The Road to Opening Night: Improving the ACIS Pre-Departure Process

In August, the ACIS team gathered for our annual company meeting. There was the usual fun and frolic (This year’s events included pickleball, a trivia contest and shuffleboard showdowns), but most important was our dedicated day of discussions on how to make ACIS the best it can be, and how we can become the best versions of ourselves. 

The core of this year’s message was T.E.A.M. As an acronym, it stands for  Trust, Empathy, Accountability and Mutual Support, and represents the model we want to strengthen as a company. We already have the building blocks with passionate staff who all make it their mission to do the right thing as quickly as possible, to be creative, innovative. We have the power and resources to make decisions that leave our customers feeling like they made the right choice when selecting ACIS. We have the building blocks, and we can raise our standards even more by improving the customer journey.

In our business, that’s a long route! On average our teachers are planning 6 months-2 years ahead of the desired trip date. So at a minimum, that’s 180 days of lead up for a roughly 9 day experience, 180 rehearsals before opening the curtain and providing the trip of a lifetime.

We know we have the edge when it comes to the tour itself. Once teachers experience our central hotels, inclusive public transportation, great meals, and fabulous Tour Managers, it’s very hard for them to look at The Other Guys the same way. So how can we make sure teachers are seeing the value from rehearsal day #1? By working as a T.E.A.M. with efficiency, empathy, positive attitude, and accountability. We give our team members the tools to make the pre-departure experience exceptional. And when they feel empowered, that makes us a stronger organization from the largest part of the customer experience all the way to the evaluation on returning home.  

Speaking of, we want to revamp that evaluation process. Right now the focus in our trip evaluations is, well, about the trip. To keep the metaphor humming: We want directors notes on our rehearsal period! We’re going to make it easier for people to evaluate our stateside process. We want to know how students and parents feel about the ACIS pre-departure experience. We want to know how teachers feel about the pre-departure experience. Having this new information will make us more informed, more accountable to each other. In short a better organization. 

As we begin our campaign for 2026 travel and start to plan ahead for 2027,  we do so with a great team, including many new faces with new responsibilities. This is our chance to shine and deliver to our customers, from the very beginning, the trip of a lifetime. Travel is an extraordinary thing that we all feel lucky to have made our profession, and as we pull back the curtain on our processes, we hope you’ll see the journey to the journey get even better.