they might otherwise only ever see on TV or in magazines. My parents have earned the opportunity to learn about lots of different regions of the world and to visit themselves to see how people live in other places.

With all that being said, though, I also want them to do all of this in a safe environment where I won’t have to be worrying about them. A motor coach tour provides this environment.

Target Tours has a professional tour director on board to ensure the comfort and safety of all of our guests. The director passes along information about the towns and communities to the passengers. They keep everyone informed about the arrival and departure times, they help our guests check in to the hotel, help with the border crossings if necessary and they ensure every passenger makes the most of their vacation.

When your parents travel they will meet other people on the coach who share the same interests as they do. If they are like my mother, they will also find out where the person sitting next to them lives, who their father or mother is and will likely end up discovering that they are related in some way to at least one other passenger. Great friendships are made on these tours.

So if you want to send your parent’s on a trip, we hope you’ll think of Target Tours. We will not only take good care of them on the tour, we will also give them memories they will cherish forever. Just like our tag line say, we are “Creating Memories, One Journey at a Time.”

Getting noticed is about the process we are going through to get business through the door. In our case, it is 99 percent over the phone. We started working with Kerry Anne MacDougall at Insight Marketing a little over 7 months ago and it has been an education to find the best ways to get our name and our tours into the hands of those who are potential customers. If you are already in business, you know that marketing and advertising can become one of your most challenging expenses. What has worked in the past does not necessarily work today.

Kerry Anne is a big believer in social media. Over the past seven months, she has helped us create a presence on Facebook and most recently Twitter. I have to be honest and tell you that early on in our transformation, I was a sceptic. When I first signed on to Twitter, it looked like an entirely different language. When people would try to engage me, well let’s just say I looked like Bambi on ice.

Facebook was much easier to get a handle on. You post a status update or you comment on your kids updates. My definition of Modern Family in our house is the kids in their rooms on laptops, Mom in her chair on her mini and Dad in his chair on his blackberry; all having a conversations through Facebook as to whose turn it is to cook dinner. OK it’s not that bad but it has happened and we laughed our heads off.

Twitter, on the other hand was something different. It was not until Kerry Anne gave me a book called UnMarketing by Scott Stratten when I had my “aha” moment. It is about the conversation. Slowly I began to tweet. Nothing special and certainly nothing inspirational: just tweets. Today was about being in the dentist chair and noticing I put on one black sock and one blue sock that morning. (I am convinced it was a joke by my kids when they packed up the laundry). Eventually the conversation comes back. Networking…from your desk or Blackberry.

We also just recently sent our brochures out through Canada Post to targeted postal codes on PEI where we already have a network of clients. It has been refreshing to get immediate results from this initiative. It all helps to get our name in front of our potential customer.

The one program we are most proud of is our referral program. Our best and most cost effective advertising comes from the referrals from our current customers. Nobody sells our tours better than a happy client. Our referral program offers something for the new customer as well as providing a thank you to our customer providing the referral.  

So getting noticed is becoming a more satisfying part of our business. It is nice to have a professional company like Insight Marketing there to guide you along the way. They do become an extension of your business and it sure feels good to bounce ideas around.

Until next time, enjoy winter and live life. Do some travelling and it doesn’t need to be a Target Tours trip because once you travel once, you will travel again and hopefully we are there for your next trip.

I attended the showcase as a buyer, which meant that tourism operators were pitching their businesses to me for future group business. This was done in a series of nine minute meetings over a two day period. I had a total of 72 scheduled meetings with others dropping by during coffee breaks and lunch.

This showcase made me proud of where I live and also proud of the tourism product Atlantic Canada has to offer. Each province is very different and provides unique experiences for all travellers.

Each seller, or presenter, made a compelling case as to why we should visit their hotel, restaurant or attraction. Some were more compelling than others but all showed passion for their product.  New Brunswick had some amazing things to see.  Olivier Soapery in Chocolate River Station & Ste-Ann-de-Kent makes homemade soap with healing capabilities. Le Pays de la Sagouine in Bouctouche hosts an Acadian Kitchen Party Experience that will have your toes a tappin’ and hands clapping.

In Nova Scotia, the Glooscap Heritage Centre near Truro teaches you about the Mi’kmaq legends, culture and Aboriginal heritage in Atlantic Canada. A visit to Halifax would not be complete without a night at the Grafton Street Dinner Theatre for a great meal and fabulous entertainment.

Being from PEI, I knew most of the presenters but was impressed with the travel options as well.  A great experience rain or shine is a seal watching tour out of Montague or Murray River called Cruise Manada. Amanda and Joe Purchase do a great job teaching you all about catching lobsters, how to grow mussels and of course, the showing you where the seals sun tan!!

Now, the province I am most excited about is Newfoundland and Labrador. This is one place you need to have on your bucket list because it went to the top of mine. I think the beauty of the landscape catches your eye but it is the warmth of the people that catches your heart. I am excited about the Ocean View Hotel in Rocky Harbour and exploring the fjords by boat in Gros Morne National Park with Bon Tours. I want to see where the Vikings landed in L’Anse aux Meadows near St. Anthony. Finally, the operator whose passion and excitement for their product got me pumped for Newfoundland was Iceberg Quest Ocean Tours in Twillingate and St. John’s Harbour . They sold me on their tours and the area they represent. If I needed help on other activities in Twillingate, all I had to do was ask and they would point me in the right direction.  They were truly professionals in the tourism industry.

So, as you can see from my reaction, there will be a Newfoundland Tour for May/June 2011 as well as some shorter day trips to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and also inbound to PEI. You don’t need to go far to get picturesque views, great down home entertainment or wonderful dining experiences. They are all here in our back yard. All it takes is some planning.

Until next time, Happy Halloween and enjoy the fall weather.

Thanks John