[civsa] Private Tour Companies

[Lamborn, Morgan M]

Scott -

We take basically the same approach as Ebony mentioned OSU uses. I'm very lucky that I have the power to say no when things are not within the range of what we can accommodate. I've also established relationships with several over the years that has helped tremendously - they know I do as much as I can, and they keep in mind our rules/schedules when booking groups.

For the especially shady ones who will flat out lie to schools (example: "UF scheduled this for us and then cancelled when we arrived!" Students are crying, principal is fuming in my office, meanwhile they NEVER contacted us in advance) I make it very clear that we will not tolerate that. And if I know a school is intending to use one of those companies I don't hesitate to contact the school. I'm not trying to be a tattle tale, but you don't exactly find these reviews on Yelp or the BBB. :)

I hope this helps!


-----------------------------------------------
Ms. Morgan Lamborn (10', 14')
University of Florida
Freshman Admissions Officer
Welcome Center Group Tours
352-294-0902
mlamborn at admissions.ufl.edu

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:  The information contained in this electronic message is confidential and intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above.  If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this e-mail or any of its components is strictly prohibited.  If you have received this email in error, please "reply" to the sender.




From: listserv [mailto:listserv-bounces at civsa.org] On Behalf Of Smith, Ebony
Sent: Saturday, May 16, 2015 12:38 PM
To: listserv at civsa.org
Subject: Re: [civsa] Private Tour Companies

Good afternoon Scott,

It varies, but Ohio State has had a few experiences - some positive, some not so positive. The positive ones are the groups that contact us in advance and follow our stated group tour procedures. The not so positive ones are the companies that make arrangements, make promises to their groups/customers on schedules and timing of what WE can do...and THEN contact us.

It becomes a problem when their promised schedule and our options do not match or we are not offering anything on a day they want to visit (we have a large visit that day, we don't do group tours on Fridays, it's a Sunday, etc.). The problem is that they have made promises that they can no longer deliver and they try to make it our problem as well. Thankfully, my office leadership backs us in situations like this if they try to go above us. We instruct them to take a self-guided tour if we cannot accommodate them within their demands.

I hope that helps and that others can share some additional advice! Good luck!

Ebony Smith

[The Ohio State University]
Ebony Smith
Assistant Director - Visits & Events
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
281 West Lane Ave., Columbus, OH 43210
614-292-3383 Office
smith.3053 at osu.edu<mailto:smith.3053 at osu.edu> osu.edu<http://osu.edu/>


From: listserv [mailto:listserv-bounces at civsa.org] On Behalf Of Scott Kirkessner
Sent: Friday, May 15, 2015 1:21 PM
To: 'listserv at civsa.org'
Subject: [civsa] Private Tour Companies

Hey CIVSA!  Conference is right around the corner, get excited!!!

I have a question about private tour companies.  Not the websites like InsiderVisit or other shady groups, but I am talking ones who arrange a large group to do like a circuit visit, and then make arrangements through you to do those tours...

Does anyone have experience with groups like these?


PS - Off topic, but if you are attending conference and have not done so, please remember to send balloons to me from your schools to my address below.  We want to display them in the foyer at check-in over a few days :)


[Block U Logo]

Scott Kirkessner, M.Ed.
Assistant Director, Campus Experience
Advisor, University Ambassadors
The University of Utah
201 South 1460 East, Room 250s
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
Office: 801.585.1995
scott.kirkessner at utah.edu<mailto:scott.kirkessner at utah.edu>
admissions.utah.edu/visit
facebook.com/UtahAdmissions<https://www.facebook.com/UtahAdmissions>



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://civsa.org/pipermail/listserv_civsa.org/attachments/20150519/ac0e0fb9/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 3605 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://civsa.org/pipermail/listserv_civsa.org/attachments/20150519/ac0e0fb9/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 2062 bytes
Desc: image002.gif
URL: <http://civsa.org/pipermail/listserv_civsa.org/attachments/20150519/ac0e0fb9/attachment.gif>