Out Adventures Host Profile | Scott

Meet Scott, Your Out Adventures Host!

All Out Adventures tours are led by an experienced local guide. Many tours are also led by an official Out Adventures Host, a core team member, who handles the details and ensures a top-tier experience for each and every guest. We sat down with Host (and Director Of Operations) Scott Marquardt to get to know more about him, the important roles hosts and local guides play in creating the tour experience, and one of his favorite memories from hosting our tours! Hit play on the video or read the transcript below.

Click here to browse all tours hosted by Scott.

Good afternoon! Can you introduce yourself for the viewers?

My name is Scott I’m an Out Adventures host, and I’m also the Operations Manager. (note: since recording this interview, Scott has been promoted to Director of Operations – go Scott!)

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

So I’m from Calgary, Alberta originally. I’ve worked in tourism for over 10 years, been to 61 countries, and now I live in Toronto.

What is your favorite thing about experiencing new cultures?

One of my favorite things about travelling and experiencing new cultures is the food. I’m a big foodie. I’ve eaten anything from scorpions in Thailand to kudu, which is a type of antelope, in South Africa. There’s some many things I love but that’s one of them.

What roles do Hosts and Local Guides play on Out Adventures tours?

So as a host, when I’m on the trip, I’m really working with our local guide. We’re working together as a team. The local guide is an expert in history, culture, the local language… and I can help keep the group organized, make sure everything’s running on time, and that way we can provide the best possible experience for our clients and our groups.

Can you tell us more about your specific role at Out Adventures and what you love about it?

Part of my role is developing the tours behind a desk, so when I’m hosting a trip, I really get to see everything come together. I love meeting our guests. There’s a sense of camaraderie on our trips. We call it the Out Adventures family and it really does feel like that when we’re on tour. There’s so many times where there’s incredible friendships that build, and people tell me all the time that they’ve done non-LGBTQ+ tours and they say it’s just a completely different experience.

What’s one of your all-time favorite memories from hosting Out Adventures tours?

It’s really hard for me to pick one memorable experience. My first time in Kenya was 2021, and we did a hot air balloon over the Serengeti. You get up, I think, at 4 o’clock in the morning. Jeep comes to pick you up. You’re crossing rivers, we’re seeing like lions eating a carcass and hippos, all in the pitch black, so its crazy. And then when you get to where the balloons launch, and the flames are lighting up, lighting up all the balloons. We get into ours and it was a safari in the air. We saw two male lions meet each other, we saw a lion hunting, we saw the wildebeest migration, all from the air just as the sun was rising over the Serengeti and it was really something I’ll never forget.

Click here to browse all tours hosted by Scott.