I am interested in finding a company that will manage tours for me and
clients that I invite.  I have organized and led the tour already with
a friend, but I want to make it available to up to fifteen people at a
time.  The tour is described on my web site, www.SwissRRClub.org.  I
will meet clients in Basel, Switzerland and make the arrangements for
rail tickets and hotels, but I need to have someone set the tour
price, advertise it and cover administrative costs such as insurance
and advertising, for a fee.  I would like to have my own expenses
covered as well.  I have searched with Google and found only
references to educational institutions that offer degrees in tour
management.  I have also talked with travel agencies, but none in this
area (Seattle) is willing to do the administrative management of my
tour.  Is there a tour management company that handles arrangements
for tours like mine?

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Request for Question Clarification by jbf777-ga on 30 Sep 2004 12:20 PDT

Hello wrmcpherson -

Thank you for your question.

I have found at least one company able to do tour management. 
However, the one issue raised is your mentioning of "advertising." 
They would handle everything other than that.  I think this would
typically be the case -- marketing would be handled by another company
(although I will keep looking).  Would you be interested in the
contact details for two different companies categorically?

jbf777

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Request for Question Clarification by jbf777-ga on 30 Sep 2004 15:36 PDT

Hello -

I have actually found a company who is functionally capable of
providing the services you are requesting, including advertising. 
However, they have told me that due to the very small number of
individuals you're looking to take on tour, it might not be
competitive.  There would be several hundred dollars added to each
person's expense.  Are you locked into a limit of 15 individuals?

jbf777

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Clarification of Question by wrmcpherson-ga on 01 Oct 2004 10:17 PDT

Thank you for your quick response.  I understand that tour size is an
important factor in pricing a tour, but I do not feel that I can
handle more than 15.  The hotels where I propose to stay have very
reasonable rates (less than $100 per night), but they are small. 
Also, it is sometimes difficult to get train reservations or find
seats for more than 15 people in a single rail car.  I think that it
would be reasonable to add more money to the fee to maintain the small
group size.

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Request for Question Clarification by jbf777-ga on 01 Oct 2004 10:46 PDT

wrmcpherson -

So that I understand you correctly, you're looking for a company that
will put up the funds for all expenses and advertising accrued in this
tour?  And you plan on charging individuals an amount such that the
total income is above the expense amount -- effectively drawing a
profit for you and the tour management company?

jbf777

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Clarification of Question by wrmcpherson-ga on 01 Oct 2004 17:28 PDT

I am not looking for a profit for myself, and if the tour management
company will price the tour to earn a profit, that is OK by me.  I
only want to cover expenses.

Hello -

This company has said stated to me that can do this sort of thing,
provided that you meet their background check requirements.

800-777-2018
http://www.azumanotravel.com/

I spoke with Nancy Parrott, whose direct line is 503-221-6101. 
However, she may refer you to a different person in the group tour
area.

If they don't work out for any reason, please let me know.

jbf777

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Clarification of Answer by jbf777-ga on 01 Oct 2004 20:33 PDT

sorry for the mangled sentence; there's no post-editing capability.
Here's a rewrite:

"This company has stated to me that they can do this sort of thing,
provided that you meet their background check requirements."

It is a bit premature to rate the answer, as I have just been in touch
with Ms. Nancy Parrott and she was unable to discuss my tour at any
length due to time constraints.  I will return and rate the answer
again after working with her.

wrmcpherson -

Thanks for the rating.  There's actually no present way to re-rate an
answer once you've assigned a rating.  Just a point of clarification
on ratings: prior to rating, you can always work with a researcher on
your question until either you're satisfied, or all avenues have been
exhausted.

jbf777