Question What do you expect from a dive travel leader?

[SaltyWombat]

If you book a liveaboard or all-inclusive resort from a local diveshop, what expectations do you have of the trip leader? I'm talking about an employee of the dive shop you booked through. This person also goes on the trip with you, but doesn't lead dives.

1. Would you expect them to solve problems you have during the trip?
2. Would you expect them to check in with you to see if you're having a good time?
3. Would you expect them to help you arrange a side trip before or after your main stay?
4. Would you expect them to pick out flights?
5. Or would you expect them to be just like any other passenger?

What makes a good dive trip leader? What makes you loyal to them?

 

[parzdiver]

It depends on the trip. For a trip that is to a single location, resort, or liveaboard, I would expect pre-trip information and coordination. Making sure everyone understands what is and isn't included. During the trip, I would a general level of contact and providing a central source of coordination for the group.

For a complicated trip that has multiple locations, transportation service mid trip, etc. I would expect more coordination and help with those things.

Unless they are specifically sold as a concierge service, I would not expect them to do anything outside the specific parameters of the trip.

 

[boulderjohn]

I have done that on behalf of a shop several times.
1. I would have expected to be asked to help solve problems during the trip, and those did occur at times.
2. Of course. You are a shop employee, and part of your job is making sure they have a good time.
3. Those trips would be planned by the shop before we left home.
4. Again, that is part of the shop's trip planning.

In addition to what was stated above, I was expected to be a diving expert to whom people could go with questions. As an instructor, I took care of any instructional needs on the trip. For example, on one trip one of the customers said he wanted to take the night diving specialty, and so I had to become certified to teach that. He remains the only person I have ever certified as a night diver. Because we do not have easy access to deep dive sites in Colorado, it is very common for the dive leader to do the AOW course with the customers, and I have done that.

 

[ontdiver]

The trip leader likely hasn't paid their way and benefits from the group booking that gives the dive shop a free spot. Rather than your expectations, the question arises as to what the dive shop has committed to, rather than what you were hoping for. In short, as noted by @parzdiver : "Unless they are specifically sold as a concierge service, I would not expect them to do anything outside the specific parameters of the trip."

 

[SpaceCat]

For me, it would depend on what this trip is advertised as. If its a dive shop advertising a "lets go to this place as a shop trip," I would expect at least something from them on the trip. I at the very least expect transparency when booking, ie "there will be 3 guided dives/day," "all dives are on your own, but we try to meet up for dinner every night," etc. If they are advertising that they are guiding dives every day, I also expect more "hands on" service. However if they advertise that they are more just a social group traveling together, but its more of an independent once you arrive with the OPTION of diving together, not as much.

I don't think I would expect them to pull spare gear, fixes, etc out of their butts during the trip, however if they want to retain a good returning customer base, it would be good for business to help facilitate problem fixes. A "hey, I will go down to the dive shop with you so we can figure out how to fix/get gear together" goes a long way. If there is an issue with the room/resort/what have you, yes, I would expect them to get involved since the booking belongs to them.

I would expect a dive shop to check in and see if you are having a good time. If they just set the trip up for you and its all independent activity, maybe a couple times in passing (at dinner), or at the least, at the end of the trip. If its more "group" style, I would expect daily check ins.

I would not expect them to help you arrange side trips before or after, although they may be able to offer advise/words of wisdom from previous adventures they have taken in the area.

I expect them to pick out flights if they are included in the trip cost, or if they advertise "we can arrange flights for this additional cost" because they likely have a group airfare rate. If that isn't advertised, no.

I wouldn't expect the trip leader to act as a normal customer on a trip. To retain a good group of return customers, they need to do at least SOME extras, even if just checking in once in a while and/or offering to do dives together. But the level of extra depends on how they advertised the trip.

A good trip leader is someone that has organizational skills and is trying to assist in your trip being good however they can. I don't expect them to move mountains, but a little customer service goes a long way. Keep in mind that trip leaders normally get a discount on the trip, sometimes getting most/all of it paid for. If their trip is being paid for, they are "on duty" and I expect them to be working to make me (the customer) happy as best as they can. If they aren't getting any discount, I wouldn't expect to get anything extra from them, as they are on vacation too. That being said, if I were the designated "trip leader" for my shop, even if not getting a discount on the trip, I would 100% be checking in and offering dives as a group at least some of the time to make my shop look good.

 

[maj2]

1. I would expect them to help solve any problems related to the trip I paid for. On these trips, I will often book some side excursions for myself should the destination and schedule permit. I would not expect the trip leader to help solve problems with anything that they were not involved with setting up. For example... if I rent a car to spend an afternoon exploring the island and said car breaks down on the opposite side of the island (it happened), I would expect to be dealing with that on my own with the car rental agency.

2. That kind of follow-up is just good service to me. Yes-- I would expect the occasional check in.

3. That depends... I have an Egypt dive trip booked with my LDS for October 2023. There was an option for an additional week of land tours prior to the liveaboard. Rumour has it that Egypt has some cool stuff to see , so I am gladly using their service for this to visit the sights around Cairo, and Giza as well as a Nile cruise between Luxor and Aswan. After that, we head to Hurghada for our liveaboard. This add on was an option for anyone going. We can go for just the week of diving, or go for two weeks for both diving and sightseeing. Some non-diving spouses are going for the land sights, then flying home wile the diving spouse stays to dive. This kind of flexibility is appreciated!
If I were to want to tack on an extra week in Bonaire, I would talk to them, but would not be against making these bookings on my own as I know the island well enough.

