Why You Don’t Want to Use Excel to Manage Your Tour Business

Excel is one of the most common software programs for the Tour industry. Thousands of businesses download reams of different templates to help them manage their bookings. Microsoft Excel is certainly a useful program, and many business owners get quite good at using it, but it may be slowing down your ability to do business.

The problem with Excel isn’t that it is a bad program—it’s a great one. It is simply a very general tool designed for a broad range of different business uses. This makes it flexible in terms of what it can do and how it can be used, but the price of this is it lacks the ability to deeply personalize your approach.

Eliminate Multiple Spreadsheets

The tour industry is unique among other businesses. You’re not just counting receipts, and your inventory is a living commodity. Your tour guide can get sick, your bus can break down, or bad weather can cancel the tour. It isn’t a product sitting on a shelf to be checked in or out.

That means you don’t have one spread sheet on your computer, but half a dozen all related but unique. When something goes wrong you have to not only adjust all your spreadsheets, but make sure your data is current and up to date alongside your co-worker’s data. When information is critical, such as during a storm, making quick changes could be extremely important.

A software program designed specifically for tours could enhance your business, increase efficiency, and deal with half a dozen headaches you didn’t even know were there. Should you need to cancel or reschedule a tour, it can be done with just a few clicks. Not only will your information update, but so will everyone else’s, communicating the information among staff as well as customers.

Duck Boat Disaster

In the event of emergency, this could be life saving. During the recent duck boat disaster in Missouri, 17 people were killed due to the boat sinking during a thunderstorm. While it is currently unknown what caused the boat to go out during the storm, why they didn’t turn around, and why no one was wearing life jackets, it is worth considering the fact that lack of communication might have been a factor. If the tour had simply been canceled, 17 people would still be alive today.

Eliminate Double-Bookings

By keeping everyone updated and on the same system, it also eliminates the chances for double-booking. Finding out your seat has been sold to someone else when you’re on vacation can be a very frustrating and disappointing problem for guest and staff alike. Limiting the opportunities for this to happen is one of the greatest assets of a booking system.

Automate Your Tasks

A good booking system can automatically create receipts and invoices, saving you hours of work, and speeding up things for customers as well. A customer can check their tour times online, see what your availability is, and pay for their tickets without having to wait in a long line or be on hold waiting their turn. In an era that prioritizes convenience, this can mean more sales and happier customers.

Excel works just fine for most businesses, but for an industry as unique as the tour business, choosing custom software is the best way to go. Tour business software can save you time, headaches, and even money over the long run. If you’re using Excel to handle your tour business, make the switch today. After seeing what it can do for you, you’ll never look back. To schedule a demo, or for more information about how the TourTools software can change your life and save you time and money, visit https://www.tourtools.com/