Today we’d like to introduce you to Dean Dalton and Zsofia Sztranyiczki.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
What led directly to the founding of Dean Dalton Tours was a meeting in 1994, instigated by Al Marks, who operated opera-focused tours. He approached me with the proposition that I serve as the “opera expert” on his tours and help promote them on the radio. At that time, I was the host of KUHF radio’s Morning Show of classical music and arts interviews. That meeting resulted in Al producing tours for the station to offer listeners, both as a promotional vehicle and to raise money for the not-for-profit station.
I started doing tours, 2 or 3 a year, for KUHF (now Houston Public Media) in the fall of 1994. They were an immediate success and were prominent on the station.
In 2002 we involved an organizer in Europe, with the aim of upgrading the artistic content of the tours. In 2007, when I retired from KUHF, I became even more involved in the operation of the tours.
In 2011, my wife, Zsofia Sztranyiczki and I formalized “Dean Dalton Tours” as a company and gradually took over the entire operation, from planning, to promotion, to execution of the tours, as well as all the business functions of the company.
We are in the enviable position of having a small but loyal client base, who travel with us repeatedly and who sell the tours for us, by “word of mouth” to their friends. The simple fact that we can fill our tours to capacity, without having to spend money on advertising, printing, mailing, etc., allowing us to provide a very high-quality product at a surprisingly moderate price.
We personally plan and manage every tour, which provides a level of connection between us and our travelers that simply isn’t possible with a larger company.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Things have happened pretty naturally. We had a problem tour back when we were still working with the European organizer and KUHF: concatenation of things from no-show guides and buses and guides to a volcano that required us to drop a major destination.
We were concerned that the transition away from the Public Radio connection and the publicity that provided might hurt us but that hasn’t been the case at all.
Dean Dalton Tours – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We specialize in small group travel, mostly to Europe, with a strong focus on classical music, fine art, architecture, and history. Our “guides” are mostly PhDs in fields like art history, architecture, cultural history, and so on. Our clientele are well-educated people whose interest in travel goes far deeper than selfies in front of well-known landmarks. I think what sets us apart is our extraordinary repeat business: our tours are usually about 85% repeat clients while newcomers learn about us almost exclusively from former travelers.
I think it is telling that people who met on one (or many) of our tours routinely get together for dinner, weekends in Chicago or New York for concerts, opera, and museums, or just over a glass of wine at intermission of a Houston Symphony, Grand Opera or Ballet performance. We can take credit for at least three life-partnerships that were born on one of our tours.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
We simply want our tours to provide a high-level experience for our travelers, that ever detail goes smoothly, that our clients have a wonderful time while learning new and exciting things. We’re also pretty proud that, while our focus is not gastronomy, our tours have become famous for the meals we provide.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.deandaltontours.com
- Email: info@deandaltontours.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeanDaltonTours/
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Image Credit:
Dean Dalton Tours
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