<p>Im a student at the University of Pittsburgh, which has a very large and urban campus. Because of the size, most of the school-sponsored tours dont show you the entire area surrounding the campus.</p>
<p>Id imagine that most urban schools (NYU, BU, etc.) have this same issue. As such, Im thinking about starting a tour guide service that goes through the off-campus areas. </p>
<p>The tour would include a walk through off-campus neighborhoods, information on off-campus housing, restaurants, and activities. A student very familiar with the area will lead the tour. All in all, it would be approximately 1-2 hours long.</p>
<ol>
<li> Would you be interested in such a tour?</li>
<li> How much would you be willing to pay?</li>
<li> What would you want out of the tour? What information would you like to get, and what places would you like to see?</li>
</ol>
<p>I think such a tour would be a nice bonus as a secondary tour when trying to decide to go there or nor, or after deciding to go there, or after getting there. When we did our preliminary tours, we had 3 stacked the same day–Duquesne, Pitt and CMU, so a longer tour would not be have been wanted.</p>
<p>I know that when my son went to orientation at U Buffalo, such tours were offered as part of the package for both parents and students. </p>
<p>I would be interested in such a tour, and would be willing to pay $100 for it. I would like to see the outlying areas of the campus, the off campus digs of most students, the favorite student hangouts.stores, particularly ones that stock necessities like groceries, housewares, pharmacy, hospitals.</p>
<p>I might pay twenty dollars for a tour… especially if it included advice on admission, financial aid and any other insider info. or tips from a student’s perspective.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback. It would definitely include going by grocery stores, hangouts, etc. And I was thinking somewhere between $30-$99, which seems to be reasonable.</p>
<p>I think that would be appealing to many who don’t have time to map out an itinerary. Its a good niche idea. I’d say $20 to $30 would be good, but it really would need to be something a bit more off the beaten path and not just the immediate neighborhood that anyone could walk to</p>
<p>At a place like Pitt I think we definitiely would’ve considered it. However, when were were visiting schools, after the campus tour, interviews, class visits, etc and depending on whatever else we were trying to fit into the day, we were often pretty well spent once all was said and done. Not sure how much more walking we would have been up for on top of that.</p>
<p>We felt exploring the area AROUND the campus was something our kids should navigate. After all…if they were going to go to college in a city or town, THEY would need these skills. So…when we went on visits, our kids looked for interesting things to do near the campuses and since we usually were there long enough…we poke around a bit.</p>
<p>To be honest, I would not pay for this service…but maybe my kids would have!</p>
<p>Let’s see, I think I would pay $25 for two adults. Our son’s university is in the middle of a city and it would have been very helpful to learn, basically, what the locals know about the neighborhood it’s in/boarders; drugstores, good restaurants, boutique hotels, where not to go after dark, etc. Sure, we expect our son to figure out himself but we were there for 48 hours. </p>
<p>Even better than trying to sell parents on this idea would be to get universities or colleges to buy into it so they could offer it for free as a companion to the parents university tour.</p>
<p>I would not pay for such a tour. If I can travel around the world and figure out what to do / see in a foreign city or country where I don’t speak the language, I can certainly figure out how to see a surrounding neighborhood someplace in the US. Sorry - you asked!</p>
<p>I would pay for a tour like this - not as a parent, but as an independent counselor. This would be a good group to consider when you’re marketing your services. I would probably be willing to pay up to $50, depending on what’s offered. I’d want to learn about all kinds of local amenities - activities, food, off-campus housing, book stores, transportation (do students ride the bus, ride bikes, etc.). I’d like to get a general feeling for how student life is experienced on and off campus by a cross-section of students.</p>
<p>I think touring the surrounding area when visiting a campus under consideration in an unfamiliar area is a good idea. I’m sure I’m too cheap to pay anyone to do this though but I can fairly readily do a lot of reasearch up front to be able to figure out what I want to see and where to go when there and nowadays between Google street view and Bing aerial view you’re virtually there so the up front research is very easy.</p>
<p>
Even if I was willing to pay, I think this amount ranges from possibly reasonable to not reasonable at all. I think of this in terms of the amount of time the student spends performing the service and what a reasonable hourly wage for a college student would be. If this was a walking tour as opposed to a bus tour, which I assume it’d be, we’re really only talking about the time the student spends. And if there are multiple groups on the tour, for example 6-10 people, then I’d look at it as something like $16/hour for the student giving the tour, the tour is an hour long (multiply if longer), therefore the student would be paid $16 total which boils down to $1.50-$2.00 per person on the tour. I might even be willing to part with $2 if I thought there was enough value in it beyond what I can figure out on my own. The other alternative would be for the student to conduct the tour for tips only and see how that goes (making it clear that tips are appreciated).</p>
<p>I think it’d be very unreasonable for a student tour guide to be reaping $100-$500 or more per hour for a service like this given they have no overhead and they’re a … student. If anyone managed to make $100 per hour for something like this they’d likely have almost instant competition from other students and even non-students that’d drive the price down to something reasonable.</p>
<p>1) Yes, I’d be interested in taking such a tour.</p>
<p>2) How much I’d pay would depend on what was offered and when I was taking the tour.
