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Tours

A tour event allows prospective families to book a time to visit your school or organization. This is commonly used for school tours, campus visits, open day appointments, and facility walk-throughs.

Tour events are flexible and can be configured for registration only (just collecting information) or registration with bookings (scheduled tour times).

Choosing your tour format​

Before you begin, decide which format works best for your tours:

Registration Only​

Best when you:

  • Just need to collect contact information from interested families
  • Run drop-in style open days without specific time slots
  • Want to gather preferences before scheduling tours

How it works: Families register their interest and provide contact details. No specific time slots are booked.

Registration with Bookings​

Best when you:

  • Have limited tour guide availability
  • Want to control the number of families per tour
  • Need to schedule specific tour times

How it works: Families register and book a specific date/time for their tour.

Step 1: Create your event​

ForEvent ManagersAdministrators

Sign in to Schoolea and select Start an Event from the Events menu.

  1. Choose Tours as your event type
  2. Select your format (Registration only or Registration with bookings)
  3. Fill in the basic details:
    • Event name - e.g., "2026 School Tours"
    • Description - Information about what the tour includes
    • Location - Starting point for tours
    • Event dates - When tours will run
    • Booking open/close dates - When families can register/book
Tip

Consider making tour events Public so prospective families can easily find and register without needing a code.

Step 2: Add staff and tour guides​

  1. Go to the Staff tab in your event
  2. Add staff members who will coordinate or conduct tours
  3. For each staff member, configure:
    • Their tour schedule (which dates/times they're available)
    • The starting location
    • How many families they can guide per tour
Tip

Tour guides can include admissions staff, student ambassadors, or volunteers. They don't need to be full staff members in your organization.

Building a tour route with stations​

For tours that move between several stops on your campus, you can break the tour into stations so that families always see the same stops in the same order, and so guides know where they should be at each point in the tour. Stations are managed from the Stations section of your event.

For each station you can configure:

  • Station name - For example, "Science Lab" or "Library"
  • Description - An optional summary that helps tour guides remember what to highlight at this stop
  • Location - Where the station is on campus, such as a building name and room number
  • Duration - How long families spend at this station, in minutes
  • Travel time to next station - An optional buffer for families to walk to the next stop, in minutes
  • Staff demonstrating at this station - One or more staff members who will be present at this station to talk families through what they are seeing

Stations are visited in the order you set them, and you can reorder them at any time before the tour runs. The total time of all stations and travel buffers should add up to roughly the booking length you set for the event, and Schoolea will warn you if your route is significantly longer than the time families have for the tour.

When you generate the Tour Route report, the stations appear in order with their durations, locations, and assigned staff. The Tour Guide Schedules report builds on the same information to give each guide a personalised plan, with the time they should be at each station based on their booking slots, so guides can keep their tour to time without having to do the maths themselves.

Tip

You can run tours without setting up stations if you prefer a guide-led approach where each guide chooses their own route. Stations are most useful for larger campuses, when you want consistency between tours, or when several guides are running tours in parallel and need to avoid bumping into each other.

Step 3: Configure time slots (if using bookings)​

If you selected Registration with bookings:

  1. Set your time slot duration (typically 30-90 minutes for tours)
  2. Configure booking limits:
    • Set maximum families per tour time slot
  3. Add breaks for tour guides if needed
  4. Consider booking buffers between tours

Step 4: Set up your registration form​

Customize what information you collect from prospective families:

  1. Go to the Registration Form tab
  2. Add questions to collect:
    • Parent/caregiver contact details
    • Child's name and current grade/age
    • Current school (if applicable)
    • Areas of interest
    • Preferred start date
    • Any questions they have
Tip

Use the registration form to qualify leads. Ask about enrollment timeline, grade level interest, or specific program interests.

Learn more: Forms & Custom Fields

Step 5: Configure event settings​

Review and adjust additional settings:

  1. Event visibility - Choose public or private
    • Public - Recommended for tours so families can easily find it
    • Private - Use if you want to control who can register
  2. Follow-up - Consider configuring feedback forms

Registered families will receive a reminder email automatically on the morning of their tour.

Step 6: Publish and promote your event​

Once configured:

  1. Change your event from Draft to Public or Private
  2. Promote your tours:
    • Add the event link to your school website
    • Share on social media
    • Include in enrollment information packets
    • Send to your inquiry list

For public events, families can find the event at your event website.

Step 7: Manage registrations and bookings​

As registrations come in:

  • View all registered families in the Attendees section
  • For booking-based tours, check the Bookings tab
  • Tour guides can sign in to view their schedule
  • Export data to your CRM or follow-up systems
  • Send additional information to registered families

Step 8: Run your tours​

On tour days:

  • Tour guides can view their schedule and registered families in Schoolea
  • Collect feedback or contact information for follow-up
  • Note any families who didn't attend

Step 9: Follow up​

After tours:

  • Review attendance and statistics
  • Export family information for enrollment follow-up
  • Send thank you messages or next steps
  • Track which families move forward with enrollment

Tips for successful tours​

  • Prepare your guides: Ensure tour guides know the route, key talking points, and how to answer common questions
  • Limit group sizes: Smaller groups (3-5 families) allow for more personal interaction
  • Follow up quickly: Contact families within 24-48 hours after their tour while your school is fresh in their mind
  • Track conversion: Monitor which families who toured actually enrolled