What: Tours by Locals allows you to play tour guide in your own city, creating an itinerary, pricing it and determining the schedule.
Expected pay: $15+ per hour (set by you)
Husl $core: $$$$
Commissions & fees: 25%
Where: National and international
Requirements:
- 18 or older and be able to enter into a legally binding contract;
- pass a phone interview;
- reference checks;
- submission of documents establishing your tour guiding credentials (if any);
- pass a criminal background check;
- and provide a tour experience that is likely to be in demand and not repetitive of other adventures that Tours by Locals offers in the same town
Review:
Like Viator, Tours by Locals allows you — the guide — to set the itinerary and price it, based on the amount of time it’s likely to take, your expenses and profit margin. You also determine how many people can participate in each tour.
The site takes 25% off the top. Viator has you set your net price and it marks that up by an unspecified amount.
However, unlike Viator, ToursbyLocals rejects new tour guide applicants if they are offering tours that would compete with tours offered by existing guides. Thus, if you design a tour that’s unique, it’s likely to remain unique here.
In their words: “We are committed to the success of our Tour Guides. Therefore, we may not accept additional Tour Guides in a particular area if we feel that the demand is satisfied by existing Tour Guides.”
Although we were unable to find complaints or plaudits from tour guides, this is an employee-friendly structure, which explains the high Husl$core. If this opportunity appeals to you, also check Viator. If you are already in Europe, Asia or the United Arab Emirates, you may also want to sigh up at WithLocals.
What their tour guides say:
We found countless reviews from travelers but none from tour guides. If you have provided tour guide services for Tours By Locals, please hit “contact us” and tell us about the experience.
*Updated 4/30/2021
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We are Tour By Locals Guides in Panama. We are very disappointed to be having to charge so much for our tours due to TBL’s increase in commission to 25% which is EXHORBITANT! We are rethinking our relationship to TBL because we don’t feel good about increasing our charge to accommodate this charge. It is time for TBL to have a competitor who has a more effective business plan that allows guides to charge reasonable rates while also being reasonably compensated.
I am a tour guide in Salt Lake City, UT. I use TBL and Viator. TBL charges me 25% and Viator charges me 22%. I am disappointed I have to charge as much as I do for my tours. After expenses, I keep about half of what I charge. Out of that I still have to pay insurance, which is also pretty bad. However, I have a site of my own, that I am able to offer a 20% discount, if someone were to book with me directly.