From Excel and Outlook to a Single System

Korei organizes guided tours and activities, which involves a great deal of planning, administration, and communication. For a long time, this was handled using a combination of Outlook and Excel. As the organization grew, information became increasingly scattered across various locations.

We spoke with Koen Maes of Korei at a time when the organization was in the midst of transitioning to Eguide. We asked him why Korei chose Eguide, how the implementation went, and what he expected from the new way of working.

From scattered information to a single centralized environment

Before the switch, Korei mainly used Outlook and Excel. That worked, but it also meant that information ended up in different places.

“I was looking for a system that brought everything together in one place and was specifically designed for a tour guide organization. That way, we wouldn’t have to figure out from scratch how all those processes should work.”

One alternative was to have a solution developed in-house. But that doesn't just mean having software built. You also have to determine for yourself which processes, steps, and exceptions the system needs to support.

At Eguide, Korei recognized that much of his existing workflow was already incorporated into the software.

“With Eguide, I discovered a system that was actually already mostly ready to use.”

At the time of the interview, Korei was still in the midst of the transition. The old and new ways of working were temporarily running parallel, with the goal of eventually working entirely through Eguide.

Software that fits into daily operations

Implementing a new system always requires some adjustment. For Korei, it was therefore important that the software not be completely disconnected from the way the organization already operated.

“Of course, it always takes a little trial and error, but overall, Eguide is already well-suited to the way we work. That’s a stroke of luck.”

Eguide brings together various aspects of operations into a single central management environment. This allows bookings, scheduling, guide management, customer management, and financial tracking to be much more closely integrated.

For Korei, therefore, the added value did not lie in any single function.

“It’s the combination, above all, that’s interesting”

When asked which feature of Eguide was most important to him, Koen found it difficult to single out just one.

“That’s a tough question. It’s mainly the combination of so many features in one place. It makes communicating with guides easier; invoicing is important, of course; and you have an overview of the fees you need to pay guides. It’s the combination of these different features that makes it interesting.”

It is precisely this consistency that is important for organizations that would otherwise have to move information between different files, mailboxes, and systems.

A booking is not separate from the planning. The planning is not separate from the guide who leads the tour. And the tour itself, in turn, depends on communication and the guide’s compensation.

By managing that data within the same system, Korei has to manually transfer less information from one place to another.

The guides also work through Eguide

In addition to the central management environment, Eguide also has a separate Guide Portal for guides.

There, guides can view their assignments, respond to them, and access the information they need for their work. This way, not everyone needs to have access to the organization’s entire administrative environment.

According to Korei, this distinction also simplifies the system for guides.

“For guides, most of it is pretty self-explanatory, because they need far fewer features.”

That was a key concern for Korei. Ultimately, a digital system only works well if not only the administrative staff but also the people who have to use it can figure out how to navigate it.

Support During the Transition

Although Koen said many features became clear on their own, questions naturally arose during implementation.

The support provided by Eguide played an important role in this.

“I’ve received excellent support from Onno, who answers my questions very patiently. For the most part, the system is self-explanatory. Sometimes it takes a little figuring out, but we’ll get there.”

He also appreciated the direct communication.

“If I have a question, I can ask it and get an answer. That’s really nice, of course.”

While using it, Korei also gathered various ideas and suggestions for improvement.

“I think some of our questions might also be of interest to other current or future Eguide customers.”

Spend less time on paperwork

At the time of the interview, it was still too early to calculate the exact time or cost savings. After all, Korei was still in the process of implementation.

Koen did expect that the new way of working would make a clear difference.

“It’s still too early to put an exact figure on that, and it’s difficult to calculate. But my gut feeling is that we can save 25 to 30 percent of the time we used to spend on administrative work.”

At the time, that 25 to 30 percent figure was Korei’s estimate, not an actual measurement. The most significant change was primarily that less work needed to be spread across different systems.

Why Korei Chose Eguide

Another factor for Koen was that Eguide was specifically developed for organizations that organize tours and activities.

Anyone who commissions the development of software must not only pay for the development, but also determine for themselves how the entire process should be translated into a digital system.

“I think I’ve done my homework pretty well. There aren’t many alternatives. Either you have to design something from scratch yourself—which takes a lot of thought and money—or you start with a system where most of the work has already been done.”

For tour guide organizations looking to grow further, he therefore saw particular advantages in software that is already grounded in the day-to-day reality of guided tours, tour guides, and bookings.

Building Together for the Future

At the time of the interview, Korei had not yet reached the final stage of implementation. There were still areas for improvement, and both parties were still learning a great deal.

For Koen, that collaboration was also part of the process.

“I’ve already told Onno that it’s really great to work together like this and build something. I hope we can keep doing that and turn it into a success story together.”

For Korei, the transition primarily meant moving away from a system spread across Excel, Outlook, and various information flows, toward a single, centralized environment for organizing tours.

Be sure to read Korei's full success story.

Would you like to see how Eguide can streamline bookings, scheduling, and guide management within your organization? Request a demo link to demo.