By Nicole Moore
BEGINNING February 1, walking tours will be restricted to running only north of Liberty Street after 10 p.m.
As a tour guide in Savannah for almost nine years, and having worked for one of the busiest companies for five years, I agree that there is room for improvement in the level of chaos that occurs.
Understand that this is an opinion piece, and I’m offering my observations and experience.
Meetings were held this past week to inform tour companies of a “Pilot Program” to mitigate the irritation of residents downtown. These were led by Susan Broker, the City's director of the Office of Special Events, Film, and Tourism, who at first came across with conviction.
As the meetings progressed, however, it became clear to many of us that the tour companies had very valid issues with the reality of the changes being implemented. Broker's apparent stance was that restricting the area was the better option, apparently based on feedback from owners that being able to book parties of up to 30 guests was vital. I believe she did not have the whole picture.
My personal point goes completely against that number. I believe, and stated, that 30 people is too many, and is a large part of the noise issue. Tour guides have to be loud for 30 people to hear them.
I ran large tours for one of the busiest companies in Savannah, in the soon-to-be restricted area (and arguably the main contributor to the problem). The main complaint from tour guests is always that they couldn’t hear the tour guide.
Guess what the response is from the company? Of course, it is “Be louder.”
When I confronted them about this around 2021, they denied it and deleted it from their message thread.
The solution I suggested in the meeting, is that 20 guests is a much better size for a tour. Make it a 23-person limit to accommodate for no-shows.
Yes, this is less money going into the pocket of the company owners, but they have the option of booking more than one guide (and paying for them).
For the guides, they do not have to speak as loud, and they make significantly better tips, because… and this is important… THE GUEST EXPERIENCE IS SO MUCH BETTER!
This has actually been met with some apparent consideration, which is appreciated. And because of the many suggestions and concerns of the tour companies, last Monday night’s meeting concluded with the decision to pause the pilot program.
A main concern, to put it mildly, was that very few tour companies were informed of the program’s pending implementation. While Susan Broker maintained that emails had been sent, a show of hands found that in a nearly full auditorium, only a handful had received notification.
The feeling is that decisions have been made without input from the community and have the effect of seriously impacting, if not completely shutting down, some local small businesses.
I tried to weigh in last year. Last April I tried to bring up the noise and crowding issues to the Tourism Advisory Council Committee.
Citizens are not allowed to speak at the meetings, but I was invited to the Walking Tour Task Force. I enthusiastically agreed and was sent the invitation and list of involved companies. They were especially interested in my affiliation with a company that runs tours for Girl Scouts.
About a week later I was informed that the task force was not open to new members after all. They did not reply to my question about when they had offered to let other companies weigh in.
The list consists of seven persons and companies, one of which is a trolley company. The official estimation at the Pilot Program meeting was that there are around 62 tour companies and around 250 guides. How did they choose these representatives?
Concerns about the complete lack of research are a major issue as well. There has been no code enforcement downtown for the last two years. This changed eight weeks ago, but it seems the Pilot Program’s parameters had been decided.
The point was strongly made by an attending councilwoman and resident that findings of code enforcement should be considered before implementing such consequential policies.
Questions about noise levels and whether tourists in general are subject to ticketing have not been answered, although are a potential offense, carrying fines of $100 per violation.
So based on closed “Task Force” meetings, with questionably chosen representatives that don’t offer the full picture, and zero research done on the issue by dedicated city employees... this program will be implemented at the start of the tourist season.
As someone dependent on seasonal income, January and February already come with a lot of financial shuffling and belt-tightening. This is highly impactful.
Besides restricting the space tours have to operate in, it will also significantly increase crowding in the areas that are still available. Tours are already on top of each other, dancing around story locations and jockeying for position.
Crowding on streets with traffic creates a safety hazard. Will the city be liable? And while the available areas are less residential, they are still partially residential.
Are those residents going to be happy to contend with additional crowding and the increased noise that will come with it? Or are they not as important as the residents below Liberty Street?
At the end of Monday night’s meeting, when Susan Broker told tour companies that in light of the feedback that day they would pause the pilot program, a huge sigh of relief was heard. We felt that our voices were being listened to, and respected.
Unfortunately, Wednesday evening’s meeting began with the admission that the program would not be paused after all. Not by Broker’s call, but by an authority who will apparently remain behind the scenes.
The reason given was the public, as in the complaining residents, had already been told the restrictions would begin on February 1. It would clearly be a shame to surprise them with anything – such as the fact that they live in a tourist destination.
The authoritarian attitude was heard loud and clear when the attending alderman stood up and informed everyone that they were lucky to have a meeting at all because a lot of cities would just make the changes without any input whatsoever.
Nice. Check your Hostess City facade at the door.
But anyone who has spent any time at all in Savannah knows this is not just any city. It is worth standing up for.
Feel free to boo, or cheer, or whatever your freedom of speech inspires you to do.