STAdvantage Tui’s Brightspark

STAdvantage
Tui’s Brightspark
By the Numbers
More than five hundred teachers have switched from
Brightspark, WorldStrides and EF, to School Tours of America.
98 percent of these veteran teachers continue to use
School Tours of America to plan their East Coast travel.
These clients also report that, on average, they receive 25% more actual tour time
— nearly an extra day of sightseeing on a 4-day tour; 30% more value in teacher
rewards — cash based, with no strings; 95% report better tour guide or they
were able to keep former guide; and 98% report their STA Coordinator is more
experienced, willing and able to service their particular tour preferences and requests.
School Tours of America, LLC – 9610 Long Point, Suite 215 – Houston, TX 77055 – 1.800.543.9625 - www.schooltoursofamerica.com

And that’s just for starters:
‣ Every teacher has the opportunity to earn FREE graduate credit
or CEUs from a leading public university
‣ Students also have the opportunity to earn actual college credit
or leadership credentials for their college admissions portfolio
‣ Every student has the opportunity to raise the entire tour price on
their own with MyTourFund
If School Tours of America doesn’t
live up to your expectations…
100% of Brightspark teachers who switch report receiving their best
offer ever to return — although our retention record is nearly perfect!

About Tui & Brightspark
The real story of Brightspark is a history lesson of the foreign
takeover and “corporatization” of educational travel in
America.
The ‘official’ Brightspark story boasts it has been planning
educational tours for “45 years,” giving the impression that its
present tour staff has been working in the industry since 1969.
In fact, that number merely represents the founding date of the
oldest company purchased when a foreign private equity group,
began acquiring boutique tour companies through aggressive,
leveraged buyout transactions.
For decades, American teachers enjoyed a large industry of educator-owned
boutiques that specialized in customizing educational
tours to the East Coast. The late 1990’s, however, witnessed
a new era in travel as websites replaced travel agencies
and Wall Street bankers began to raid the student travel market.
Once the corporatization of the industry began, a powerful
group of United Kingdom investors, First Choice, entered the
buying frenzy and raced to acquire tour companies in competition
with another private equity powerhouse (WorldStrides).
Following a very profitable blueprint for industry ‘roll-ups,’ the
investors i) buy the major companies; ii) restructure and slash
costs and overhead; iii) acquire complimentary industries and
iv) raise consumer prices. Constantly selling the company in
re-structured debt deals offers enormous paydays as well.
These two competing groups, First Choice and WorldStrides
replaced the thriving industry of educational boutiques with
two enormous corporate tour chains. First Choice then merged
with international conglomerate, Tui, and rolled their North
American acquisitions into the brand name Brightspark. Since
these foreign bankers purchased the assets and ‘goodwill,’ their
marketing teams maintain the “original story” of “45 years of
experience” but in reality, the staffs are quickly “downsized.”
Brightspark remains a wholly owned subsidiary of Tui – a publicly
traded UK corporation that dominates the budget and leisure
travel market in Europe. Tui owns 240 companies in 31 distinct
travel markets in 180 countries, focused on online platforms to
deliver cheap travel opportunities through hotelbeds.com,
asiarooms.com, bedsonline.com, and laterooms.com.
North American travel accounts for just a miniscule fraction of
Tui’s portfolio. Its major owners are UK and German billionaires.
About School Tours of America
The story of School Tours of America is rooted in the determination
of a small group of conscientious educators who stood up to
corporations to preserve a cornerstone of American education.
In the late 1970s, a Social Studies teacher named Frank Harvey,
inspired by taking his students on a field trip to Washington
DC, founded American Student Travel (AST). Over the next two
decades, AST became a true American success story. Credited
with introducing the tour to rural communities and small towns,
AST toured more than half a million students to the East Coast and
became the model for other startups in a rapidly developing tour
industry.
AST’s customized, personal approach to tour planning earned it
not only the respect of American teachers, but made it the crown
jewel of the corporations eager to seize the industry.
As the corporations began consolidating the student tour industry,
the biggest victim was the quality and uniqueness of the East
Coast tour. As each tour company was taken over, experienced
coordinators and master-guides were replaced by rookies, tour
costs and features were slashed, and tour value was diminished
with inconvenient flight schedules, hour long hotel commutes,
and customer service call centers. Teachers watched helplessly as
their rewards became tied to long-term contracts and Wall Street
pricing tactics sent tour prices through the roof.
The corporate bankers, however, underestimated the determination
of the educators of AST, who had helped forge this life-changing
tradition. They were not interested in compromising the quality
of the East Coast tour and charging a higher price. In 2002, ten
of the most respected and experienced educational tour pioneers,
joined forces to form School Tours of America.
Today STA is 100% employee-owned by American educators and
veteran tour operators, comprised of the most experienced tour
staff ever assembled. Led by Frank Harvey and his son Lance,
School Tours of America remains the one and only East Coast
specialist.
What sets STA tours apart are the personal coordinators with
decades of experience, its renown master tour guides and the
incredible value students gain from a customized experience.
Their boutique approach has resulted in a fiercely loyal client base
of veteran educators. Unlike Tui’s multi-million dollar marketing
budget generating gorgeous brochures and videos, STA’s primary
marketing remains word of mouth referrals. In the last few years,
over 500 teachers have left the tour chains to join the School Tours’
family with a near perfect record of retention.

