Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Banjo Billy's Bus Tours


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. T. Canens (talk) 04:56, 22 July 2019 (UTC)

Banjo Billy's Bus Tours

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Subject is not notable. It is just a small business that received a small amount of press coverage at one stage. I.am.a.qwerty (talk) 00:07, 7 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Business-related deletion discussions. I.am.a.qwerty (talk) 00:07, 7 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Colorado-related deletion discussions. I.am.a.qwerty (talk) 00:07, 7 July 2019 (UTC)


 * Delete as the firm has only local notability. Mccapra (talk) 03:47, 7 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Delete - cute but not notable. The coverage is the local coverage which a tour company would expect to get. Fails WP:ORG. Just Chilling (talk) 14:57, 7 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Delete - agree with nom MaskedSinger (talk) 17:21, 7 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Comment - I was able to find national coverage in this NPR Morning Edition transcribed segment; it doesn't contain many facts to use to bolster the entry, but is it enough to demonstrate notability beyond local coverage? Pegnawl (talk) 16:36, 8 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Thank you for finding that source, . I have provided some more sources below. Cunard (talk) 08:27, 10 July 2019 (UTC)

Keep per the significant coverage in multiple independent reliable sources.      <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> </ol>

<ol> <li> The book notes: "Can You Say 'Yeehaw'? Boulder John Georgis isn't exactly sure why people started hollering 'It's Banjo Billy!' at the top of their lungs every time they spotted his Boulder tour bus. After all, they don't yell 'Hey, it's a taxi!' when a cab drives by or 'Look, there's a limousine!' when a long black car with tinted windows whizzes by. But loudly acknowledging Banjo Billy's bus has become a Boulder tradition, one that Georgis's customers, twenty-eight when the tours are sold out, are required to answer with a hearty 'Yeehaw!' One customer on each of the twice-daily tours even gets a megaphone and a job as 'designated heckler.' But that's just part of the fun of Banjo Billy's Bus Tour, a wacky ninety-minute ride that takes tourists past Boulder's most infamous and little-known hot spots. Guests on the Banjo Billy bus—a refitted 1994 school bus that Georgis bought off eBay and drove to Boulder from Moline, Illinois, after offering to pick up every hitchhiker along the way—have a wide choice of seats. They can choose between several colors of Lazy-Boys, one of six saddles, or the comfy, over-stuffed couch in the back. Although Georgis's dream of turning the bus into a roving log cabin didn't quite pan out (the logs were too heavy to attach to the side of the bus), he was able to add a bunch of faux log fencing (it's lighter weight and scads cheaper), cut off the original roof, and weld a pitched roof that can be removed whenever the weather cooperates. Needless to say, he also added thirteen disco balls and a horn that 'moos' like a cow. Although the nine stops are the same (each guest, for example, hears about the false Boulder gold rush, a haunted hotel with three suicides and only one suicide note, and the obsessive forty-six-year-old Eagle Scout [see the 'Man in Uniform' entry that follows] whose merit badge sash mysteriously shows up all over town), each tour is different. Sometimes incredibly different, like the time Georgis's tour included twelve drunk schoolteachers, a prim and proper elderly couple, and a Muslim family of six. But that's another story."</li> <li> The article notes: "I SIGN UP FOR A GUIDED CITY TOUR on day two. Banjo Billy’s Bus Tour showcases (screams, actually) Boulder’s offbeat personality. It’s an 80-minute stand-up routine/tour/historical lesson enjoyed from the seats (take your pick between a saddle or recliner) of a 1994 yellow schoolbus reincarnated as an eccentric shack-on-wheels. Cruising around Boulder, “Banjo Billy” alternates historical accounts of Boulder’s earliest inhabitants and notable buildings with ghost stories and grisly true-crime tales. I spend my last night in Boulder at The Bradley, on Pearl’s east end. It masterfully combines the homey feel of a mountain bed-and-breakfast with the upscale style and privacy of an urban boutique inn."</li> <li> The article notes: "Banjo Billy’s Bus Tours is rolling out, bringing a tour that weaves throughout the city every day during the summer months. The company is in the process of lining up a license from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, the state agency that oversees commercial transportation. Customers will get an 80-minute tour highlighting history and mystery, voting to hear which of the 10 ghost stories and five murder tales – sans JonBenet Ramsey, since all of them pre-date 1966 – available from a hillbilly tour guide while viewing notable historical sites, the Mork & Mindy house included, of course. ... In 1999, Georgis trekked through Europe solo, using bus tours as opportunities to meet people. More often than not, he says he endured a lot of boring ones. ... In February, Georgis headed to Illinois and shelled out $6,000 to buy an 11-year-old bus. He drove it back and got to work, calling upon his girlfriend Beth Godden to help with design."</li> <li> The book notes: "Banjo Billy's Bus Tours offer 90-minute tours of downtown Boulder, Chatauqua Park, the Hill, part of the University of Colorado, and other notable sites, aboard a bus that has been retrofitted to look like a shack. The tour's lighthearted, quirky commentary focuses on ghosts, history, and crime stories. Your seat may be a saddle, couch, or bench upholsterd with funky, mismatched fabrics."</li> <li> The book notes: Guided Tours: Banjo Billy's Bus Tours (banjobilly.com). To be fully immersed in the weirdness that is Boulder, take one of Banjo Billy's bus tours. There are several from which to choose. History tours (my favorite), ghost tours, and brewery tours are all conducted from the crazy hillbilly shack on wheels. Not your run-of-the-mill drive through town. The tours are entertaining as well as informative. Tickets in the $15–25 range. (They have also started giving tours of Denver.)</li> <li> The article notes: "The former owner of Banjo Billy’s Bus Tours has been ordered to pay a previous employee $11,000 for retaliating after an employee refused to drive an unsafe tour bus, officials said Tuesday. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found reasonable cause to believe John Georgis, previous owner of the Boulder-based business that gives guided bus tours around Boulder and Denver, retaliated against an employee, according to a U.S. Department of Labor news release."</li> <li> The article notes: "And every day of the week you can take one of Banjo Billy’s Bus Tours. It’s a hillbilly shack on wheels. Inside it has six saddles, four La-Z-Boys, some couches, 13 disco balls and a rubber chicken. Tour leader John Georgis, a.k.a. Banjo Billy, says it “reeks of Boulder. It’s kinda funky, it’s kinda weird.” His special Bolder Boulder tour includes a tribute to Boulder’s Olympic marathon champion Frank Shorter. Check it out at banjobilly.com."