City guide series recommendation

I think I started asking because a few guests caught me off guard right before their stay. They would email asking about a specific activity or something…and then I found myself spending half a day just googling and learning. So I didn’t want to keep getting caught off guard.

Here too. Most are overpriced and mediocre. I am in a small town, so cannot even compare with Bombay and their hundreds of restaurants. I also used to work in quite a few of the restaurants here, and understand how inconsistent they can be. If I was cooking the food was always the best it could be (he he he) but a slack ass kid would slap that same meal on a plate with no seaonsing. Very poor restaurant management in this area. I had forgotten about the “best” restaurant, and one time went there for a catered Christmas party where I worked. The food was excellent. Had it twice, and the reviews still reflect that. I have 3 restaurants I highly recommend - the others I basically say they are paying for the view of the lake, and are mediocre.

I just consider a tour book to be easier to walk off with than other small items.

That’s pretty cool. I hadn’t heard of that. So do you purchase a certain volume of books, and have them print your website on there? How much does that cost per book?

I use an online service. If I remember rightly there’s no minimum order - or if there is it’s low, such as five copies.

You can see it here.

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I think they cost about $5 per book. That seems like a lot but we’re in a mid range bracket (not low) so it’s worth it for the extra advertising. My hope is that people will show it to their friends when they get home and that they might be encouraged to book :slight_smile:

There’s a link to it above in my reply to @faheem

I don’t know how organized is the tourism industry in Mumbai, but as a general advice for hosts in touristic areas, you’ll find plenty free maps, guides and magazines at the local tourism information office. The maps highlight points of touristic interest and usually are more appropriate than maps you can buy. Here in Paris you could fill a newsstand with what you can pick for free at the tourism office.

I agree with others that your own personalized recommendations are the best. I have printed maps of the historic center from Google Maps and I have drawn suggestions of strolls connecting places I like that are not very well-known (it can be a tearoom, a garden, or just a small square that’s really pretty) and main touristic attractions and shopping streets, with notes about the mood of each area (hipster, luxe…), and guests seem to enjoy these custom maps.

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I just looked through it. Thank you for sharing! Your book is very impressive I must say!

This is something I could see very useful as a souvenir for my Floridians, Texans, Georgians, and Northerners. Do you send them an online version along with encouraging them to take home the hard copy?

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I did a search. The regional Govt of India Tourist Office, one of two listed in the state of Maharashtra, is at Churchgate. About a mile away. I guess I could go over there and get some stuff. Thanks for the suggestion.

That seems a little steep for a 19 page brochure. Why not just print it out on a color printer?

Firstly, because we haven’t got one :slight_smile:

But it’s good quality with a glossy cover. And we only leave it when people are staying for several nights so in the context of a $700+ stay, it’s not too bad.

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Hi @cabinhost,

Yes, people have asked me about stuff too. Mostly I just look vague. I wasn’t aware I needed to be a tourist guide. In fairness, most of my guests don’t seem to expect me to be.

I did actually do a little searching for my late lamented guest, Mr. Unstable; he wanted to check out traditional Indian wrestling. So I did some web searching for him - apparently it was too hard for him to do. This was months before he got here. But most don’t ask me for anything. Except how to get here from the airport. That’s a popular one.

Ah. Well, it’s good that there are some restaurants you can recommend. Do you have a link to this exemplar of culinary excellence? Just curious.

When people are staying for under four nights, we direct them to the online version. I usually text the link to them. But for stays of five days + they get the printed one to take home. :slight_smile:

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Now don’t over exert yourself…lol. What is it like to travel 1 mile in your area? Can you walk, or do you have to spend an hour in traffic?

Heh. Sure, you can walk. But the scenery is hell. And have I mentioned I’m lazy?

It would take between 5 to 10 minutes in a taxi, depending on traffic. Probably closer to 5. The traffic is bad, but not that bad.

Well yeah…that’s why I wanted you to be careful walking a couple of miles within the same day…lol.

Why not pay your personal chef to recommend breakfast, lunch, and dinner that he thinks tourists would appreciate? Do they have online menus that you can dowload and print? Use his/her brain and then go to the websites to download and print off? Or is this not how it works in Bombay?

You don’t need to be a tourist guide. I am competing with a lot of realtors in my area. I have had some great feedback from a few people saying they have rented many places in my area…but by far my customer service was above and beyond. It makes me chuckle as I don’t go to as great lengths as others on this board do. But I suppose I stand out enough to be better than the realtor next door.

I have extensive experience in customer service, restaurants, general hospitality, etc…so it kind of comes naturally to me. A lot of my clientele also has a lot of money. So I don’t mind acting like their admin assistant sometimes…as long as they don’t expect it. Actually, they don’t expect it. But for example - the person asking about vineyards - and I didn’t realize there were some in this area - I was able to research each one, the distance from each other, their hours, what the menu offerings would be for lunch, what was included in the tour, deadline for them to make reservations if they wanted to be picked up directly, the payment methods accepted, and many other things. I am just used to doing those things being an ex admin assistant. And my guests don’t demand or expect info like this - but think I am the hostess with the mostess. The ones who really appreciated it did leave excellent reviews and personally thanked me.

Don’t worry. I promise to be careful.

I’m not sure I follow. You mean ask my cook to recommend local restaurants? He doesn’t eat at them. Nor do we.

I was only thinking that your peronsal chef would be on the up and up with the local restaurant scene is all. He doesn’t have to eat at restaurants all the time, but can still be knowlegeable. I guess it is so different because your city is soooo large. I haven’t eaten in a restaurant here in probably five years, and can still keep up with what I feel comfortable recommending to guests.

Are you saying your chef would have no idea what restaurants to recommend if a tourist wanted a certain culinary experience?

Hi @cabinhost,

Sure, if it helps put you above the competition, it makes sense. But it doesn’t particularly come naturally to me. I’m willing to help if asked, but mostly people don’t ask.

Having said that, buying the odd map book and guide book is not a bad idea. I’ve ordered a map book. Maybe I’ll buy a guide book too. This one is cheap and looks reasonable. What do you think?

PS: On second thoughts, this books is about places nearby but not in Bombay. Which might not be useful for travellers here for a short stay.

I don’t think he would, no. You’re judging things by Western standards. This is India. My cook can’t even read or write English. I’m not sure of his literacy levels in other languages, but I don’t think it’s high. And I think you’d have to eat out a lot to have a reasonable idea what to recommend. Plus you’d have to know quite a lot about Western culture to know what Westerners would like.

He can cook stuff himself, but mostly people don’t seem interested in that. But of course, I’m not really marketing it.

I was only trying to judge by “tourist” culture, not western culture. I already said I haven’t eaten out in my own locale for over five years. But I can still tell “between the lines” from reviews of what to relay to my guests.

Do you not have “tourist” restaurants to recommend in Bombay??