One of the things I’ve come to believe is that operations and guest experience aren’t just linked, they’re inseparable. And no one understands that better than Casey Xia, the “Guru of Operations and Guest Experience” at Untamed Escapes, an Australian tour operator offering small group and private tours across the country — from camping adventures, to wellness retreats, to luxury escapes. With a focus on connection and sustainability, their vision is to support thriving ecosystems and communities while giving travellers the chance to give back.
Casey doesn’t just keep tours running smoothly behind the scenes, she’s constantly thinking about how every operational detail shapes the guest experience on the ground. Whether it’s a well-prepared guide, a comprehensive guide itinerary, or a calm voice on the other end of the phone, Casey shows how thoughtful, hands-on operations are the foundation of an unforgettable guest experience. This interview is full of practical tips, real-world examples, and even a tennis court analogy, all grounded in that core idea.
Before we begin, could you tell me more about Untamed Escapes and how it got started?
Untamed Escapes started in the early 2000s when our founder, Craig “Hassie” Haslam, was running the Port Kenny Hotel and launched South Australia’s first courtesy bus service. What began as a simple shuttle soon evolved into a local tour of Venus Bay (including freshly caught local whiting!) and sparked Hassie’s passion for showing people around his backyard. In 2005, he bought a one-bus tour company, which has since grown into what is now Untamed Escapes.
As a company, we’re passionate about taking a regenerative approach to tourism and are recognised as a Green Travel Leader, Advanced Eco-Accredited Operator, and Climate Change Innovator. Our Roadmap Towards Regeneration adds another layer of operational complexity, as we continually refine how we work to reduce our environmental impact and improve the way we operate across every part of the business.
I love your title ‘Guru of Operations and Guest Experience’. How did that come about?
My title was originally Operations Manager, but we’re a creative team and we didn’t want something boring. So we landed on “Guru”. It felt more fitting!
I look after every tour: managing logistics, rostering guides, making sure guides have the right notes, and troubleshooting any issues that may come up. Alongside operations, I also support the guest experience: everything from handling feedback and working with guides to understand what went well (and what didn’t), to troubleshooting issues on tour and communicating with guests before, during, and after their trip.
The visibility into how guests experience each aspect of the tour helps me run better operations, because I understand how much details matter and contributes to the overall customer satisfaction.
Your role brings operations and guest experience together. In your view, what’s the connection between the two?
I think they’re deeply connected. You can’t deliver great guest experiences without great operations supporting it. The reality is, our guides are on the road for 12 hours a day. So if we start piling on extra operational tasks, even small ones, it creates stress and impacts how they show up for guests.
You can’t deliver great guest experiences without great operations supporting it.
So I do everything I can behind the scenes to ease that load. That means making sure all the details in the guide itinerary are clear and comprehensive, and all logistics are taken care of. The more I can handle before the tour departs, the more space the guide has to focus on delivering an incredible experience.
And of course, I know how much damage even a small oversight can cause. If a booking isn’t confirmed or a supplier isn’t expecting the group, it’s the guide who’s left to deal with it in front of the guests. It can make them look unprepared, even when it’s completely out of their control. That’s why I triple-check every booking and build strong relationships with suppliers, to make sure those moments don’t happen.
What steps do you take to make sure guides are fully prepared to deliver the experience you’ve promised to guests?
Training is a big part of the answer.
Where possible, our guides go through an induction and then shadow a senior guide, picking up even the smallest details, like how to collect firewood or boil eggs in a camp oven. It might sound trivial, but those little things really matter on tour. They help guests feel looked after and create moments of comfort and care that shape the overall experience.
I also provide detailed guide itineraries for every departure. These can be 30 or 40 pages long, with timing, stops, distances, travel time, and notes. For a 10-day tour, there’s a page or two for each day, laying out where the guide is going, how long it takes to get there, and what to watch for along the way. The more detail we include, the easier it is for guides to run a smooth trip and make adjustments confidently on the day.
Understanding how guides use these documents helps us make them genuinely useful. Forty pages might seem like a lot at first, but guides develop their own rhythm for working through it. Most will skim the full itinerary in advance to get a mental map of the route — say from Adelaide to Perth — and flag the key stops like Flinders Range. Then, each night on tour, they’ll review the next day’s plan in detail so it’s fresh in their mind. That flow helps them manage just the right amount of information without feeling overwhelmed.
What makes a great tour guide?
