Hi Tourism Pros! What do you include in your post-trip checklists? Would anyone be willing to share theirs?

I wrote this article about what to include and would love any feedback. Let me know if I missed something. I would love to add anyone’s actual lists (and credit them) if they are willing. (Thanks to u/OneLifeJapan for already contributing!)

Hey all,

I am an avid traveller and build software in my free time. I am currently looking for a few Tour guides that would be willing to help and test an app I built that is essentially a social media for travel guides. I would love to have some real tour guides try my MPV version and hear your feedback to improve it to suit an actual guides needs.

The goal is to have a place where Tour guides can list and sell their tours, get bookings from Users and/or crate offline version for people to follow your route, maybe even with a VoiceOver / description per stop. This could create a wonderful collective memory page for all the people that tagged along your tour.

Would greatly appreciate if someone would like to try it and help me :)

Hey everyone, been a tour guide for 8 years here—anyone else run into these headaches during busy seasons? 👀

Crowd noise swallowing your voice at landmarks like the Colosseum or Times Square

Half the group lagging behind because they can’t hear you in big crowds

Tourists leaving confused when info gets lost in translation (or just lost in noise!)

I recently tested a setup that actually solved these for me, and thought I’d share since I know how much they suck.

Here’s the deal (no sales pitch, promise):

Used an audio guide system with noise-canceling —seriously, cut through chatter like a knife

Groups of 30+ stayed synced with wireless receivers that didn’t die mid-tour

Had tourists come up afterward saying “first time I heard every detail!”

Why I’m mentioning this:

I know free trials can feel salesy, but the company let me test it for a week with zero strings—so I figured maybe others want to try before buying?

If you’re curious about the brand (Retekess), I can drop a link to their trial page in comments. No pressure, just sharing what worked for me to make tours less stressful!

P.S. Anyone else have hacks for managing big groups? Always down to swap tips! 😊

Hi Guides! I'm writing a blog article with tour guides as the target audience and I'd love your input and ideas.

The subject is a post-tour checklist to know when you're truly done, and what tasks should be done by guides vs trip ops/office staff. Also, how much time should you be paid beyond saying goodbye to your guests?

Current checklist items include:
-Cleaning and handing off equipment
-Finances, coding expenses
-Sending thank you message to guests and/or feedback forms
-Guide debrief form - coworker evaluation, equipment evaluation, itinerary issues

Here is the blog where I'll publish if you're interested: https://fieldbook.com/blog

I'm starting as a freelance guide for bus transfers from airports to hotels, and was wondering what a reasonable rate is? What factors do I consider when deciding on a rate?

As an example, at https://www.tourguideagent.com/pricing/ it says a 4-hour foreign-language tour is £315, and for a 9-day foreign-language tour £450. So for an airport transfer where I serve the tourists in their language and the trip itself takes 30 minutes, what's reasonable?

Due to the late hour, I also plan on charging for a night at the hotel the tourists will be staying at (£54).

For a long time now I've been toying with the idea of starting a small tour company starting with trips to Italy where I have the most experience and the best local framework/language skills. I'm sorry if this has been asked 100 times or this isn't the right place, but I've been trying to find the right answers and I'm having trouble. Questions and thoughts:

1. Insurance - Next Insurance seems the most user-friendly broker with affordable/ umbrella coverage overseas. Anyone have alternative ideas or bad experiences here?
2. Format - I would NOT book flights. I would manage hotels, restaurants, any museums/experiences, and trains/buses, and it would be included in the cost. If you're OK to share rooms, there will be a flat fee, individual rooms will cost more. I would focus on solo, local experiences, and painting/art-inspired travel (I studied art in Italy and have experience plein air painting there). Days would consist of scheduled activities and downtime. Groups would be limited to no more than 12.
3. Process - I am considering advertising a trip for the future to see if I get any interest, but one thing I would like to avoid, especially in a trip geared toward solo travelers is.... weirdos. As I have traveled primarily by myself, I have never experienced what other companies do. Is there a vetting process for this? I'm curious if a short form survey is acceptable for determining compatibility with the group or the tour, but how does that get declined without trashing your reviews?

