How many customers use the Watering Hole?

[jo-burgess]

How many G Adventures travellers actually use this watering hole? There are hundreds of empty posts in the departures lounge with loads of views but barely anyone confirming to be on the same trip?

Are people just reading and staying anonymous wanting to start off the trip on a fresh slate and not wanting to connect with fellow travellers prior to the trip?

Or is the advertisement of the watering hole not as good as it could be?

It seems the people on here are all keen to meet and chat to fellow trip goers but is there more G Adventures and the other tour companies such as STA that sell these trips can do to advertise the forum? It does appear quite far down the booking confirmation email where I would have imagined it to be more prominent. I think its an amazing site with lots of people returning to it.. but not as many new travellers as there could be...

What do you think?

[IncaTrail50]

We've had that discussion off and on here and I think it might be that adventure travelers like surprises! It's nice to meet ahead of time but just as nice to be pleasantly surprised by the people and personalities you meet on Day 1 of the trip. I always post in the Departure lounge but my daughter adamantly refuses to post when she goes somewhere! For her it spoils the adventure if she knows too much information ahead.

You're right about the advertising not being as prominent as it could. Also, if you're new to this type of travel you don't really understand how closely you'll bond with the rest of the group so you may dismiss the option without realizing what it means. It's completely different than the usual big bus trips that have 40-50 people.

In any case, there's lots of us here with different outlooks and philosophies. That's what makes it great!

[Starbuck86]

A friend of mine who I met on tour in Africa a few years back said that STA travel were particularly poor at notifying their customers of pre-trip message boards like the Watering Hole. In fact, when she asked if G had such a thing STA told her no!

That aside, I guess some people like to be suprised, while others like to know before they go. I think a mixture of both is a good thing. Variety is the spice of life and all that. (Doesn't stop me from checking my post in the Departure Lounge every couple of days, though!)

[avonord]

I wondered about this too, but that's cuz I'm a big forum user. One way may be to create the thread automatically and include the link on the email to those who signed up to the trip. It may end up with lots of empty threads though...