It’s more than just having deep local or cultural knowledge, or being able to talk about native flora and fauna. That’s important - but at the end of the day, a great guide is a people person. Someone who knows how to read the group, stay calm under pressure, and build trust through genuine connection.
A great guide … knows how to read the group, stay calm under pressure, and build trust through genuine connection.
Let me give you an example of the lengths one of our senior guides goes to. Before each tour, he reviews the passenger manifest and checks the nationalities of the group. Then he downloads the top songs from each of those countries to play on the bus. When guests hear something familiar in their own language, it creates an instant connection - a “wow” moment that makes people feel seen and welcomed. It’s the first step in building trust.
Our owner, Hassie, has a “tennis court” analogy that I love. At the start of the tour, he imagines himself on one side of the court and the guests on the other. His goal by the end of day one is to get at least 95% of them over to his side. That means paying attention to what guests respond to, being curious about who they are, and listening. Great guides create small, meaningful moments - and that’s where real connection begins.
What’s one improvement you’ve made that’s really changed the way you operate?
We used to only include timings and major stops in the guide itinerary - it didn’t have all the supplier details or behind-the-scenes information. But over time, we’ve added more and more detail based on feedback from our guides. A lot of our senior guides have shared tips, like which locations have clean drinking water or useful tips when travelling through remote areas.
These might seem like small things, but they’re critical, especially for new guides who wouldn’t know them otherwise. Even something as simple as knowing where to fill the water tank can make a huge difference. These are the kinds of operational details that really matter, even if they feel like common sense.
Nowadays, we include everything in the guide itinerary. It’s a guide’s choice to use the information, but it’s our responsibility in operations to make sure the information is there if they need it.
How do you collect and act on guide feedback after a tour?
In theory, I’d love to call every guide after every tour - but with the number of departures we run, that just isn’t practical. So I let our guides know: “If I don’t hear from you, I’ll assume everything went smoothly. But if anything didn’t go to plan, just call or email me.” Many of our senior guides still follow up, especially after charters, often with detailed emails about what worked and what didn’t. If something needs urgent attention, I act on it straight away.
Because we can’t debrief after every single tour, the annual product review becomes a key part of our process. I track feedback in a spreadsheet, with a tab for each tour. I tag the guide’s name and log their suggestions or concerns. When I see the same issue raised by multiple guides, that’s a clear sign we need to review or make a change.
At the end of each season, I send out a thank you email to all our guides and ask for any final feedback. Some guides jot down a few quick notes, while others prefer a call. When we chat, they often walk me through the entire tour from memory, pointing out what worked and what could be better. Those conversations are gold. They directly feed into how we improve and refine the tours for the next season.
What have you learned about supporting guides on the road?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to stay calm when a guide calls. If I sound panicked, it only makes things worse. Even if I have no idea what the solution is yet, my role is to steady the situation. That sense of calm helps the guide feel in control, and that carries through to the guest experience. If a guide is flustered in front of travellers, it reflects poorly on the whole business. So staying calm on the phone is absolutely key.
Most of the time, the guide just needs to talk things through. They’re not always looking for me to fix it. More often than not, once they’ve had the chance to explain what’s going on, they figure out the solution themselves. They just need a sounding board. So I listen. That’s the role - to be a steady, supportive presence on the other end of the phone. It gives them peace of mind and helps build trust.
Most of the time, the guide just needs to talk things through. They’re not always looking for me to fix it. More often than not, once they’ve had the chance to explain what’s going on, they figure out the solution themselves.
What advice would you share with other operators?
Two things
First: when handling complaints, listen to both sides. Be honest. If it’s our mistake, we own it. But if it’s not, for example, if the guest missed something we clearly communicated, we explain that respectfully. Sometimes feedback reflects a guest’s mood, attitude, or expectations on the day, rather than the actual situation. So it’s important to try and understand it fully and listen to both sides of the story. Feedback isn’t a bad thing, it’s part of the process, and it helps us keep improving.
Second: support your guides. You’ve got to back them up. It’s all about trust. They’re the ones out there delivering the experience, not me, sitting behind the scenes in operations. And they can only do that well if they know you’re in their corner. That trust between operations and guides is what gives them the confidence to do their job at a high standard.
How can people connect with you and the team?
The easiest way is through our website: www.untamedescapes.com.au. All our contact details are there, and you can get in touch with the team or find out more about what we do.
