Cautionary Tale: I'm now an esteemed expert on Portland, England

[Markanddonna]

Yesterday, a luxury travel company in Great Britain contacted me to ask if I would be a tour guide for a group of 35-40 people who wanted to tour Portland, England. I'm sitting here in a midwestern state in the USA, wondering how I became an expert after being there just once. 

 

I then saw that she found my email on my website, which contains a lot of information for many sites I have visited, including Portland, Dorset, etc. The entries I made were meant to be helpful to those on my specific sailing but could have been appropriate, although dated for anyone wanting info.

 

I always thought travel companies knew their resources quite well before contracting them. This email reminds me to do a deep dive into the reviews. It also explains some of the inferior guides I have had on private tours (that means YOU, Elizaer, who didn't know the basics of some sites in Israel in 2022.) Perhaps the pandemic's effect on the travel industry continues.

 

Anyone on a cruise that stops in Portland in August may get to meet me. Supposedly, she wants to contract me for a group of 35-40. My evil twin thinks I should tell this travel company I am available. Hey, a free trip to England?

Edited April 11 by Markanddonna

[Sea42]

6 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

Yesterday, a luxury travel company in Great Britain contacted me to ask if I would be a tour guide for a group of 35-40 people who wanted to tour Portland, England. I'm sitting here in a midwestern state in the USA, wondering how I became an expert after being there just once. 

 

I then saw that she found my email on my website, which contains a lot of information for many sites I have visited, including Portland, Dorset, etc. The entries I made were meant to be helpful to those on my specific sailing but could have been appropriate, although dated for anyone wanting info.

 

I always thought travel companies knew their resources quite well before contracting them. This email reminds me to do a deep dive into the reviews. It also explains some of the inferior guides I have had on private tours (that means YOU, Elizaer, who didn't know the basics of some sites in Israel in 2022.) Perhaps the pandemic's effect on the travel industry continues.

 

Anyone on a cruise that stops in Portland in August may get to meet me. Supposedly, she wants to contract me for a group of 35-40. My evil twin thinks I should tell this travel company I am available. Hey, a free trip to England?

What tour company was this? It would be nice to know who to avoid if I ever need a guide in England!

[Essiesmom]

I think you should post this in the UK cruisers board here.  Might be someone there who would qualify for the gig…or offer to tutor you for the gig…. EM

[wcook]

Feels like a scam (I'm cynical that way) but it would be a hoot to take the job. Remember, the people on tour don't know anything. So you can just make stuff up and be entertaining. 

[Markanddonna]

18 hours ago, Sea42 said:

What tour company was this? It would be nice to know who to avoid if I ever need a guide in England!

I emailed the company asking if this person was employed there. She has an email address for the company but is not currently on the list of employees they post (about 25 people.)  I want to give them a chance to respond first.

[Sea42]

6 minutes ago, Markanddonna said:

I emailed the company asking if this person was employed there. She has an email address for the company but is not currently on the list of employees they post (about 25 people.)  I want to give them a chance to respond first.

That's fair. 

[Mary229]

I didn’t know you had a blog/website.  Curious minds need to know the link!

[lisiamc]

I had some friends receive an email that was somewhat similar. They run a B&B, and were asked if they could accommodate a fairly large group of people, provide meals, etc. Something about the wording just sounded a bit… off. They responded asking for more information. They were then told that because this was being organised by a hospitality group, the B&B bill would be paid in advance with a bank draft. It would be for a set amount, more than twice what the actual bill would be, and the B&B could refund the extra to the organisers. Since this was obviously a scam, they didn’t take it any further. I don’t think the “organisers” actually had a group looking for a place to stay. The approach to you could be something along the same lines.