Quality | Value |Affordability
School Tours of America
Tui’s Brightspark
Tour Time
Travel
Booking
Only use close-in hotels: DC (10 mins); NYC (Manhattan)
with all private appointments at every possible site
Tour Central and Expert, local guides adjust to unexpected
events or delays
Dedicated, in-house travel agents book trip 6 months out,
balances costs with schedule convenience and tour time
Hotels located all over suburban areas outside of DC; NYC
hotels often in Brooklyn, Queens and NJ
Private bookings generally left to teachers
Primarily use seasonal, in-house employees (aka ‘Tour
Directors’) and out of town drivers
Travel arrangements frequently changed last minute with
long layovers
Fundraising
Scholarships
Pricing,
Policies,
Penalties &
Protection
MyTourFund — every student has customized website
to earn tour spot; Fundraising and Grant Coach; Gift of
Education program; Jan Wright Scholarship — Guaranteed
and based on TD recommendation, up to $500
Flex pay plans designed to meet unique needs of struggling
families; NO punishing late fees or unexpected
surcharges; Never a full cancellation penalty
Friendly, bilingual customer service works with families
on flexible payment plans
Payment Protection Plan (PPP) — Cancellation returned
all money minus the PPP Fee
“Help Me Travel” — designed to ask family and friends for
gift contributions; No Fundraising Coach; No Fundraising,
Scholarship and Grant Resources ; No private scholarships
available
Due on receipt bills trigger instant late fees of $10;
Charges students last minute fuel surcharges; Student
loses 100% if cancel within 45 days
Penalties are substantial revenue source offsetting
scholarships and hard-earned fundraising
Refund Guarantee Program (RGP) — Cancellation
returned all money minus the RGP Fee
STAdvantage: Your students gain at least 25% tour value by getting more time at the sites (possibly a full extra day) and they have a
greater chance to raise the entire tour price on their own (without punishing penalties and hidden fees).
Experience | Expertise | Trust
School Tours of America
Tui’s Brightspark
Ownership
Staff
Experience
Specialty
Guide
Experience
100% employee owned by American educators
STA’s youth tour, East Coast experience:
• Coordinators — avg. 21 years of experience
• Operations — avg. 24 years of experience
• Tour Escorts — comprised mainly of teachers with
decades of tour experience
Entire youth operation is East Coast of USA; 30 yrs. of
relationships with the top guides, attractions, sites and
vendors
Master and Guild certified guides average more than 20
years touring youth; maintain a 4.8/5 rating
100% owned by UK travel corporation completely beholden
to investors on London Stock Exchange
Brightspark does not disclose the actual experience of its staff
members or departments
Tour Directors are seasonal employees serving dual roles;
experience undisclosed
Hundreds of tours; purported specialty is performance tours
No licensed guide travels with the group — Seasonal
Brightspark employees lead group (expertise and experience
undisclosed)
STAdvantage: Your itinerary will be planned by an actual expert (between 15-25 years planning East Coast itineraries); your tour will
be conducted by one of the best East Coast guides and you will enjoy concierge service and support from our veteran tour team.

