cactusbull7
Member
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Is it time for the state of Arizona to change how it views guides & outfitters?
*Please reply with your thoughts, here are mine...
Arizona is the only state in the west that does not distinquish between an outfitter and a guide. A simple 50 question test and $300.00 is the only thing stopping anyone from becoming an outfitter in the state of Arizona. Study the hand book for a day, pay $300.00 to the state, and you too can get your very own guide license and call yourself a professional outfitter overnight. By allowing such strict requirements (i am obviously being sarcastic) the AZGF has created hundreds & hundreds of guides with little to no experience branding themselves as professionals. This not only creates hundreds of small fragmented guide companies throughout the state, whom mostly are all trying to undercut each other, but more importantly it waters down the hunting experience for the unsuspecting client who hired said company with the presumption of having a level of professionalism, experience & expertise. By AZGF setting the bar so low, you now have a saturation of outfitters/guides in the market place with a very short list of clientele looking for an outfitter which obviously creates more supply than demand. While compitition usually is a good thing in the open market it only works if we are all playing by the same set of rules. Outfitters who do this full time or for a living, have a far greater struggle & ultimately cant compete with the guy who is doing out of his house as a hobby or to supplement his income. Often times the agreed upon price is so low that any full time reputable outfitter can't even come close to matching it. After all the young guide needs clients for his resume so he does the hunt himself, doesnt need to pay other guides or buy extra equimpment or gear. He doesn't by the liability insurance or get the necessary permits because that decreases his already small margins, and the odds of getting checked by the forest service are almost kneel. This doesn't happen in any other industry i know of. One of my best friends is a bug guy. He had to pass several crazy test, get licensed, bonded & be insured basically the whole 9 yards before he was officially allowed to spray chemicals for bugs. Because of this he charges a certain monthly price for his customers. This price is set by the market with other exterminating companies. If it was simple & easy without some kind of regulation he would be undercutted at every turn allowing unsuspecting clients to be taken advantage of. It is no different in our industry and therefore guide prices in Arizona should not be set by fly by night guides who do this as an after thought but rather by those true outfitters seeking to make a long term living. In states like Utah, New Mexico & Nevada you can't just become an outfitter overnight. You must work under a licensed outfitter or master guide for 3 years as an apprentice. Each state identifies the difference between outfitters & guides setting the price much higher for the outfitter than a guide. By doing this only serious guides who have aspirations & determination to become outfitters will take the necessary steps to achieve their goal & create a far better hunting experience for their client compared to a new unproven guide who just recieved his guide license for $300.00 & a test his 10 year could have past. These states also know that only the good reputable outfitters will last long term and the market will naturally weed out those that don't meet the mark. This allows for those good outfitters to set the value of what an oufitted hunt should cost & not the unregulated guides. For example a 5day fully outfitted hunt in Utah averages $6,000.00. This is several thousand dollars higher than Arizona but would not be the case if Utah allowed anybody to be an outfitter like Arizona does. By charging a higher fee and a having a better vetting system for potential outfitters will lead to a better hunting experience for the client & a better margin for the outfitter. All the other western states, minus Arizona, have some sort of guide coalition that represents them when petitioning the game & fish. This gives them the power to persway commissioners in their respective states. It's my belief that if the guides & outfitters who would like to see a change to how outfitters & guides are viewed by the state, would come together, put our grievances aside, we could make the necessary changes to make this happen.
Your thoughts?
Best Regards
Travis McClendon
*Please reply with your thoughts, here are mine...
Arizona is the only state in the west that does not distinquish between an outfitter and a guide. A simple 50 question test and $300.00 is the only thing stopping anyone from becoming an outfitter in the state of Arizona. Study the hand book for a day, pay $300.00 to the state, and you too can get your very own guide license and call yourself a professional outfitter overnight. By allowing such strict requirements (i am obviously being sarcastic) the AZGF has created hundreds & hundreds of guides with little to no experience branding themselves as professionals. This not only creates hundreds of small fragmented guide companies throughout the state, whom mostly are all trying to undercut each other, but more importantly it waters down the hunting experience for the unsuspecting client who hired said company with the presumption of having a level of professionalism, experience & expertise. By AZGF setting the bar so low, you now have a saturation of outfitters/guides in the market place with a very short list of clientele looking for an outfitter which obviously creates more supply than demand. While compitition usually is a good thing in the open market it only works if we are all playing by the same set of rules. Outfitters who do this full time or for a living, have a far greater struggle & ultimately cant compete with the guy who is doing out of his house as a hobby or to supplement his income. Often times the agreed upon price is so low that any full time reputable outfitter can't even come close to matching it. After all the young guide needs clients for his resume so he does the hunt himself, doesnt need to pay other guides or buy extra equimpment or gear. He doesn't by the liability insurance or get the necessary permits because that decreases his already small margins, and the odds of getting checked by the forest service are almost kneel. This doesn't happen in any other industry i know of. One of my best friends is a bug guy. He had to pass several crazy test, get licensed, bonded & be insured basically the whole 9 yards before he was officially allowed to spray chemicals for bugs. Because of this he charges a certain monthly price for his customers. This price is set by the market with other exterminating companies. If it was simple & easy without some kind of regulation he would be undercutted at every turn allowing unsuspecting clients to be taken advantage of. It is no different in our industry and therefore guide prices in Arizona should not be set by fly by night guides who do this as an after thought but rather by those true outfitters seeking to make a long term living. In states like Utah, New Mexico & Nevada you can't just become an outfitter overnight. You must work under a licensed outfitter or master guide for 3 years as an apprentice. Each state identifies the difference between outfitters & guides setting the price much higher for the outfitter than a guide. By doing this only serious guides who have aspirations & determination to become outfitters will take the necessary steps to achieve their goal & create a far better hunting experience for their client compared to a new unproven guide who just recieved his guide license for $300.00 & a test his 10 year could have past. These states also know that only the good reputable outfitters will last long term and the market will naturally weed out those that don't meet the mark. This allows for those good outfitters to set the value of what an oufitted hunt should cost & not the unregulated guides. For example a 5day fully outfitted hunt in Utah averages $6,000.00. This is several thousand dollars higher than Arizona but would not be the case if Utah allowed anybody to be an outfitter like Arizona does. By charging a higher fee and a having a better vetting system for potential outfitters will lead to a better hunting experience for the client & a better margin for the outfitter. All the other western states, minus Arizona, have some sort of guide coalition that represents them when petitioning the game & fish. This gives them the power to persway commissioners in their respective states. It's my belief that if the guides & outfitters who would like to see a change to how outfitters & guides are viewed by the state, would come together, put our grievances aside, we could make the necessary changes to make this happen.
Your thoughts?
Best Regards
Travis McClendon
