CopperBrompton
Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
- Location
- London
I don't think you have to be an ABTA member: Bike Events (the biggest company in this field) appears not to be.
Turning cycle touring into a business
- Thread starter hubbike
- Start date
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vernon
Harder than Ronnie Pickering
- Location
- Meanwood, Leeds
I doubt that you'll get repeat customers so each year you will be dependent on attracting new customers or getting customers via recommendations. Marketing looks like it will have a pivotal role in your success. How will you target the potential riders?
Most folk using the establish LEJOG forums here and on the CTC web site are likely to go it alone or using friends for support.
Getting the potential LEJOGers to beat a path to your web site will be a challenge.
I created a web site for a bespoke kitchen company who really thought that it would help sales. I cautioned the company MD against expecting the site to be the primary driving force and took the commission on (the pay was good). I monitored web traffic over a year and despite adverts in relevant magazines web traffic was close to flat lining. I got excited when I saw that the online query form had been used. It was someone asking if there were any jobs available. To date three kitchens have been sold, none to the best of my knowledge have come from the web site (now created by an agency that charged 3x what I was paid has content management and allegedly incorporates SEO). That's a lot of brass to lay out for three kitchen sales. Oh and I forgot about the photoshoots - more expense.
Most folk using the establish LEJOG forums here and on the CTC web site are likely to go it alone or using friends for support.
Getting the potential LEJOGers to beat a path to your web site will be a challenge.
I created a web site for a bespoke kitchen company who really thought that it would help sales. I cautioned the company MD against expecting the site to be the primary driving force and took the commission on (the pay was good). I monitored web traffic over a year and despite adverts in relevant magazines web traffic was close to flat lining. I got excited when I saw that the online query form had been used. It was someone asking if there were any jobs available. To date three kitchens have been sold, none to the best of my knowledge have come from the web site (now created by an agency that charged 3x what I was paid has content management and allegedly incorporates SEO). That's a lot of brass to lay out for three kitchen sales. Oh and I forgot about the photoshoots - more expense.
xpc316e
Veteran
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK
I had a cycling holiday much on the lines you're considering offering with Bike Events in Eire this year. Many of the riders go on the same holiday year after year, as it is so well organised. You could do much worse than going on one of their holidays to see exactly what they do. A big plus for me was that they engaged a caterer to provide us with a breakfast and evening meal each day. These meals were provided in a circus Big Top type of tent, and it contributed hugely to team spirit. The people on the tour ranged from quite hardy tourist types, through former road racers who now wanted to ease of a bit, to a chap who did over a hundred miles a day by religiously going 'off-route'.
oldfatfool
Guru
It is simple to wade through the red tape it is just the associated cost and initial cash flow.
If you are trying to do it whilst working so a couple of tours a year then I would suggest that the initial costs you will need to meet will make the tour price prohibative, if you aim to make a profit, especially if you don't already own the necessary support vehicle and equipment.
When talking about doing it as a soul method of earning a living consider how much income you need, and how many tours you think you could run a year.
For example soley running LEJoG trips, even at 100miles a day its a 10day tour so a 2 week turnaround. The weather will preclude at least 5 months of the year for your clientele if not you so a max of say 14 trips a year. You need to earn say 21k a year before tax so each trip needs to clear £1500. On top of that £1500 it also as to cover your expenses (hotel/camping/van/petrol) for each trip 2000 @ 25mpg x £6 = £480 10 x B&B/ camping +food £40? =£400, van depreciation + insurance (for business and carrying fee paying passengers) £2k+ a year / 14 say £150 a trip, so each trip you do as to have a clear profit of £2600+ and that is before public liability/ promotion/ web hosting/ advertising etc etc so lets say £3000 per trip.
Even if you are optamistic and say 10 people on every trip then that is £300 every punter as to pay over and above what it would cost them to DIY. So for a couple camping that is an additional £600 and that's without you taking the proverbial!!
I wish you the best of luck and might be teaching you to suck eggs, but I spent a lot of energy and time looking into setting up a car tours venture in a similar vein and came to the conclusion I couldn't do it cheap enough to appeal to the average person.
I would suggest as a small operator the only way you could make it work would be to aim as niche as possible ie 5* hotels every night and a clientele who can afford to pay the premium of your mark up when divided between a small group, wether this market is already saturated or can be undercut only research can tell
If you are trying to do it whilst working so a couple of tours a year then I would suggest that the initial costs you will need to meet will make the tour price prohibative, if you aim to make a profit, especially if you don't already own the necessary support vehicle and equipment.
When talking about doing it as a soul method of earning a living consider how much income you need, and how many tours you think you could run a year.
For example soley running LEJoG trips, even at 100miles a day its a 10day tour so a 2 week turnaround. The weather will preclude at least 5 months of the year for your clientele if not you so a max of say 14 trips a year. You need to earn say 21k a year before tax so each trip needs to clear £1500. On top of that £1500 it also as to cover your expenses (hotel/camping/van/petrol) for each trip 2000 @ 25mpg x £6 = £480 10 x B&B/ camping +food £40? =£400, van depreciation + insurance (for business and carrying fee paying passengers) £2k+ a year / 14 say £150 a trip, so each trip you do as to have a clear profit of £2600+ and that is before public liability/ promotion/ web hosting/ advertising etc etc so lets say £3000 per trip.
Even if you are optamistic and say 10 people on every trip then that is £300 every punter as to pay over and above what it would cost them to DIY. So for a couple camping that is an additional £600 and that's without you taking the proverbial!!
I wish you the best of luck and might be teaching you to suck eggs, but I spent a lot of energy and time looking into setting up a car tours venture in a similar vein and came to the conclusion I couldn't do it cheap enough to appeal to the average person.
I would suggest as a small operator the only way you could make it work would be to aim as niche as possible ie 5* hotels every night and a clientele who can afford to pay the premium of your mark up when divided between a small group, wether this market is already saturated or can be undercut only research can tell
