10 Lessons Tour Operators can Learn from Nashville, TN

Many operators run their rental and tour businesses without focusing much on distinguishing their offerings from others and, thus, failing to recognize this process’s importance. One noticeable city that has proven to leverage it successfully and transform from a music capital to a national bachelorette party destination is Nashville, TN. In this blog, we will discover why this has happened and how tour operators can make their own Nashville.

Table of Contents

• #1: Everything is in the Same Area
• #2: Get connected with your CVB, CTB, or DMO
• #3: Use Existing Resources to Keep Startup Costs Low
• #4: Find out what Attracts Travelers and Vacationers
• #5: Out-of-the-Box Ideas
• #6: Accessible & Affordable Accommodation Options
• #7: Nashville is a Walkable City
• #8: They Provide Instagrammable Experience to their Visitors
• #9: Endless Shopping Neighborhoods
• #10: Restaurants as an Attraction
• Do any of these Aspects Speak to Your Location? Highlight Them on Your Website and Marketing Channels!

#1: Everything is in the Same Area

Typically, the Nashville city guides would not recommend visiting the downtown area on weekends because you will come across party-seekers. However, it seems to be no longer the case, as locals have ceded other bachelorette parties’ neighborhoods and spaces. Particularly for watersports businesses, providing customers with different options to choose from in a single location is critical. Travelers are looking for ultra-exclusive experiences these days due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

#2: Get connected with your CVB, CTB, or DMO

Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) advertises Nashville as a bachelorette party destination, and many operators designed activities to fit this theme. Recognizing your marketplace is a good starting point for figuring out how to customize your tour and rentals accordingly since the former helps with price-setting strategies.

Generally speaking, it’s always good to be connected with your local CVB for the following reasons:

1. They serve as community organizers by connecting planners with updated information on their city’s current situation and pointing them to reliable resources.
2. They land and expand your best-performing event types.
3. They streamline planner workflows.

Navigating the new normal is crucial and can be done hassle-free when you get involved in the relationship with your local CVB, which is why it’s vital to sustain them.

#3: Use Existing Resources to Keep Startup Costs Low

Property isn’t cheap, and acquiring property to start your travel business is one of the most difficult obstacles to getting started. but if your city is like Nashville, there are lots of options for starting tours with little to no startup costs by focusing on the resources that are already available.  Consider the following activities:

1. Private Attraction Tours: While customers can certainly visit area attractions on their own, tour operators can design private tours with stops at multiple attractions and include admissions in their tour price.
2. Pub crawls: Become a leader for a group of tourists looking to get themselves a drink. Nashville became a popular destination for this activity as well. Just plan for food early, among other things to consider when coming up with your customized drinking tour. This will help make sure your visitors don’t get drunk too fast and be sober for an extended time to understand when it becomes expensive.
3. Historic/Community tours: If it is your hometown, and you know many things to share about it with visitors, then playing a history detective might be the opportunity. It is a great way to introduce vacationers to your city and bring a community together around beloved places.

According to the Top 10 Best Downtowns in the USA, the aforementioned activities are the ones that make these downtowns the best in the country. In the case of downtown Nashville, its affordability and accessibility make it a hot spot for tourists.

#4: Find out what Attracts Travelers and Vacationers

There is a wide selection of things to do in Nashville. This wide variety of options provides visitors with many activities to choose from so they can plan the ultimate bachelorette weekend.

When you think of Paris, you would probably immediately associate it with ”the City of Love” because of the romantic atmosphere it exudes. Therefore, it is a no-brainer, seeing if existing attractions can be boiled down to a common theme in which your offerings would fit. It is key to succeed in your area because they provide an economic impact on your city.

#5: Out-of-the-Box Ideas

So you might have already figured out find out what Attracts Travelers and Vacationers; next would be making sure your tour/rental is customized uniquely. Whether you are a winter sports destination or your area is loved by families with kids, or even senior citizens, consider offering unusual watersports or any other tour activity differently. Nashville visitors report that an endless list of things to do for their vacation can satisfy all artsy and party needs, so why should not your location do the same?

