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  #1  
Old 08-26-2024, 10:47 PM
touredit touredit is offline
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Question about showing houses

Hi, I help run a college campus touring company where lot of our guides come from greek life. We focus on personalizing tours organically on a 1-on-1 level for prospective students and guides of similar interests. The idea is that the potential student should get a feel for things beyond cookie cutter admissions tours (i.e. social life, frats/sororities on campus, different clubs/groups on campus, and even sports teams).

We get a lot of interest from parents to see greek life buildings. Just wanted to hear some discussion on if that's something that many brothers/sisters are allowed to show around (or are even willing to show around), especially if they're getting paid more. Curious to know and figured here was the best place to ask.

Last edited by touredit; 08-26-2024 at 11:52 PM.
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Old 08-27-2024, 07:01 AM
Titchou Titchou is offline
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You are looking at this from the wrong direction. The tour guide's concerns are not the issue. The owners of the house - the group's house corporation. the chapter members and the college PH Council are the ones who would have to agree to this - and possibly some national housing officers. Remember, these are private homes.
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Old 08-27-2024, 04:32 PM
navane navane is offline
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I echo Tichou's concerns. There are a few obstacles which stand-out:

-- Permissions - Each fraternity and sorority has a house corporation board. Like a board of directors, made up of the organizations alumni, which runs the facility. You would need to get permission from them for entry into the property. Note that some houses are actually owned by the university. I doubt a university would allow you to give private, for-profit tours in their buildings. House corp boards won't be thrilled either. And, no, the student tour guides can't just let the tour group pop in for a quick look. The other residents would complain to the board ASAP that Tour Guide Tara is dragging people through the house.

-- Risk management - I was on my sorority's house corporation board for 13 years. I would choke at the idea of a "public" tour group coming through. What if someone trips and falls? Steals something? Makes inappropriate comments?

-- Privacy - as Tichou said, these are private homes. Women live here, eat here, shower here, sleep here. Nobody wants to come out of the shower and find a tour group in the hallway.

-- Fairness - the sororities which are affiliated with the National Panhellenic Council (the "traditional sororities" most people think of) are very big on being fair. There are a LOT of rules and regulations that all sororities agree to follow in support of being fair. If your company only conducts tours in 2 out of the 6 campus sorority houses, the incoming students may become biased in favor of the two sororities they got to visit. That's not "fair" to the other four houses who weren't in your tour. Depending on what time of year the tours are being done, bringing new/prospective students into the house may be a violation of the agreements the sororities have with one another. It will become a problem for the campus. I think this is NPC sorority specific. Other sorority councils (like local sororities or multicultural sororities) and the fraternities don't have the same level of hang-ups on "fairness".

-- Redundant - new students who sign up for sorority rush receive an official, personal tour of each sorority house as a part of the rush week.


Ok....so what could you do? Maybe you could do a walking tour past the outsides of the houses? You may already include that....and that might still be too cookie cutter. It's just that going inside the sorority houses is not something I foresee happening. Like I said, the young woman will get that chance during rush week.

Just food for thought!
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  #4  
Old 08-29-2024, 10:45 PM
33girl 33girl is offline
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You might want to start by not saying "frats." It's offensive.

I question this whole post because if most of your guides were Greek, I'm thinking they would have told you this isn't going to happen any more than touring a student's apartment above the Chinese restaurant or an occupied dorm room. People LIVE in these buildings.
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Old 08-30-2024, 03:52 AM
Pinkmagnolia921 Pinkmagnolia921 is offline
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@touredit, I laughed when I read this. What is a Greek Life Building? Who is getting paid more? Would you allow a tour company to give tours of your home? No, I didn't think so.
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