A Good Tour Guide is an Investment

     "New York City is a lot of things, but cheap is not one of them," was my standard line back in the days when I worked in a luxury hotel in Manhattan. It was sort of a lie. There are a lot of bargains in the Big Apple, incredible bargains if you know where to look. Just today I bought a 4 gigabyte SD card for $10, basically a wholesale price. It's made by a manufacturer you would know, and I bought it at the most famous high-end electronics store on the planet, which you might not even know if you're not a professional. But I digress.

     Back when I was working at the hotel, people would constantly complain about the high cost of doing business or visiting New York. Partially out of spite that people who could afford a $500 a night hotel would complain about paying $20 for a pizza, I didn't mind -- I admit -- sometimes sending them to expensive places when I knew that cheaper and better alternatives existed. Actually, hotel management directed me to do this because if someone got sick at my favorite little pizza place on 3rd Avenue, they would sue the hotel. If they got sick at Pizzeria Uno, a chain, they would sue Pizzeria Uno. I'm pretty sure that sort of liability factored in with hotel management's decisions regarding what we were and were not to recommend to guests. It might have had something to do with corporate alliances, too. That's what the cynic in me says, anyway.

     Here's the funny thing: A lot of those people could have saved themselves hundreds or even thousands of dollars by hiring an independent tour guide -- not the big red bus kind, but one who works for themselves. There are literally hundreds of us in the City That Never Sleeps. A tour guide can key you in on everything from the best (truly the best, not corporate approved) places to eat and shop, to the most interesting attractions to how to navigate public transportation. Plus, a guide can keep you from wasting valuable time by designing a tour that fits your schedule, interests, and budget. The fact that tour guides can point out all kinds of interesting architectural and historical details is just a bonus. Our real worth shows itself in the mobile concierge services we provide.

     You wouldn't travel into the wilderness without a guide, I would hope, at least without basic knowledge of maps and wilderness survival. Why would you travel to a big city without a guide? You're almost certain to get eaten by the wolves if you do, especially in New York.