</li> <li> The article notes: "In Denver, Banjo Billy’s Bus Tours can get a bit more raucous. The website bills it as “the funkiest 90-minute tour you’ve ever taken.” Founder John Georgis launched the tours in 2005 — the idea had percolated in his head for six years before that — and takes 25 people in a converted school bus around a bevy of historic Denver sites. (They also offer tours in Boulder.) The bus looks like a tin shed — Georgis calls it “a shack on wheels” — and the tour emphasizes the offbeat: rowdy times in pioneer Denver, shootings, the U.S. Mint robbery, illegal shenanigans and even the occasional ghost."</li> <li> The article notes: "Macky’s mystery is one of several stories that enticed John Georgis to launch Banjo Billy’s Bus Tours. The company offers tours that include ghost stories of Denver and Boulder year round and expanded ghost tours in October. Georgis took dozens of tours around the world as research before starting the company and found that people worldwide were intrigued by dark history and stories of the paranormal. “We like to know that what we see is not what we get,” Georgis said. “There’s a core group that’s saying ‘life is not finite,’ and these stories give us some hope that when we die there’s something more.” The story of Boulder’s only lynching victim makes up one of Georgis’ favorite stories on the October tours."</li> <li> The article notes: "As a Boulder native, I just had to check out the hillbilly bus that’s been driving around Boulder all summer, offering tours of my hometown. So on a recent Saturday, I put John Georgis, owner of Banjo Billy’s Bus Tours, to a test: Could he really tell me things I don’t know about a town I’ve lived in for 22 years – and could he successfully entertain me on a Saturday morning after a night of drinking? ... Before the tour begins, Georgis tells me how his company came into existence. He says it began on a whim when, after traveling through Europe and going on bus tours to meet fellow Americans, he realized that Boulder could use a tour like that. ... Georgis decided to create a more entertaining version of the bus tours he took in Europe, and bought a used 1996 school bus off eBay for $6,000 in February. He purchased a one-way ticket to Moline, Ill., to pick up the bus. Georgis says that’s when reality of his decision sunk in."</li> <li> The article notes: "Eccentric tour bus company Banjo Billy’s and the West End Tavern on Pearl Street are inviting beer lovers to “hop on” to the Boulder Brew Bus for an inside look at three local breweries. John Georgis, also known as Banjo Billy, teamed up with longtime friend Mike Lawinski, general manager at the West End Tavern, for a business venture giving people the chance to experience the world of locally brewed craft beer. ... Banjo Billy’s Bus Tours is known around town for its unconventional approach to touring the cities of Boulder and Denver. Old-school buses, decked out to look like hillbilly shacks, trundle through the streets and entertain passengers with ghost stories and historical facts."</li> <li> The article notes: "All of the fake ghosts are fine, but what about the real ones? Boulder has more than its share of ghouls — including a mischievous Boy Scout, a trio of hotel suicides and a hanged man — who still reside in the People’s Republic. You can hear their stories, and possibly even meet them, with the coolest and quirkiest tour guide this side of the afterlife, Banjo Billy. “You get to learn a little history, and you hear some good ghost stories,” says John Georgis, aka Banjo Billy. In 2005, Georgis built a bus resembling a shack on wheels and started giving historical driving tours of Boulder. He let his passengers pick what types of stories they wanted to hear, and the most requested tales were ghost stories. So every October, Georgis runs Banjo Billy’s Ghosts of Boulder, a two-hour tour of 13 of the city’s most notorious haunted locales, including stops at the Boulder Theater, Macky Auditorium and the Hotel Boulderado. The ghost tour has become so popular that this year Banjo Billy started a second tour in Denver, which goes to places like Cheesman Park and the Grant-Humphreys Mansion."</li> <li> The article notes: "Sometimes the best way to sightsee is to let someone else do the planning, research, thinking and driving. Say hello to Banjo Billy's Bus Tours, which put a lot of fun into the mix, too. Join guides on an old school bus tricked out with unconventional seating (couches, recliners and a saddle chair) and big windows for taking in the sights. Most tours last 90 minutes and meet near the big blue bear on 14th street. Depending on the day and season, there are history tours and ghost tours, all of them chockfull of anecdotes, historic factoids and a healthy dose of humor. Brewery tours last about three hours and include three pints and three different breweries."</li> <li> The article notes: "History tours of Boulder and Denver, brewery tours all over, nighttime ghost tours: Banjo Billy delivers the goods with funk and flair. Patrons can pick their seats on the hicksterish bus (try the recliner, the couch or, uh, the saddle); they also get to vote on just how much they want to hear about various attractions along the route. The knowledgeable guides breeze through the ninety-minute tour with field-tested patter, and it's all over before anybody can quiz you on your expanded knowledge of local culture and trivia."</li> <li> The article notes: "Eight years ago, John Georgis bought a dilapidated school bus to give tours of Boulder. He took the top off, refurbished the bus with wood planks, and started giving tours as Banjo Billy’s Bus Tours. (He earned the nickname when a friend teased him that he looked like a hillbilly in the bus. Georgis embraced the idea.) Recently, Banjo Billy piloted a successful brewery tour in Boulder, so Georgis drove the idea to Denver. He describes his bus as “a shack on wheels,” fashioned with saddles, couches, recliners, disco balls, a sound system, and a rubber chicken. In its third week, his Brewery tour offers a wacky glimpse of Denver, as seen through the pint glass."</li> <li> The article notes: "A previous owner of Banjo Billy's Bus Tours will have to pay a former employee $11,000 in back wages, interest and punitive damages after it was found the employee was terminated for refusing to drive an unsafe bus, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration."</li> <li> The article notes: "Georgis started Banjo Billy’s Bus Tours in 2005 when he purchased his first bus, a 1994 International on eBay. ... “The first year was fun,” says Georgis. “You have the excitement and it’s new. But year two it really tested me. We didn’t know when to do tours. I hired some people at the start, and they didn’t work out. But the third year got much easier, everyone we hired was over 40, and their maturity really helped — 2007 was great, we expanded to Denver 2008, that was difficult, but not as hard as 2006, and in 2010 it blew up. It has been a lot easier since.”"</li> <li> The article notes: "The rambling, funky ride called Banjo Billy's Bus Tours, in Boulder, Colo., is equal parts history, crime stories and comedy. It's all woven together by John Georgis — better known as Banjo Billy — in a playful, 'choose your own adventure' style. ... Overall, the experience is less Pirates of the Caribbean than Beverly Hillbillies. As we ride through Boulder's affluent downtown streets, Banjo Billy's remodeled school bus attracts plenty of stares. And what's better than cruising in a log cabin on wheels that occasionally makes barnyard sounds at pedestrians? ... One common question on the tour has to do with Georgis himself. How did he get the name Banjo Billy? In 2005, he quit his job as a data analyst and bought a school bus on eBay. Then he remodeled it, raising the roof and removing the windows."</li></ol>

