33
%
of guests purchased their photo gallery
58%
of guests shared their photos online
42%
of guests reported increased satisfaction
Ranked TripAdvisor's #1 New York 'Hop-On Hop-Off' bus tour, Big Bus helps thousands of travelers discover Manhattan each month. From the Empire State Building to Times Square, Big Bus features entertaining multilingual commentary and stunning skyline views from the upper decks of their double-decker buses.
Big Bus New York sought to enhance the guest experience to increase bookings and strengthen their competitive edge in a market where differentiation is increasingly crucial. The challenge lay in identifying and implementing service enhancements that could deliver meaningful value without requiring extensive operational changes or significant investment.
Most approaches to experience enhancement involve infrastructure changes, added staff training requirements, and extensive timelines. This leads to high-costs and complexity when implementing across a large-scale operation
Big Bus identified photography as a strategic feature to capitalize on the visual appeal of their routes, creating more engaging and memorable tours. This approach aligned with their goal of adding customer value while leveraging existing tour assets – namely, the naturally photogenic New York cityscape that was already central to their experience.
"We started to do this product development... and we were trying to figure out some sort of unique thing we could add... and a photoshoot just popped into my head. And so we got together [with Smiler] and started discussing all the different opportunities, and it's really flourished since then."
Peter Brown | Director of Business Development, Big Bus New York
The collaboration began in summer of 2024, with Big Bus' Times Square Night Tour. Smiler photographers joined three evenings each week to capture guests as they started their adventure. Taking advantage of Times Square's dazzling backdrop, photographers snapped professional photos before boarding and from the bus's open-top deck, giving guests picture-perfect memories of their New York experience.
The service fit naturally into the tour experience; photographers captured photos without slowing down boarding or disrupting the usual flow of the tour. Plus, guests loved getting professional photos in one of the world's most iconic locations.
Following the positive feedback received from guests, Big Bus expanded photography to seven days a week during their holiday offering, The Holiday Lights Tour. Guests enjoyed a red carpet experience during boarding, while Smiler's photographers captured the moment. The success of this seasonal collaboration has led Big Bus New York to maintain Smiler's photographers daily at their Times Square Night Tours, year-round.
Smiler leverages AI facial recognition to streamline the photo delivery process. This enables seamless, personalised distribution of photo galleries to guests after their tour, eliminating traditional friction points in photo delivery. This ensures each guest receives their complete collection of photos from the experience.
The use of AI-powered distribution proved particularly valuable during the high-volume Holiday Lights Tour, when efficient photo delivery became crucial. Even during peak periods, every customer received their personalised gallery promptly and accurately, enhancing the overall tour experience. This was achieved without a need for operational or technical integration from the Big Bus team.
"The thing that drew me to Smiler was the speed at which you could do these photoshoots… Being able to take the photos in that one minute photoshoot, and then the technology Smiler uses to disperse the photos afterwards, I think it flowed very smoothly."
Peter Brown | Director of Business Development, Big Bus New York
Each photo gallery delivered by Smiler is designed to maximize both immediate revenue and long-term marketing value. This is done for Big Bus Tours, with galleries featured consistent brand styling and custom pricing, ensuring alignment with the brand's broader commercial strategy. Integrated marketing consent collection is built directly into the purchase flow, strategically enabling Big Bus New York to utilize authentic guest photos in their marketing materials.
Additionally, each gallery incorporates multiple touchpoints for continued customer engagement. A prominent review link directs satisfied customers to Big Bus New York's preferred review platform, driving organic testimonials and ratings. The addition of custom links within each gallery connects guests to key destinations such as booking pages, social media pages, and other Big Bus offerings, creating additional conversion opportunities. This approach transforms each photo gallery into a multi-faceted marketing asset that drives both immediate revenue and ongoing customer engagement.
Photography during the Holiday Lights Tour generated additional revenue through photo purchases, without the need to make operational changes or tour adjustments. Photo gallery sales reached up to a 42% conversion rate. Additionally, Big Bus' library of marketing assets grew, with 40% of guests providing consent for photo usage in promotional materials. Customer feedback also increased, achieving a 10% review rate directly via the gallery. Many of these reviews included photos captured by Smiler.
"Whenever we see the customers actually post those photos on a Google Review or on TripAdvisor… When you see that piece of it happen and you can see the joy on their face and you can see they’re really having a great time, that just speaks volumes… It’s one of those things that I think is really special and helps drive the overall business."
Peter Brown | Director of Business Development, Big Bus New York
The photography integration demonstrated strong impact on guest satisfaction and word-of-mouth marketing. Post-tour surveys revealed that 33% of guests specifically recommended the tour for its photography component. Photography also drove significant social sharing, with 58% of guests sharing their professional photos with friends and family. Big Bus shared that interactions with the photographer were a highlight of the tour for many of the tour guests, according to online reviews.
Importantly, 83% of survey respondents indicated that the photography service integrated smoothly into the overall tour experience, validating the operational implementation. Big Bus shared this sentiment, stating that speed and technology were key factors in their decision to work with Smiler. Moving forward, Big Bus New York is maintaining Smiler's photography services in all evening tours departing from Times Square, all year long.
"It’s been a great partnership and it’s been really fun. We’ve been able to make a lot of memories for people."
Peter Brown | Director of Business Development, Big Bus New York
