[civsa] Third Party Group Tour Companies

[DJ Dull-MacKenzie]

Hi Alicia:
We feel your pain! Being in the heart of Silicon Valley, Stanford is bombarded with group tour requests from commercial tour operators, the more savvy of which now try to portray their group of paying tourists as "prospective students very interested in Stanford." As a result of the spate of inquiries, the Stanford Visitor Center now has policies communicated generally as follows:

Thank you for your interest in bringing your organization to Stanford's campus. The Stanford Visitor Center, as a division of Stanford's Office of Undergraduate Admission, Financial Aid, and Visitor Information Services, aims primarily to serve prospective undergraduate students and related academic institutions and not-for-profit organizations.

*In line with Stanford University's new policies regarding groups touring the campus, please note that the Stanford Visitor Center no longer accepts requests for guided group tours (9 or more people) or for admission information sessions from the following:

*               commercial tour operators

*               other third-party or independent tour operators

*               for-profit organizations

*               consultants/consulting groups

These groups should contact Stanford's Office of Parking & Transportation Services at (650) 498-7882 for information on obtaining a tour bus permit (if applicable) and policies regarding bringing tour groups to campus.
Stanford's Office of Parking & Transportation Services can also be reached via email at TourBuses at stanford.edu<mailto:TourBuses at stanford.edu>. School groups utilizing third party tour operators to coordinate their travel must have a school representative contact us directly and describe the nature of their intended visit.

Your group is still welcome to visit campus on your own. For further information regarding bringing groups to campus, please visit the following websites:
Tour Bus Protocol
http://transportation.stanford.edu/parking_info/tourbus-protocol.shtml
Access request for tours and large groups
http://tourbuses.stanford.edu<http://tourbuses.stanford.edu/>
Tour visit policies
https://pmplus.stanford.edu/pats/transportation/tour/rules.cfm

Thank you for your interest in visiting Stanford.

From: listserv [mailto:listserv-bounces at civsa.org] On Behalf Of Graves, Alicia K
Sent: Wednesday, June 29, 2016 9:00 AM
To: 'listserv at civsa.org'
Subject: [civsa] Third Party Group Tour Companies

Hello all!

Our office has had some issues with third party group tour companies this summer (Gerber Tours, Hawthorne Tours). Many groups do not have the proper communications sent to them by the tour organizer. We have a lot of chaperones who do not stay with the group, they bring more students than confirmed for etc.. Do you all have a system/set of procedures when scheduling with these companies? Has anyone opted to not schedule with these companies? I am open to any and all suggestions.

Thanks!

Alicia Graves
Admissions Counselor, Group Visits
Dan Dipert University Welcome Center, UT Arlington
(817) 272-2937
http://www.uta.edu/uta/admissions

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