There is sufficient coverage in reliable sources to allow Banjo Billy's Bus Tours to pass Notability, which requires "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject". Cunard (talk) 08:27, 10 July 2019 (UTC)</li></ul>
 * Banjo Billy's Bus Tours has received significant coverage in the Globe Pequot Press book Colorado Curiosities. This national source is sufficient for Banjo Bill's Bus Tours to meet Notability (organizations and companies), which says, "attention solely from local media, or media of limited interest and circulation, is not an indication of notability; at least one regional, statewide, provincial, national, or international source is necessary." The company has also received short reviews in the nonlocal sources San Diego Magazine and USA Today's 10Best. It has received significant coverage in multiple articles in the local source the Daily Camera. Cunard (talk) 08:27, 10 July 2019 (UTC)

<div class="xfd_relist" style="border-top: 1px solid #AAA; border-bottom: 1px solid #AAA; padding: 0px 25px;"> Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus. Relisting comment: To discuss Cunard's sources.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks,  Sandstein   08:14, 15 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Keep per Cunard's source findings. <b style="color: blue">AmericanAir88</b>(<b style="color: darkred">talk</b>) 16:07, 15 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Keep, looked as if this would be a delete as, although the article has plenty of sources, they are nearly all local, until the indomitable cast their eye upon this and has provided sources that are non-local, so WP:AUD is met as well as WP:GNG. Coolabahapple (talk) 08:31, 19 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Keep Per the hard work and determination of Cunard. WP:SIGCOV is met. Lightburst (talk) 18:20, 19 July 2019 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. <b style="color:red">Please do not modify it.</b> Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.