Is recruiting a “pied piper” the key to building successful group trips?

Ali Raymer things so. After years of leading student trips as a high school English teacher, she launched Peace & Pearl Travel Co. and stumbled upon a recipe for partnering with community luminaries to create meaningful group trips that rack up big sales.

On this episode, Ali shares her formula for identifying great pied pipers in places you might not expect. She breaks down her marketing approach and shares some warning signs about kinds of partners to avoid. Plus, we have travel news about a new “zero emissions” Arctic cruise ship a Hot Minute about what you’re really selling when you sell travel.

Insights from Ali

Ali opened up her playbook and shared some counter-intuitive insights about what kids of people make good pied pipers… and which don’t. Here’s what she had to say about why small followings can bring big results:

I really think it’s important to find someone that’s very likable and has that sphere of influence. Not everybody has to have thousands and thousands of followers on Instagram. It’s kind of helpful to think about something that’s a little bit niche, like maybe they have a niche thing that they have this audience for, and that they can kind of be the expert and teach.

Plus you’ll hear her thoughts on:

  • How to sell community leaders on travel
  • Why to avoid people who are just looking for a payday
  • The destinations that work best for pied-piper trips

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Learn more about Peace and Pearl Travel Co. at peaceandpearltravel.com.

Follow Ali and Peace and Pear Travel Co. on Instagram.

Connect with Ali on LinkedIn.

Key Moments from This Episode

7:37 — Ali Raymer’s journey from teaching to travel

8:48 — What is a “pied piper” trip and how does it work?

10:57 — What kind of person makes a good pied piper?

12:25 — Why smaller audiences can be better for promoting group trips

17:04 — How to find pied pipers… and convince them to travel

19:33 — What pied pipers hope to achieve in group trips

23:44 — How to build a successful trip for a pied-piper group

25:42 — How to brand and market pied-piper trips

28:19 — The ideal size of a pied-piper trip

30:14 — Can you charge more for a trip with a “celebrity”?

32:34 — Selecting destinations for pied-piper group trips

33:41 — Ali’s go-to marketing plan for group trips

48:14 — Hot Minute: What are you really selling when you sell travel?

Watch the Full Interview

See the full interview with Ali on our YouTube channel.

About the Podcast

Gather and Go with Brian Jewell is a tourism industry podcast that helps group travel leaders plan, promote and lead better trips. There are also tips and insights for destination marketers and others who support the tourism trade. Each episode reaches thousands of professional tour operators, travel agents and the volunteer group leaders they serve. The audience also includes destination museum leaders, church travel leaders and other tourism enthusiasts around the world. Each show includes an interview with a smart travel pro or an insightful person from outside tourism who’s expertise can help make travel businesses better. You’ll also hear travel news, road tips and more. New episodes are released about twice monthly.

You can find Gather and Go wherever your listen to podcasts or subscribe by email.