latourguide pros and cons

Well it's fall again and about that time of year when the tour biz drops off! I think with the state of the economy were seeing even less Americans on our tour than usual and a higher ratio of foreign visitors this time of year. I enjoy working with foreign visitors, tradeing insight and related simularities of their countries with my info on Los Angeles, I feel enlightened on things that the travel channel can't do, interaction and followup questions and answers through smalltalk along the way! I learn new words and gain knowledge of life around the world, the tours are like riding around town with my friends everyday!
One concern I feel, voiced by most of my co-workers is the gratuities at the end of the tours...always a problem from visitors from some countries where tipping is not common or included in the wages. When I began with my current tour company, I was assured by the owner and manager that I would make good tips since tip signs are posted in the busses "A 15% gratuity is appreciated for a job well done" and started at half the wages I made as a limo bus driver (just driving passengers here and there) five years earlier. My job as a professional tourguide is more extensive, built from years of schooling, research, voice lessons, on the job experience and driving the most difficult traffic in the world! I've not asked or been granted a pay raise since begining since the tips should have been substantial. When a passenger books a tour through their hotel, the concierge or desk clerk can make a hefty commission at about $20.oo per person and can make more than the tourguide who gives the tour when they book 4 or more passengers, yet most forget to mention anything about tipping the tourguide my passengers often tell me, and most are caught off guard by the tip signs or don't understand it when they come from other countries, especially if they don't understand english!
So the tour business can be enjoyable and somewhat rewarding but also uncertain and humiliating!

Lost and Gone Forever!

Grieving the loss of my tour company's general manager, friend and colleague, Fred who died after and accident, I got the news while touring.

Mom's Passing

I've taken a short hiatus from Los Angeles and the tour routine last month to be with my mother after she was taken to the hospital intensive care unit. My family summoned me stressing the urgency based on the doctors assessment of her condition. We took turns staying with mom as she was moved up to a hospital bed until she progressed to an improved status and was able to transfer to a care center with the possibility of going back home to stay with my sister Maggie. Despite the uncertainty of her condition, I returned to LA feeling better for spending cherished time with her. Unfortunately on October 1st, I got the call that she had passed away!
I returned back to the Gulf Coast to be with my family where we mourned together, having a beautiful service at the church where mom had frequented on Sundays and holidays, located in Biloxi, Mississippi. The plane ride back was so difficult, thinking I'll never see my mother again! As the plane jostled through the bad weather turbulence, a scared little girl seated behind me repeatedly cried mama, mama, mamaaa...I cried with her but not openly, and kept it bottled up inside me till I got home.
Returning to work and having to look and talk cheerful with the tourists was difficult at first, although the people were with me to have a good time, and as mom would have wanted for me, go out and lead the groups and have fun with it...
The last few days have been extraordinary, as if mama was with me in spirit! I've had some really good days as a tourguide since returning last week...thanks mom!

LA Video Tour Editing

Today I've resumed work on a Los Angeles video tour but having difficulties. The typical LA city tours encompass a large area and average three hours for a short tour and up to six hours for a grand tour.
Most tour companies try to have their guides keep a good pace and minimize the stops, showing the most popular highlights that people have heard about.
We'd like to show everything popular up close but just don't have the time...I tell my passengers that we'll see as much as we can in the time we have, accounting for traffic, unexpected delays and people returning to the bus late at the stops beyond the agreed meet time. (I've used one of those "will return at " clocks at the stops so even those with limited english knowledge will get back on time).
Making a tour video is similar, it can't be to long otherwise the file is too large to download, and it can't be too in depth, with just quick looks at these things that people see on the tours.
One advantage I have with the video process is the area coverage, since it's impossibe to show everything within ten minutes on a bus tour, the video can jump from place to place without the transit times in between, just a rapid overview in minutes!
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LA Hollywood Studios

I'm trying to make a YouTube video of the largest of Hollywood studios! Hollywood is a district of Los Angeles and considered the center of the film industry. Unfortunately only one (Paramount Studios) of the original Hollywood mega studios is still in the actual district.
The significant others are on the outside including 20th Century Fox in West LA, Columbia Pictures(Sony) in Culver City and in Burbank is Disney and Warner Brothers (WB).
Nowdays we consider anything relating to the entertainment business anywhere around LA a part of the Hollywood establishment!

Arbor Day in LA!

Today April 24th is Arbor Day and in Los Angeles you can see areas and parks beautifully decorated with local and exotic and imported trees.
The Chavez Ravine Arboretum in Elysian Park of LA was founded in 1893 by the LA Horticural Society. Planting of rare trees, indigineous local and imports have been added since, now including over 100 varieties of trees from around the world!
Go to http://www.laparks.org/dos/horticulture/chavez/gallery.htm for a quick virtual tour of the trees!

I've taken a break from the tours since I've been diagnosed with an Inguinal Hernia. My tour company has given me the run around since I first complained about it after helping some passengers with heavy luggage at the airport! The company owner said he wants me to go through the company group medical insurance plan and avoid billing through Workers Comp so as to avoid higher company rates and state safety standards scrutiny! The company manager was downright displeased with my mention of the Workers Compensation and said that it was wrong to make such a claim!! I'm awaiting word of my impending surgury, unable to work and no income until this is taken care of...

Getty Center

I did the Getty tour today, located high up in the hills of Brentwood just adjacient to the Bel Aire community of LA. To see the land and facility is exraordinary, together cost totaling over one billion dollars! The structures are covered with terrazo marble imported from Italy. Inside there's famous paintings of Van Gogh (Irises) and Gainsborough. The gardens are exquisite with amazing vistas of LA from 850'.
I then took 20 passengers on a city tour of Los Angeles, Saturday is a good day for tours since the traffic is not so bad!

Tour Biz Picking Up

Despite the recent economy problems, the tour business in Los Angeles seems to be doing better!
Today I had 17 passengers, 3 from the United States, 4 from Italy, 2 from Denmark, 2 from the Netherlands, 2 from England, 2 from Curacuo, 1 from Australia and 1 from Mexico.
We did the Grand Tour of LA which is the most popular landmarks around the city which is around six hours including stops at Venice Beach, a Beverly Hills photo stop, the Farmer's Market of LA, Grauman's Chinese Theater, and Olvera Street in Downtown LA.

Taking a tour of Los Angeles can be an exciting or frustrating experience! Tourists can take a guided tour with a tour company and professional guide or self guided tour.
Either way the end result may be satisfactory or a dissapointment depending on the expectations.
If you'd just like to see the popular landmarks and events then most tour companies can assist you with that or there's plenty of literature and websites available including my http://latourguide.org site with a link to my youtube videos to see more!
For the those history fanatics and detail oriented visitors, most tour companies don't hire guides to be too descriptive but rather entertaining with basic insight along the tour route. If specific details are of interest, then some pre-research is in order! Write down the details and questions and then try to cross reference through the internet via Google Search or Yahoo Search. Another option is to access the local libraries around your hotel/ motel to satisfy even the most discernible of researching.

LA tourguide

A tourist blog relating the experience of touring the Los Angeles, California area! The average and unusual tour scenarios may be described as well as the upcoming events of interest to visitors and locals with possible posts after the events.