About
Real Rome Tours
Our Vision
Our Story
I left Ireland for Italy for one reason – love! It was not long before I had two loves in my life – my wife, and Rome.
I started working for a tour company in Rome in 2007, and quickly saw the many mistakes they were making. For a start, they were not thinking about what customers wanted. They were only looking to make a quick buck, and packed their tours with as many people as possible. I could not let this go.
I knew that for many people, a trip to Rome was a once in a lifetime experience, and could not stand for them not getting the most out of their trips. I felt that they deserved better, that the multi-tiered story of Rome deserved to be told better, and that I could do it better. I wanted every person who visited Rome to share the love and passion I had discovered. So I set out to do this. I left the company I was working for, and founded Real Rome Tours.
How Far
We've Come
The decision to raise the standard of guided tours in Rome was an exciting one, but also challenging! To begin with, I knew a handful of quality guides, but for the company to grow I also needed to discover new talent.
Much of this could be gleaned from interviews, but trial and error was also an important recruiting factor, and sometimes, unfortunately, the guide’s performance on the tours was not up to the standards I wanted for my clients.
Through this process, I learned the importance of respecting our customers, by genuinely asking for, and listening to, feedback on their guided tour experiences.
It was this early feedback that taught me a lot about what was important to our clients, what they expected, and what was unacceptable. This feedback was invaluable to me in forming the core values of Real Rome Tours.
Where customers were dissatisfied, I offered a new tour free of charge, to show them that we could do better, and where this was not possible, I gave them their money back, no questions asked.
It was the least I could do for the invaluable feedback they had given us, and an incentive to us to do better to get things right the first time.
Before long, I had a wonderful team of guides, and through word of mouth and online reviews, our reputation spread to all corners of the world.
Always
Improving
I revelled in the challenge to always improve, and took customers’ questions and requests as inspiration to innovate and evolve, not only my own company, but the standard expected from Rome.
Many of these innovations, such as small group guarantees, tour coordinators at every meeting point, high quality audio for all group sizes, were copied by our competitors, and so the standard of guided tour in Rome grew.
Today, I continue to use our customers’ insights and opinions to evolve and innovate. Following the pandemic, for example, our customers have told us how much they appreciated the small group factor, so we reduced the group size still further – from 10 people down to only 6.
We take pride in the glowingly positive reviews we regularly receive, while always looking for the suggestions in customer feedback that will help us to continue to meet their needs and expectations – so that we evolve along with you. I and the team remain, today, as dedicated to customer excellence as I was when I began Real Rome Tours.
I know that, without you, we are nothing. Back in 2007, having come to Rome from Ireland, initially not knowing anything about the city and being overwhelmed by its wonders, I get it! I know how daunting the task is of trying to research and plan the perfect itinerary, find out how and where to get tickets.
We care about
giving our customers
the best possible experience
Where are we Now?
Now I enjoy working with my clients individually, especially using Zoom to meet them all in person during the planning stage of their vacations, where we relax and get to know each other.
This allows me to make suggestions on parts of Rome that they probably don’t even know about, that I know they will love! There is no greater satisfaction for me than when a client thanks me for leaving them with wonderful memories that will last a lifetime!
Someone once said, “Do something you love, and you will never work a day in your life”.
That is me! I am so grateful to have found myself in Rome, and grateful to those people who trusted me early on, and helped me so much with their feedback, that nothing pleases me more than to give back by offering my time free of charge, giving free consultations to take the hassle and overwhelm out of planning the perfect trip to Rome.
Our
Reviews
