Like many tour operators, I often found museums and historic sites to be among the most difficult tour suppliers to deal with. My company was promoting them in tour brochures and by word of mouth, and we were bringing them thousands of dollars in business. In return, they made us jump through hoops, treated our clients rudely and balked when we requested industry-standard discounts. Something was wrong with this picture. Had it not been for a personal commitment to providing historically accurate tours, I would have been sorely tempted to take the easy way out and book with commercial establishments instead.
Historical institutions are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to group tourism.
The fact that motorcoach groups visit their sites makes them automatically a part of the group tour industry. Yet few history professionals have ever been trained in tour industry practices. They're not familiar with industry jargon, pecking orders or protocol. And they don't understand why the business operates the way it does. As a result, they institute policies and procedures for dealing with groups that they think make sense, only to end up alientating the very people they're trying to serve.