So, we are officially launched.
It's funny when you work towards something—anything, really—for a long time. When you finally get there, you kind of expect a fanfare. A finish line. A big "well done" and for everything to suddenly fall into place.
It never quite feels like that.
The tour is now live, and after a week of previews and a soft launch, it has been received really well. We've already started building up positive reviews on TripAdvisor, the feedback from guests has been fantastic, and bookings are beginning to come through.
What has surprised me is when those bookings are coming in.
I expected people to be booking tours happening this week or next week. Instead, many of our bookings are for dates months in advance, stretching all the way through to January. These are people planning future trips to Edinburgh, looking for experiences to include in their itinerary.
It's a bit of a double-edged sword.
On one hand, it's incredibly encouraging. It means people are finding Experience Edinburgh online while planning their holidays and liking what they see. It tells us that The Heart of the Royal Mile is appealing enough for people to commit to it before they've even arrived in the city.
On the other hand, those bookings aren't for the tours happening right now.
I find myself checking the booking calendar more often than I'd care to admit, waiting to see new reservations appear. I know this is a brand-new venture, and I know these things take time. Building awareness doesn't happen overnight. But if I'm being honest, patience has never been my strongest quality.
We're also encountering a few hurdles getting the tour listed on some of the major booking platforms that visitors use when planning their trips. These secondary booking sites are important because they're often the first place travellers look when deciding what to do in a city. They're essentially a buffet of experiences. If you're not on the menu, people can't choose you.
Thankfully, that's largely a matter of time. We're working through the various processes and approvals, and hopefully before long we'll be visible on more platforms and firmly in the mix.
But despite the inevitable challenges that come with launching something new, we're live.
The tour is running. Guests are enjoying it. Reviews are coming in. The foundations are being built.
Now we just need more people to discover it.
As a certain film famously said:
"If you build it, they will come."