-Meet Your Host – Shane Whaley

Meet Shane Whaley – host of the Tourpreneur Podcast.

Shane Whaley is the founder and publisher of Tourpreneur, the website, podcast, and daily e-newsletter focused on tour owner operators. Shane has worked in the online travel industry since 2002 for such companies as Booking.com, Secret Escapes, and Get Your Guide before founding Tourpreneur. He has spoken at various travel and tech conferences including EyeforTravel and Arival. Shane Whaley on Linkedin.

‘It can be quite lonely being a ‘tourpreneur’ – through our podcast we hope to flatten the learning curve and help other tourpreneurs achieve profitability and success. We are not going to sugarcoat things either, we will talk about the highs and low of running a tour business. Our mission is to share real life stories and strategies for success.’ Shane Whaley

So why Tourpreneur, Shane?

I have always been fascinated with the stories behind travel companies. How they got started, what challenges they had to overcome, what surprised them the most, how they hire, how they fire, how they stay motivated, what tools they use, what books they read, what is their morning routine, how do they deal with competition, etc. Previously, I worked as the Regional Director for GetYourGuide. One of the best parts of that role was hearing directly from tour and activity business owners. I felt privileged that they would share the highs and lows of running their business with me over a cup of tea. I was fascinated and moved by their stories, I loved the pride they all had in their tours/activities and how hard they worked to ensure their customers enjoyed an amazing experience. Through the Tourpreneur Podcast I want to share these stories with other tourpreneurs, so we can motivate each other, learn from each other and hopefully enjoy greater success in business and, of course, deliver outstanding customer satisfaction. As someone who has traveled extensively, I love going on tours and activities – they are what makes the vacation for me. I guess part of it is because I am a history buff, and the other element is the discovery of people and places that you may not experience by just strolling around a town or city on your own. One of my favorite tours was a 5-day tour of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland (we were blessed with sun and warmth for the entire 5 days – I even swam in the waters of the Isle of Skye!). Rabbies Tours are excellent if ever you want to tour Scotland. Other favorites include fishing in Maui, a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon, and a spy history walking tour of London. Shane Whaley wants to share the story behind the business card with you.