rcwild
04-11-2004, 08:49 PM
In the U.S. it is common for a guide service to represent its experience based on "guiding days", also known as guest days, client days or service days. Fees for permits on most public lands are calculated using guiding days. One guiding day equals 1 person x 1 day. If a guide leads 10 people on a 1-day adventure, their permit is calculated on 10 guiding days. If a guide leads 5 people on a 3-day adventure, their permit is calculated on 15 guiding days.
Using the same calculations, it is easy for a guide service to represent an inflated amount of experience. While not dishonest, it can be misleading. A guide who claims to have 1,000 days guiding experience may have only led 50 trips of 20 people each. Some guide services will even tally the total experience of all of their guides. Perhaps they employ 5 guides who have each led 10 trips of 20 people each. While a guide service representing 1,000 days guiding experience may sound impressive, you may find yourself led by one of their 5 guides who has only led 10 trips.
To complicate matters a bit more, some guide services include outfitting days in their numbers. Outfitting involves providing gear and information for clients' self-guided adventures and should not be counted toward guiding experience.
If an accurate accounting of your prospective guide's experience is important to you, it is fairly easy to determine. You can start with some simple math. If a guide represents they have 1,000 days guiding experience, but have only been in business for 3 years, they must have worked 333 days per year. This is very unlikely. In most parts of the world, guiding season lasts less than 6 months each year. They are probably using guiding days, rather than actual days, for their calculations.
Don't be afraid to ask detailed questions. Make it clear you want to know about your specific guide's experience, not the guide service's total. Ask for the individual guide's years of experience and how many ACTUAL days they have guided, not how many guiding days they have accumulated.
Using the same calculations, it is easy for a guide service to represent an inflated amount of experience. While not dishonest, it can be misleading. A guide who claims to have 1,000 days guiding experience may have only led 50 trips of 20 people each. Some guide services will even tally the total experience of all of their guides. Perhaps they employ 5 guides who have each led 10 trips of 20 people each. While a guide service representing 1,000 days guiding experience may sound impressive, you may find yourself led by one of their 5 guides who has only led 10 trips.
To complicate matters a bit more, some guide services include outfitting days in their numbers. Outfitting involves providing gear and information for clients' self-guided adventures and should not be counted toward guiding experience.
If an accurate accounting of your prospective guide's experience is important to you, it is fairly easy to determine. You can start with some simple math. If a guide represents they have 1,000 days guiding experience, but have only been in business for 3 years, they must have worked 333 days per year. This is very unlikely. In most parts of the world, guiding season lasts less than 6 months each year. They are probably using guiding days, rather than actual days, for their calculations.
Don't be afraid to ask detailed questions. Make it clear you want to know about your specific guide's experience, not the guide service's total. Ask for the individual guide's years of experience and how many ACTUAL days they have guided, not how many guiding days they have accumulated.