Business Travel Rule: Beware of becoming the Tour Guide

We supply chain professionals travel a lot and I often talk with colleagues who travel about where to go and things to do in a given region if you have down time. And the one thing we always seemed to wind up hitting on is the “tour guide.” You know the “tour guide” don’t you? That guy or girl in the group you’re traveling with or that works with you that knows all the local hot spots and “the” places to go in a given city or country.

Now, there is no problem knowing the area or offering to take people some place, but, especially in work-related travel, there is a line and you have to know where it is. It is probably different for each company or group of employees, but when you cross that line, it is hard to come back.

For example, I used to travel with this guy named Bubba (name withheld to protect the innocent). Bubba was the one who would always be ready to go out, knew all the local places and was trying to get people to hurry up and get going. Not work, but out. Now I do have to say that Bubba is a really talented guy and would usually finish his work before others. He is viewed as the CEO (Chief Entertainment Officer), and people go to him to help book hotels, flights and everything else. Pretty soon I started hearing in the management meetings that Bubba was not that useful as an employee and was only good as a travel agent or tour guide. He has since cut back on offering to help everyone, and is now back to being viewed as an asset for the company.

I think the simple things to avoid are booking people on planes and hotels. Transportation (car, trains or public transportation) is okay, as long as you are going along. I think it is acceptable to recommend restaurants or bars, but don’t give a lot of options, just a couple.  

Unfortunately helping people can backfire. I am not saying you should not help, but just be careful of becoming the “tour guide.”

Do you have a “Tour Guide” story? POST A COMMENT on this page and tell us about it.