Better Matching Starts With You

Two guides can look identical on paper

Same city. Same languages. Same years of experience. Yet one of them is the perfect fit for a family who wants street food and a slow pace, and the other is the one you call for an architecture group that walks fast and asks hard questions.

That difference is what travel partners are really looking for when they search for a guide. A hotel concierge, a travel advisor or a DMC is not booking "a guide in Oslo". They are booking the right person for the guests standing in front of them.

So we have started building matching into Keyguides Connect. It begins with something every guide controls: your profile. The more clearly you describe how you guide, the easier it becomes for the right partner to find you. And this is only the start. Matching will keep getting smarter.

How matching works today

When a logged-in partner searches for guides, they can now describe what their guests want in their own words. Think "architecture and art", "food tour" or "slow pace, step-free". Keyguides Connect then reads through guide profiles and tours to find who fits best.

Three principles shape how it works:

Ranking, not filtering. Every available guide is still shown. Matching only changes the order, so the strongest fits rise to the top. Nobody disappears from a search because they missed one word.
Specific beats generic. What you have explicitly selected, like your specialisations and special tours, and what you have actually written in your tours, both count. A real food tour says more than a bio that mentions food once.
Hard facts stay hard. Some needs are not negotiable. If a partner needs a driver guide, only guides who offer personal transport are shown.

The result: partners spend less time scrolling, and guides who describe themselves clearly get seen by the partners who actually need them.

Five steps to get matched

Matching can only work with what you give it. Here is how to give it your best.

1. Answer the questions on your profile

Your profile now asks what you specialise in, which special tours you offer, how you handle transport and pickup, and which accessibility options you can offer. Pick every option that genuinely applies. A partner planning "a food guide for a family visiting Madrid" is looking for exactly those signals.

One rule matters more than any other: only select what you can deliver. Travellers and partners book on this. A step-free route or sign language on your profile is a promise.

2. Write about yourself, in your own words

Add the year you started guiding and roughly how many tours you have completed. We calculate your years of experience automatically, so it stays current.

Then complete the short sentences. Keep each one specific and under 60 characters:

Book me if you like… local markets and the stories behind the food
Talk to me about… street art and everyday life in Oslo
A hidden gem I can show you… the old monastery ruins
Ask me about… local legends

This is where your personality shows. "History" describes a thousand guides. "The 1624 fire and how it shaped the city" describes you.

3. Create the tours you actually want to run

Your tours are part of your profile, and they are part of matching too. A clear tour title and an honest description tell a partner far more than a list of keywords. If you love running bike tours, build one. If you are known for food walks, make sure that tour exists.

4. Choose your first impression

Six highlights appear at the top of your profile. Your languages always take one spot. You choose the other five and drag them into the order you want. Everything else appears under "See more about me".

Pick the five that make you different, not the five that sound safest. And remember: six visible, all searchable. Every answer still helps matching, even if it is not in your top six.

5. Get matched

That is it. Logged-in partners searching for guides now see the strongest fits first. The more complete and specific your profile, the more searches you can show up in.

Where matching is going next

Today, matching ranks guides when a partner searches. Next, we want partners to simply describe what their guests need, and let Keyguides Connect do the heavy lifting.

Picture a travel advisor writing: "Couple in their 60s, first time in Lisbon, love food and photography, prefer a slower pace." Every guide profile is then scored against that request, using everything you have told us: specialisations, special tours, accessibility, transport, your own words and your tours.

When a guide stands out clearly for that specific request, their profile gets a Top match badge above the profile photo. Not because they paid for it, and not because they are the most popular overall. Only because they fit these guests best.

We also want partners to see why someone is a match, with the matched interests shown on each guide. A badge tells you who. The reasons tell you whether to trust it.

We will keep tuning how this works as partners use it and give us feedback. What will not change is the principle: the guides who describe themselves clearly and honestly are the ones matching can work for.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to fill in everything to be found?

No. Every guide is still shown in partner searches. But the more you fill in, the more searches you can rank well in.

Does it matter which five highlights I choose?

Your five choices decide your first impression on the profile. All your answers are used for matching, whether they are in your top six or under "See more about me".

Can I change my highlights later?

Yes, as often as you like. Log in, go to Profile and choose Edit profile highlights.

Will matching get me more bookings?

Matching helps the right partners find you faster. It does not guarantee bookings, but a clear, specific profile gives you the best possible starting point.

Who sees the matching?

Logged-in travel partners, such as hotels, travel advisors and agencies, when they search for guides on Keyguides Connect.

Update your profile highlights today

Better matching starts with you.