California Meetings and Events Magazine Spring 2014 SAN DIEGO TOUR COMPANY FINDS SUCCESS MAKING MOTION MEANINGFUL BY DANI HEINEMEYER

IN 2003, MARC AND DARLYNNE MENKIN LAUNCHED WHERE YOU WANT TO BE TOURS to show off the hidden gems of San Diego to families, groups and leisure travelers. Today, corporate groups represent 90 percent of their business. Their tours offer a range of physical activities, from biking and walking tours to interactive bus adventures, customized culinary and wine tours and the signature Urban Challenge Scavenger Hunt. Here, they share what they’ve learned over the past decade. CAM+E: Why do you think corporate groups have responded so well to your offerings? Darlynne Menkin: Companies want to get their staff outdoors. They want to get people out of the four walls and experience whatever city they’re in. Planners have found that if you’re outdoors, it will put you in a better frame of mind, it increases teamwork and productivity, and you’re going to be able to brainstorm more. For example, we offer quick morning power walks before conferences begin that go through downtown San Diego and Seaport Village.

CAM+E: Can you tell us some of the lessons you’ve learned with your corporate team-building adventures? Marc Menkin: When we first started we would go out to the ballpark and throw people balls, but out of five balls, some people would miss three or four, and you could tell they were bummed. So we changed direction on it. We still might pitch balls to people or do a football or Frisbee-tossing challenge, but we don’t make it a task or a competition on an individual level. Instead, it’s about teamwork, with four or more people working together. Likewise, we changed the route of a biking tour so that our groups don’t have to go up a big hill in the first 10 minutes. We learned to be aware of the people who may not have been on a bike in years. We want them to have peace of mind. If someone’s chain falls off, there’s somebody there who can fix it; if they get a flat tire, we can replace the bike. It’s like a pampered experience.

DM: We’ve noticed that it’s not enough for companies to have fun. They want team-building experiences to be designed so they’re meaningful and have a lasting impact.

MM: We customize our scavenger hunts for every group. We did one for the YMCA and we made customer service a theme. As the groups approached specific businesses they had to ask questions like, “How do I get to Ocean Beach on public transportation?” Then the groups would talk about how the answer was handled. Was it good, not so good? How does it relate to how we deal with customers when someone asks us a question that’s outside the perimeter of the usual?

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