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Hi, I’m Steve, founder of Other Way Round Travel. I wanted to share with you some more detail on who we are and what it is we do here (beyond the ‘marketing speak’ if you like). THE CONCEPT As I’m sure you know already, we specialise in running trips for solo travelers in their 30s and 40s to various destinations around the world. I started the company when I was 35 (at the time of writing I’m now 42) because it was something I really wanted for myself. As someone who is not married and who doesn’t have kids, I often find myself surrounded by people who are living that more traditional lifestyle and it can be difficult finding other people available to do stuff with. And I don’t know about you, but I find that most things in life are way more enjoyable when shared with others. So while we are officially a travel company, I actually see us much more as a community. The core of what we do is to bring people together – at a similar stage in life – and to create an environment where it’s easy to form genuine, long-lasting friendships. And it works! Not a day goes by when my phone isn’t full of messages from the various WhatsApp groups created for our trips (sometimes years after the trip itself), and on Instagram every weekend I see meetups and reunions from people who originally met on OWR trips. I absolutely love seeing this and for me this is what it’s really all about. THE TRIPS We’re currently operating in 16+ countries and will continue adding to that list. We always partner with a local tour operator in each of those countries, giving you the best of both worlds. They know their country inside out and are on top of all the logistics/local knowledge/safety&security etc.. required to run complex trips like we do, and we know exactly what you, our guests, want and expect from the trip. Our prices are a little above average and that’s very much reflected in what you receive – most of the hotels are 4-star, we do great food, all of our experiences are private and there’s a lot included in our itineraries (if you’re comparing us with something cheaper, you will almost certainly be giving up on some of these things). THE COMPANY In terms of size, we’re a fairly small company. We take between 500-1000 guests per year, while other companies in this space are taking something like 50,000-100,000. (I like to think of us as your local coffee store in a world full of Starbucks). So while you’re not likely to see us on billboards or magazine covers any time soon, you will definitely feel the difference travelling with a small, independent company. The people who travel with us choose to do so exactly for this reason, and tell us frequently that it felt much more personal, intimate and well thought-out compared with the larger, more traditional tour groups. That’s why we have so many coming back this year to do their 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th trips with us – we’re building a strong community of repeat travelers who love what we do! THE PEOPLE It’s also worth me explaining a little bit about who actually comes on our trips. The majority come from the UK, USA, Canada, Australia & New Zealand but we really do get people from every country imaginable. The first thing to say is that almost everyone is worried/nervous about turning up to meet a group of complete strangers. Nervous they won’t have anything in common with the others in the group. Worried they will be the oldest (or youngest). Concerned they will be the only person traveling alone and end up in a tour full of couples (side note – that will never happen. Our trips are designed specifically for people in your exact situation, so almost everyone will be traveling alone). If you are feeling any of these things you are not alone and I completely get it. But I can tell you that, having done many of our trips myself – and having read every single feedback form from every single trip – that our groups, without fail, tend to get along amazingly well. The positive group dynamic is mentioned on almost every single guest review. And many people go on to become genuine long-term friends (I myself have made many great friends through traveling on OWR trips). And it’s because – if you’re still reading this – the people joining our trips are just like you. They may be from different places and have different job titles, but they will be at a very similar stage of life, will deal with many of the same problems & struggles (common to many of us in our 30s & 40s), will enjoy doing many of the same things and will come with a similar mindset of being open to adventure and meeting new people. This is the reason why it works so well. IN SUMMARY I hope this note has been helpful for you. A little long-winded I know, but I wanted to give you a more in-depth feel for what to expect, beyond what’s already on our website. If you’re on the fence I’d highly encourage you to browse our itineraries and get in touch. Trips like this can truly be life-changing if you’re able to just take that initial step.