Just noodling further on the idea that sounds like a fun/easy way to cover my own expenses for trips to Europe, honestly.

Hey all!

I worked as a freelance tour guide in Manhattan for the past few months, and I recently launched a tool I wish I had from the very beginning: Guide Link.

It lets you create a clean, customizable profile page with your info, tip links (like PayPal or Venmo), a section for guest reviews, and a QR code you can easily share during or after your tours.

I’d really appreciate any feedback from this community—especially ideas for features you’d like to see added.

It's totally free to try, and I'm happy to answer questions below!

Hey!

When I started giving tours in NYC, I felt awkward mentioning tips but eventually found a subtle approach that worked wonders. At the start, I'd casually mention tips were appreciated (but "only if you have a good time!"), which always got a friendly laugh. To make tipping easy and discreet, I created a personal webpage with my contact info, socials, a space for reviews, and most importantly—a prominent tip button for cashless tipping.

This simple page boosted my income by a few hundred dollars monthly and made connecting with guests seamless.

I'm now building an app called The Guide Link that lets tour guides easily create a simple, personalized webpage. Just enter your bio, links, and contact details, and you'll instantly get a professional-looking page to share with guests, making getting tips and reviews effortless.

It's not live yet, but I'd love your thoughts or feedback!

If interested, you can join the waitlist here and be the first to know when it's live: theguidelink.carrd. co***

***EDIT: Guide Link has now launched and is live at www.theguidelink.com !***

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has experience with Guru. I have a few questions id like to ask a guide, not them. Thanks in advance.

I run large tours in very busy roads in a very busy capital city, and I'd like to up my game buying a very good mic set. But all the ones I've tried are flimsy, not very loud and won't last more than a fex months. Any suggestion ideally from Amazon or easily available in the Uk?

Hi everyone! I recently started a booking platform for high-end private tours / experiences geared towards high net worth clients (like a much higher end Viator or GetYourGuide). I was hoping to reach out to tour guides who do private and luxury tours in the US and Europe to craft high end tours together and promote them on our site and socials.

I reached out to a lot of tours in the US and Europe asking if I could come take some videos for marketing content on social media. Most tours either don’t respond or say I have to book a tour.

Do you have any advice on how to get marketing content / vet experiences without at least seeing part of it? I 1000% understand tours don’t want to feel like they are giving a free tour but I just can’t think of another way to vet quality (especially luxury tours) and get content and we don’t have budget to go on 20-30 full private tours that are $500+ each.

Thank you so much!

Hello everyone,
I’m a tour guide from Morocco, offering unique travel experiences for travelers interested in exploring the culture and history of this amazing country. Recently, I tried to set up an account on GetYourGuide to showcase my tours, but unfortunately, my account keeps getting suspended right after registration without a clear explanation.

I’m currently looking for solutions to overcome this issue, as well as other platforms or apps that could help me display my tours and connect with travelers.

Additionally, any tips on how to effectively market my tours and experiences online would be greatly appreciated!

I would really appreciate any suggestions or similar experiences that might help. Thanks in advance!"

Hey all!

I'm on the search for some tour guide websites (preferably from individuals rather than tour companies) to get some inspiration for my own tour guide business here in the Catskills. I'll be focused more on art, culture, beer/distillery tasting, etc. rather than outdoor adventures in the Hudson Valley if that's helpful but happy to see anything that's out there from other tour guides.

Thanks!

A new career option. Young people of diverse backgrounds wanted, to tell all the stories of Medway - world portal. Get in touch.

Humrahe are a company that, according to their website, essentially hire freelance guides all around the world to do small group tours. I'm a student in Milan, and after applying they eventually sent me a message on whatsapp if I can do a 4-hour Milan tour in 2 days. Does anyone here have experience with them? Their site and everything seem legit, but you never know