For a tour when looking at colleges, something on the cheaper side ($25 for parents and child?) just to get a feel for how the university blends with the community, available resources, and such.
For a more in-depth tour once the child has narrowed down choices or committed to the university, more like $25 per person.
In the DC area, we have tons of walking tour options aimed at both tourists and residents. The more expensive options often include “goodies” (chocolates from a dessert shop, etc.) along the way. Maybe a fun option would be something for parents to do after the child settles in on freshman moving day (and wants some time to enjoy sans parental units). I’m thinking of a “first care package” tour where the parents would be given goodies (cookies, fruit, coupons, whatever) to be passed along (by your tour guides the next day?) to the student. Local businesses might be willing to donate some of these items if the parents either are given the time to shop for a few extras to add to the package or are made a resting point (for food or beverage) on your tour. I might pay quite a bit for such a tour. (You could even offer the care package service for parents unable to fit the tour into their schedule). Depending on what was involved (length, fun, stress relief, celebratory refreshments, items included for free in the care package, etc.), I can easily imagaine paying $100 for the tour portion of the tour (you would of course be adding the value of refreshments, food, etc. to the pricing on top of that)</p>
<p>3) I’d like to see things not easily discernible from internet searches or college marketing. I’d like to learn about campus (and off-campus) traditions from a student perspective. I’d like to learn about the small things that help create the university atmosphere, but may be missed on college tours. I’d like you to not walk too fast, because I’m getting old. ;)</p>
<p>Good luck with exploring your business idea! It abounds with possibility.</p>
<p>I really should have proofed before I posted. In my number 2 answer, please do not make the parents a resting point! We don’t want to be squashed. Make the businesses the resting point, please.</p>
<p>I really like this idea. It’s sort of like taking a walking tour or trolley tour of a city as a tourist. It’s not something you HAVE to do - you could explore on your own - but it’s a fun way to get an overview of a new locale from someone more familiar. I would pay $35 or so for a party of 3.</p>
<p>If you are offering this on other campuses, but aware that if the college is located in a not-so-great area, the school will not encourage your business.</p>
<p>I am usually so tired after doing the official campus tour, I would welcome a bus or trolley tour of the immediate area. I’m not sure how much I would pay, though, because it could be the three of us.</p>
<p>I think it is really important to explore the area around any campus, and it is something we have done during all our college visits. I would not, however, pay for someone else to give us a tour. If we need restaurant or activity recs, we ask during the campus tour. We like to find all the nooks and crannies ourselves and see the good and bad.</p>
<p>no, i wouldn’t pay for something like this. i think that maybe people who aren’t used to large cities and are scared of navigating them on their own would probably be willing to pay though.</p>
<p>Maybe we would have paid for a tour like this. But on most of our college visits we were short on time.</p>
<p>On our Carnegie Mellon Sleeping Bag weekend visit, the college sponsored a night trolley tour for parents - that was great (and free)! We didn’t get to the see the neighborhoods like OP’s tour would do, but we got a much better feel for Pittsburgh.</p>