“There is no question that this is the wave of the future. We’ve watched the market change here in Skagway, with more and more international non-English language guests taking cruises, and their needs were simply not being served by the products that were only available in English.”
– Steve Hites, President, Skagway Street Car Company
Executive Overview
Skagway Street Car Company provides live guided tour entertainment and theatrical reenactments for sightseeing visitors disembarking on day excursions from cruise lines such as Disney, Carnival, Norwegian, Celebrity and Princess Cruises.
The company required a multi-language delivery platform to better manage operations and meet the growing needs of foreign language travelers arriving in Skagway, Alaska. At the same time, cruise ship operators required better performance and effectiveness of its services for off-shore excursions. Skagway Street Car Company leveraged the expertise and know-how of Creative Services to deliver a world-class tour experience for its passengers and to gain buy-in from the cruise line’s biggest brands.
Business Challenges
Skagway Street Car Company had a requirement to migrate its growing live guided narration to a more automated, multi-language commentary solution for its global cruise line customers. To solve the problem, management needed to transform its tour delivery to a more innovative technical platform that offered reliability, flexibility and future scalability. It also required flexible tour commentary solutions that could move to new buses being acquired at the time. Portability was an important factor in the decision-making process.
Solution
Skagway Street Car Company moved the internal creative process for scripting tours into the hands of AudioConexus. This move enabled Skagway Street Car to collaborate with Creative Services to better position the company for growth, where storytelling is strategic and creates much more emotional resonance with people.
Two tours were created in seven languages, highlighting key topics of interest and sharing stories, both past and present about the “gateway to the fabled Klondike gold fields.” The company migrated to this new platform in just 3 months, and now delivers dramatically higher levels of customer service for passengers.
Passengers listen to tour commentary using wireless receivers and headsets, giving Skagway Street Car the flexibility required to move commentary systems efficiently to where they’re needed most. This has had a significant impact on time savings.
“Working with AudioConexus was eye-opening in that you think you know everything about how to present your tour. It was humbling to go through the process of translating our English tour experience into an international experience. The result is a thousand times better than anything that we would have come up with just trying to do it ourselves.”
– Steve Hites, President, Skagway Street Car Company
Key Outcomes
By deploying on portable GPS commentary solutions, Skagway Street Car Company transformed its business, opening new doors to foreign language markets and strengthening industry partnerships by integrating professional narration, music and sound effects and optimizing automation and reliability. In addition, premium content enabled Skagway Street Car to directly address the unmet needs of cruise lines – the availability of high-quality foreign language experiences.
As a result, Skagway Street Car developed a more consistent, service-minded approach to meet the growing demands of foreign language visitors. By taking on an automated, proactive role in servicing the cruise lines, the company eliminated language barriers for its employees, customers, and partners. By increasing its ability to connect with passengers, Skagway Street Car reduced costs, increased ridership and boosted revenues.
“The high level of translation and production quality that AudioConexus provides resulted in a powerful guest experience where we get the highest tour ratings and best customer reviews. The AudioConexus system is an answer to the eternal question of “what does the customer want? As a result, we plan on adding additional units, more languages, and new tours to our product line.”
– Gayla Hites, co-owner, Skagway Street Car Company
Business Results
- Significant rise in revenues and profits
- Strengthened Industry Partnerships
- Higher Guest Satisfaction Ratings
- Portability and High Adaptabilty
Tell compelling stories and your company will be transformed in big ways.
If you’re an ambitious tour operator that wants to attract new customers and exploit your competitive advantages, learn why Navilution Next is right for you.