4. Generally yes. My LDS does book our flights for dive trips, and is more than willing to accommodate requests to go earlier or come back later for additional vacation time, book through an alternative airport, etc. to accommodate individual travellers.

5. Once at the destination, I believe that the leader has every right to the same vacation as I am having. I try to respect that and not bother them with petty things unless a problem is significant enough to trigger question #1 above.

What makes a good dive trip leader? What makes you loyal to them? My LDS offers several trips each year, and always to new destinations. Popular destinations like AquaCat, Bonaire and Cozumel might get repeated every couple of years. Particularly popular were March Break trips for diving families with Jr diver kids. Offering the right trips at the right times is what is key for me.

 

[SaltyWombat]

Some hypothetical examples off the top of my head. Would you expect the trip leader to sort things out in each case? Maybe nothing could be solved, but would you expect them to complain on your behalf?

• You pay for a non-smoking room, but are given one which clearly had been used by smokers.
• The resort's website says they offer vegetarian meals. A vegetarian guest discovers this just means the same food is served without meat. For example, meat-eaters get steak, veggies, and potatoes. Vegetarians are given those same veggies and potatoes only, no meat alternative.
• A new diver's gear rented from the resort keeps having problems. The regulator leaks bubbles. The fin straps come undone. The BCD has a missing buckle. Would the trip leader take charge of this?
• A guest catches covid and needs to stay in their room the whole time. Would you expect the trip leader to offer to get medicine?
• A guest needs to arrive a day late. This guest then needs special transportation from the airport because the main shuttle only operates on transfer days. Would you expect the trip leader to help with this?
• The trip is advertised as 3 dives a day, but upon arrival you're told they scaled back to 2 because of staff shortages. Would you expect the trip leader to complain?
• One diver in the group doesn't listen to the dive guide. He/she doesn't stay with the group, goes too deep, or otherwise just isn't a team player and causes problems for everyone else. Should the trip leader handle this?

 

[boulderjohn]

Some hypothetical examples off the top of my head. Would you expect the trip leader to sort things out in each case? Maybe nothing could be solved, but would you expect them to complain on your behalf?

• You pay for a non-smoking room, but are given one which clearly had been used by smokers.
• The resort's website says they offer vegetarian meals. A vegetarian guest discovers this just means the same food is served without meat. For example, meat-eaters get steak, veggies, and potatoes. Vegetarians are given those same veggies and potatoes only, no meat alternative.
• A new diver's gear rented from the resort keeps having problems. The regulator leaks bubbles. The fin straps come undone. The BCD has a missing buckle. Would the trip leader take charge of this?
• A guest catches covid and needs to stay in their room the whole time. Would you expect the trip leader to offer to get medicine?
• A guest needs to arrive a day late. This guest then needs special transportation from the airport because the main shuttle only operates on transfer days. Would you expect the trip leader to help with this?
• The trip is advertised as 3 dives a day, but upon arrival you're told they scaled back to 2 because of staff shortages. Would you expect the trip leader to complain?
• One diver in the group doesn't listen to the dive guide. He/she doesn't stay with the group, goes too deep, or otherwise just isn't a team player and causes problems for everyone else. Should the trip leader handle this?

The dive leader is a representative of the shop on the scene, and as such will do what he or she can as the shop's representative. This is especially true in several of the instances listed above, because the shop made a contract with the dive operation or resort ahead of time, and the dive operation or resort is contractually obligated to fulfill the contract. It should absolutely fall to the group leader to remind them that they need to do what they agreed to do.

As a group leader, I would do what I could in all of those cases.

The shop can help when possible. For example, if someone is arriving late and needs special transportation, I would expect the shop's trip manager to have handled all of that. In some cases, it would be possible to contact the shop and have them contact the company and demand things be done as agreed to. I actually did that once.

As for handling the problem group member, that would be something I would work on, but those can be delicate situations. On one trip, our boat routinely did its surface intervals at a resort with a restaurant. We would typically order something like a quesadilla and a coke. One day as we sat at a table eating, one person contemplated having a beer prior to the next dive. I looked at her and said, "Please don't put me in that situation." She realized that I would have had to do something that would not have been good for any of us, and she didn't have a beer.

The very worst situation I was in as a group leader came when one of the divers was indeed a problem. He was a young man (late 20s) who liked to stay up late drinking in the bars and then either missing the first dive with his hangover or showing up looking pretty bad. He also did some other things that just screwed with the whole trip. I didn't know what to do, and I did not handle it well. The problem was that this diver was also the shop owner.

 

[Doc]

If ’leader’ is getting a ‘comp’ (free stuff) from any part of my trip, they are responsible for managing that part of my trip.

i once gave a well-known SB member payment for airfare, full trip- and all that, the entire cost, they obviously took the ‘comps’. No problem with me there. Before the trip, they informed me that the airlines had cancelled flights requiring rebooking.

And what does this mean to me?

Working for comps? You have set the risk/reward equation.

 

[tursiops]

Working for comps? You have set the risk/reward equation.

Cryptic. What do you mean?