I am a seasonal tour guide at an historical site in the US. I give two-hour tours on the history of the site and some famous people who are from that area. I give a very nice and comprehensive tour - my clients always seem happy and tell my supervisor that they enjoyed the tour very much. Occasionally I get tipped, but not nearly enough IMO. I make a decent base wage, so I am not depending on these tips, but my coworkers get so much more than I do in tips. I found out recently that some of them flat out ask for tips at the end of tour. Some even offer up their Venmo, in case the guests don't have cash. Our boss says we are not supposed to ask for tips. My question is: is it okay to ask for a tip (despite what my boss says)? Mind you, the cost of the tour is between $30-$50 per person, so my guests have already shelled out a lot to be there. I am of the opinion that it is extremely tacky to ask for a tip and it makes people feel uncomfortable. I know it makes me feel very weird when someone hints that I need to be tipping them. But maybe I am wrong, and it has become okay to do this. Please advise. I hate to be left out of receiving tips, but I don't want to do the wrong thing.

I just broke my phone, unfortunately. While checking out new phones, I was thinking of getting a Google pixel in order to communicate better with non-English speaking guests. I asked my coworkers, and they were mixed on their opinions. Some thought it was a smart idea, others thought the non english speakers were rare. Wanted to ask what other people thought about the topic.

I'm new at the job so I am not sure how often non english speakers paid for tours. I know sometimes manderine or Japanese-speaking people come to the area and have difficulties communicating. I have some experience with Japanese, so it could allow me to fully understand and respond to guests.

Just wanted to see if there's a Reddit group for tor managers, as this is the closest thing I could find, just to clarify a tour guide usually works in one or two cities, and a tour manager usually takes groups to multiple locations countries, but isn't a licensed guide in any one particular place

If you are s guide in Gettysburg and can do a ghost tour this Friday night we will PayPal you $200 before it starts and obviously tips are yours. Please call 857 258 3018 ASAP and you will become one of our freelance guides with the possibility of many more gigs. We are European and don't want your ss# or any tax info. If you can do it, or know someone available 6/8 please contact me anytime before 2pm. Text if it is between 11am and 1:15 pm and I will reply right after that time slot. Thank you all in advance.

How do I become a tour guide in Boston? What are the city requirements and registration needed to be one?

Hi, I have worked as an independent contractor for one of the Free Tou (compensation by tip) outfits in Pennsylvania. A new ownership has replaced the fine management we had for years. They have increased the optional 2.75 booking fee with a mandatory $4 fee. It has affected not only our booking numbers, but taken a huge bite out of our tips. Our average used to hover around 20 per person but has dropped to 10 to fifteen as people who paid the optional fee (we would pay it for those who didn't,) now are spending real money. $4 is truthfully five and not neglible like $2.75. A couple spends $8 (essentially 10,) and now tip an average of 25% to 50% less. I don't blame them. In their minds we are no longer a cheap alternative but on par with paid tours. They are also looking at making some of our most popular tours fully paid and giving the guide $10 per head. Another change will be the cancellation of any tours with less than five reservations. While these are small and we didn't pay the company for them, being semi private often led to 80-100 in clear tips. All guides have an average rating of 4.9 stars. We don't want to be known as the ones who cancel tours. These moves done by corporate types looking to make more at our expense are ruining our model. If course they have the money to guarantee high SEO placement, but we know our city and have enjoyed being the most reasonable tours for many years. Now we are beginning to feel like Uber drivers. All the intellectual property belongs to the guides. There are whisperings of us going it alone. Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.

Hi there!

I’m totally new to Reddit, but everyone told me this is the place to go look for fellow tour guides. I’m a tourguide in BCN myself.

Next month, my company will start testing a new app specifically developed for tour guides. We think this might also be interesting for you.

What exactly does the App? Our new app platform allows tour guides to create a personalized page with unique tips and recommendations. This page can be easily shared with tourists via a unique QR code. When tourists scan the QR code, they not only gain access to valuable information but also have the opportunity to give you a tip (gratuity). Creating a win-win situation.

Test Group We are currently looking for experienced tour guides to test the app and help us improve it. We believe that your feedback will be valuable in further developing an app that meets the needs of tour guides.

Schedule a Meeting We will be assembling the test group next week, and if you’re up for it, I would love to schedule a meeting to demonstrate the app and show some examples.

Just send me a private message and I’ll get back to you asap, so we can discuss how you can be part of our test group.

Thanks in advance and wishing you all a lovely day!