Education |Accreditation | Rewards
School Tours of America
Tui’s Brightspark
Education
Resources
Professional
Development
Student
Educational
Opportunity
Director of Education works privately with any teacher to develop
necessary curricula and runs online Teachers’ Corner with extensive
educational resources
Teachers and chaperones earn free university CEUs or graduate
credit for leading the tour and can fulfill all of their professional
development needs online
HS students can earn ASU college credit;
Presidential Leadership Program — students can earn HS credit
and college admission
No Director of Education
No Educational Focus or Resources
No teacher professional development
No educational opportunities for students
Credit
Transcript
Adams State University, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission
(HLC)
No Tours are accredited
Teacher
Rewards
Most generous in industry, partnership-based with no strings
attached — no required contracts and teachers spend as they wish;
includes Cash stipends, Summer Money Bonus, and STAR Rewards
Rewards are not disclosed
STAdvantage: By listening to the needs of educators, we partnered with an independent, national university to manage tour
accreditation and constantly add to our rewards program to ensure they are practical and the most generous.
Safety | Emergency | Health
School Tours of America
Tui’s Brightspark
Safety Record
Emergency
Prep &
Response
Medical &
Accident
Insurance
Liability
Record &
Insurance
Best record in industry with no serious health or liability
incidents
Extensive emergency contingency planning provided to
all tour groups
Tour Central coordinates with SYTA, FEMA, Homeland
Security and local officials
STA coordinates logistics and covers expenses in the
event of a emergency
24 hr Escort stays at group hotel with Private, bonded
guards on all student floors and 24-7 Emergency Line
for parents /students
Doctors on Call — Elite unit of physicians; Primary
coverage with NO deductible:
Accident ($25k); Sickness ($1k); Dental ($250 per
tooth); evacuation/family travel benefit ($50k)
Multi-million dollar professional insurance covers all
chaperones and can name school even if non-school
sponsored
No group has ever incurred liability
Ask Brightspark or research their safety record
Provides no guarantee of bonded, private guard on every
student floor all night
Does not disclose or make any representation about the
experience level of its airport or hotel staff
During tour season, Brightspark is likely to have dozens of
more groups and their families competing for the attention of
the Tour Central
Brightspark makes no guarantee or representation of what it
will cover in the event group is stranded
On-call capabilities, type and value of insurance policies
undisclosed
Professional liability “above industry standard”— fails to
disclose the per capita amount of coverage or safety history
STAdvantage: Our flawless safety and liability record is the result of an unwavering dedication of industry experts
who leave no stone unturned when it comes to readiness and preparation. You and your students are fully covered in
the event of a personal or group emergency.

STAdvantage: Our Guides
You simply cannot put a price on the rich, valuable
insight that our guides with decades of experience leading
historical youth tours, will add to the value of your
students’ overall experience.
At Brightspark, a seasonal staffer serves as tour director,
guide and hotel escort — cutting out not only the price of
a tour guide, but the very heart of the reason you travel!
Our guides live in DC and NYC and guide year round
thus they know the city like the back of their hand. They
engage students through role-play and captivating historical
storytelling. This pool of guides has been requested
thousands of times by teachers who have led as many as
30 tours.
Each guide is hand-picked by our veteran tour operations
team based on extensive client profiling to ensure the
best possible match.
STAdvantage: Hotels
Location, Location, Location!
When every second counts, location is everything. In DC
and NYC, the issue of travel time is even more important
as the DOT has strict guidelines regarding travel times
and the rush hour traffic is terrible. Brightspark clients
report gaining 1-2 hours commute time per day — nearly a
full extra day of site seeing on a 4-day tour.