Field notes

Basecamp, collecting requests while you're away.

By Eric Berg · Last updated August 2026

A guide or outfitter employee can answer from approved trip facts and collect dates, party size, experience, and contact details while the operator is off-grid. It should not promise availability, make safety judgments, or confirm a trip without the operator.

Where the phone work piles up

• No signal. While the operator is guiding, new inquiries otherwise wait for voicemail or a later callback.
• The research caller. Trip planners often need several approved facts before they are ready to request dates.
• Season crunch. The phone workload can rise during the same weeks the operator has the least desk time.

What belongs in the brief

Teach the business name, trip types, meeting-area facts, approved inclusions, public price facts, and intake questions. Add hard lines: no trip confirmation, weather assurance, safety judgment, or suitability decision. Requests wait for owner confirmation, and unknowns become questions rather than guesses. See the exact product loop.

What it costs

Keeping a front-desk employee after the card-free audition is CA$149 per month, cancel anytime. The same number, approved brief, and everything taught by text stay with the employee.

Fair questions

Can the employee take booking requests while I'm off-grid?

It can capture requested dates, party size, experience level, and contact details while you are unavailable. The operator confirms availability; nothing is promised without approval.

Can the employee answer trip-detail questions?

Everything you've taught - meeting spots, gear lists, what's included. Anything else becomes a message, not a guess.

Is this worth it for a seasonal business?

Keeping the employee after the card-free audition is CA$149 per month, cancel anytime. Compare that with your own booking volume and margins.