About Local Way Tours

Local Way Tours began as a long-established family coach business and has grown into one of Melbourne’s most recognised small-group operators. Their “playful luxury” experiences take guests across Victoria’s most iconic wine, wildlife, and wellness destinations, supported by premium service and thoughtfully designed itineraries.

"Rezdy has revolutionised what we do and how we do it"

Ray Staindl Local Way Tours

THE CHALLENGE

Before Rezdy: Heavy Manual Workload

As demand for their polished and memorable tours continued to rise, the team realised that manual booking systems were slowing down their ability to grow.

Key pain points

Everything from new bookings to reminder emails were managed through spreadsheets and manual data entry
Manual entries took up the majority of their days, with confirmation and reminder emails becoming time-intensive tasks
Reliance on an offline system limited efficiency and left little room for scaling
Lack of automation and centralised information increased the risk of delays and errors
Too much time spent on admin left little time to focus on business growth

Owner Ray Staindl explains the strain this created:

”We were a small business, trying to do everything on an Excel spreadsheet. Manual entries took up the majority of our days, and simply sending out confirmation and reminder emails to travellers was a chore in itself.”

This reliance on an offline system limited efficiency and left little room for scaling the business. Without automation or centralised information, the team risked delays, errors, and missed opportunities. As a result, so much of their day was consumed by manually entering bookings, updating spreadsheets, and sending confirmation and reminder emails that there was little time left to focus on growing the business itself.

THE SOLUTION

Onboarding With Rezdy: Digitising the Entire Operation

Onboarding to Rezdy opened the door to automation, accuracy, and global visibility. Within months, Local Way Tours transitioned from manual admin to a fully integrated digital workflow.

With support from Rezdy’s onboarding team, key operational processes were consolidated into a single platform, including:

Bookings
Guest communication
Manifests

This enabled the team to operate fully paperless, with guides and staff accessing real-time information for every departure.

With automation taking care of key tasks, the team saved hours of admin each week. Clean website widgets, automatic reminders, and guide-ready manifests streamlined daily operations and strengthened reliability.

Guests now receive instant confirmations and automated reminders, while guides rely on digital itineraries and manifests to ensure smooth handovers and reduce errors.

Rezdy’s Channel Manager further strengthened their distribution strategy by providing real-time availability to leading OTAs.

Ray highlights the impact:

“Rezdy connects with leading OTAs, meaning we’ve been able to tap into a worldwide market with ease.”

Ray Staindl Local Way Tours

This allowed Local Way Tours to enter global marketplaces like GetYourGuide and attract new international audiences. Beyond marketplace growth, they also expanded their distribution network and now work with five active reseller partners who use Rezdy as their preferred booking method.

Several Rezdy features quickly became central to supporting growth:

Paperless workflow: fully digital operations with real-time access for guides and staff
Automated guest communication: instant confirmations and reminders reduced manual follow-up
Operational visibility: digital itineraries and manifests improved tour-day consistency
Channel Manager distribution: real-time OTA connectivity enabled international growth
Operational optimisation: streamlined internal processes to support scale

Ray reflects on the overall impact:

”It not only has saved us time and money, but it has revolutionised what we do and how we do it, literally putting us on the world stage.”

THE RESULTS

With Rezdy: Scaling Through Automation & Distribution

The transition to Rezdy delivered significant and measurable improvements. Each time Local Way Tours connected a new OTA, bookings increased by more than 30%. Overall, the business also saw:

Total online sales grew by around 40% year on year
The majority of bookings shifted to digital channels

Beyond revenue growth, streamlined workflows reduced time spent on admin and improved consistency across tour delivery.

The operator continues to grow through Rezdy’s integrations with OTAs and connected apps like Zapier, while actively engaging with Rezdy’s marketing updates and educational content. These advancements have helped position Local Way Tours as a recognised industry leader, named a Finalist at the 2025 Australian Tourism Awards and earning Bronze at the 2025 Victorian Tourism Awards for Food Tourism.

Rezdy now sits at the centre of their operation, powering their evolution from manual systems to a fully automated, scalable, and globally connected tour business.

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