#6: Accessible & Affordable Accommodation Options

Having dealt with the booming number of visitors, from 2 million a year in 1998 to 14m+ in 2018, Nashville saw the need to grow their hospitality segment. That’s why entrepreneurs around the city started offering affordable options, such as Airbnb’s and accessible hotels. According to the 2020 City Overview, Nashville’s hotel market is set to grow by over 7,000 rooms. Even big market players such as Grand Hyatt and Hilton saw Nashville as an opportunity to extend their footprint, expecting to do so by 2022. 

Tourists have always been on the lookout for cheap options when it comes to vacation rentals. That’s why if you offer a vacation rental and looking for an opportunity to grow, consider working with TripShock.com. With our robust product offering, we help ensure that guests truly enjoy their vacation and remember your Brand. Considering that U.S. consumer spending decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cheap accommodation trend should increase.

#7: Nashville is a Walkable City

Nashville has been claimed as a walkable city for a long time, with the five most notable neighborhoods. Research study proves that there is a direct relationship between destination walkability and tourism level increase. To that end, it is a no-brainer that Nashville is attractive to vacationers looking to visit things around on foot, particularly in the case of bachelorette parties where there is drinking involved! 

Tour Operators offering walking tour experiences should consider taking into account how colleagues in Nashville run them. City walkability is one of the main reasons why walking tour offerings succeed in Nashville. Some of these include the Historic Germantown Food Tour and Fun Walking Tour of 12 South.

#8: They Provide Instagrammable Experience to their Visitors

It’s been quite some time since Instagram began gaining notable user recognition; however, by 2017, Nashville had introduced its own Instagrammable places. As a rule of thumb, to ensure your location can also offer an experience that satisfies travelers’ Instagram dreams, here is what Nashville tour operators do:

1. Figure out what attract vacationers to visit XYZ place in your area; for example, in Nashville, those places include:
   1. The former railroad terminal turned into a luxury hotel
   2. Murals, such as I Believe in Nashville
2. Find out how Instagram users highlight their experience on their profiles:
   1. Research the Instagram hashtags used for that area
   2. See which location tags are primarily used by users (e.g., “Nashville, Tennessee” vs. “Nashville Tennessee”)
3. Design experience highlighting the city attractions:
   1. Do social listening to see what users discuss about the place
   2. Build on the experiential turn to make a difference

Instagram and Social Media, in general, play a crucial role in traveling habits. The selfish selfie culture alone dictates the new environment for tour operators to run their business and see how they can provide such an experience.

#9: Endless Shopping Neighborhoods

Traveling to shop has been a growing trend for some time already,  and that is another instance where Nashville teaches tour operators a lesson. With such a vast number of neighborhoods dedicated to satisfying different shopping needs, Nashville becomes a shopaholics destination. In fact, people even move to Destin, FL, for shopping and entertainment purposes, where TripShock.com headquarters are located. The bottom line is if you believe your location can serve such type of purposes, make sure to highlight it in your offering.

#10: Restaurants as an Attraction

Finally,  if you happen to run your business somewhere close to restaurants, then be aware of many travelers to whom this might be an essential indication when choosing a destination. Nashville’s final lesson for tour operators here is that various restaurants to choose from leads to tourism increase to the area. From quick bites to authentic restaurants, Nashville can fit into all gastronomic preferences of vacationers.

Some tour operators like Gilligan’s WaterSports go above and beyond by running both restaurant and watersport rental businesses simultaneously. In fact, some travelers find the food experience as an inherent part of the trip. For that reason, it would be your best bet to provide a tour offering in the area close restaurants.

Do any of these Aspects Speak to Your Location? Highlight Them on Your Website and Marketing Channels!

To conclude, Nashville, TN, has many lessons to teach tour operators, especially when the latter is on the lookout for growing their business. If you believe that some or combinations of many lessons listed in this article speak to your business scenario, we strongly recommend highlighting them on your marketing channels. Despite the pandemic, Nashville remains one of the safely welcoming destinations in the U.S., with many activities being offered at this time. If you are looking for a piece of advice related to your travel business growth, consider submitting your inquiry to us by mentioning that you found out about us through this blog. Our expertise varies from dolphin cruises to amusement parks and everything in between; partners leverage TripShock’s marketing power and seamless booking platform to attract thousands of new customers every day.