What is a Custom Tour and how does it work?

🧭 What is a Custom Tour?

A Private Custom Tour is a simple way for guests to book you based on time, not a fixed itinerary.

Instead of choosing a predefined tour (your signature tours), the guest books you for a set duration and shares their preferences after booking.

You decide:

• How long you are available for

• What you charge for each duration

• How many guests you accept

• Which cities you want to be bookable in

This gives you full control over how you work and what you earn. You find it here: Custom Tour when you login as a guide.

💡 Why is this different?

Most platforms expect you to:

• Answer multiple inquiries

• Suggest itineraries

• Spend time planning before anything is confirmed

Often, this work never turns into a booking.

With Custom Tours, it works the other way around:

👉 The guest books and pays first

👉 Then you plan together

This means:

• Less unpaid work

• Fewer back-and-forth emails

• More serious and committed guests

💬 What happens after a booking?

Once a guest books you:

• You receive a booking request (you have 12 hours to respond)

• When you accept, the booking is confirmed and payment is captured

• The guest has already paid but funds will be released after tour is completed

You will then get:

• If guest have started a conversation with you through our "conversations" you will se that in your dashboard menu.

• Their contact details

• The option to continue the conversation in chat or move to your preferred channel (WhatsApp, email, etc.)

From there, you can:

• Agree on the plan together

• Adjust the experience based on their needs

• Decide meeting point and details

⚙️ How should I think about pricing?

You are not selling “hours”. You are selling your expertise, flexibility, and time.

A common approach is:

• Higher price per hour for shorter bookings

• Better value per hour for longer durations

Example:

• 2 hours → higher hourly rate

• 4–6 hours → lower hourly rate, higher total value

This helps you:

• Protect your minimum earnings

• Encourage longer bookings

• Avoid short, low-value requests

📌 What should I include in my setup?

To get the most out of Private Custom Tours:

• Offer a small selection of durations (for example: 2h, 4h, 6h)

• Think about the size you are comfortable with guiding when you set your max size.

Keep it simple. You can always adjust later.

🌍 What cities do i choose?

Custom tours are connected to a drop down of cities you want to be able to be booked for a private custom tour. This should be cities you are willing to travel to with guests and where you are certified to guide them.

You will also be able to connect to the guests after booking to determine the exact meeting point or if you would pick them up at their hotel.

Do not choose cities you do not wish to be booked in on this list.

🚀 Why guides use this

Private Custom Tours are ideal when you want to:

• Avoid unpaid planning time

• Work more flexibly

• Let guests shape the experience with you

• Get confirmed bookings before investing your time

• When you want to be bookable but haven't made signature tours yet

It’s a more efficient and professional way to work — for both you and your guests.