The past couple weeks have been very exciting for the team at Hop On Brewery Tours. After more than six years in operation, we decided to take the big step forward and enter into a few Australian awards this year, and to our surprise and delight we have been selected as a finalist in the Australian Small Business Championship Awards 2022. Out of over 3,500 entries, we have earned our spot as a finalist in the Tourism category of the awards, with winners announced at their Gala Dinner on September 3rd – keep your fingers crossed! Unfortunately, due to previous commitments, we won’t be able to attend the ceremony this year, but just making it as a finalist is a huge honour considering this is one of the first awards we have entered.
The other very special news we received is that Hop On Brewery Tours has been identified as a Best of Queensland Experience for 2022. Described as being “developed in partnership with the state’s Regional Tourism Organisations, the Queensland Tourism Industry Council and the Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport. It identifies and recognises experiences that best bring the Queensland story to life and consistently deliver an exceptional customer experience.”
This process has been many years in the making, with operators around the state needing to achieve a consistent level of deliverables across a wide range of areas of their business, including having an active and engaging social media presence, an online booking system, membership with a local agency (like Brisbane EDA and Destination Gold Coast) and a regular number of incoming, positive reviews.
With a minimum of 80/100 points needed to be eligible, we are proud to say we not only have 100/100 points but, compared with other local operators, have achieved 100/100 from our ReviewPro score, which looks at reviews left across platforms like TripAdvisor, Facebook and Google and analyzes management replies, language, and time to respond, is 100% (average for Gold Coast Tour Operators is 96.5 and Brisbane Tour Operators is 95.5). This shows that we take the time to reply to every review left for us in a timely fashion.
We are in the 33% of Queensland Tour Operators that have an active and engaging social media presence, and the 75% of Queensland Tour Operators with a secure booking platform.
A few more stats: 2216 businesses in total received the Best of Queensland Experience honour; out of that 2216, 391 are tours (instead of attractions, accommodation, restaurants, etc.) and 117 of those 391 are Brisbane/Gold Coast based. We technically have two of those 117 listings as we have separate branches for Brisbane and Gold Coast according to them. Those are pretty exciting numbers!
At Hop On Brewery Tours, we take great pride is what we do while out on tour as well as our behind-the-scenes activity. We strive to always give our guests the most positive experience, showcasing incredible offerings from breweries and distilleries around Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and are grateful this effort has been recognised in such a large-scale way.
None of this could be dreamt of, let alone achieved, without the support of all of our venues and our incredible guests. Our breweries and distilleries allow us to showcase their products and tell their stories, and the trust they put in us to deliver the very best experience to our guests is reflected through the relationships we have built and solidified over the years. Our guests continue to trust us to provide a high-quality, informative, unique and fun day out where they will get more than they bargained for.
Thank you to everyone who has travelled with us, is booked to come on board, has taught us and guided us along the way, and for all of the beers we’ve sampled during our journey!
Cheers and beers,
Jos and Matt
