Earn $50/hr as a Local Tour Guide in Your Hometown: 5 Best Sites to Use

To get started, you first join the site and become what they call a “Vayable Insider.”

What are Insiders?

I’ll let Vayable explain that:

“Vayable Insiders are independent people who create unique experiences to share with others. Anyone with unique knowledge, skills, or access can earn money offering an experience as a Vayable Insider.”

According to the company, you can be anything as an Insider—writer, musician, taxi driver, teacher, poet, travel agent… you get the picture.

As long as you can “provide cultural enrichment, education, and a good time,” you are a good fit to become a Vayable Insider.

As for the kind of “experience” you can offer, it can be anything from showing someone a historic building in your town, taking them to a famous local bar, doing a shopping trip at the local farmer’s market, or anything else you think is interesting about your city or town.

They have some very strict requirements and expect every Vayable Insider to:

• Commit to delivering a high-quality experience to every traveler.
• Prioritize safety and security above all else.
• Be passionate, personable, and trustworthy.

Here is how it works:

I live in St. Louis, MO. Let’s say I become an Insider and offer a 2-hour tour of the St. Louis Gateway Arch and the surrounding area, and I set my price at $200.

Travelers who go to Vayable to sign up for a travel package see my offer and are interested. Vayable then contacts me and asks if I am available to do the tour. If I don’t have the time, I simply decline.

If I do have the time, I accept. In that case, the company will arrange everything for a 15% fee. So in this example, they take $30, and I get $170, which will be deposited into my bank account within 24 hours of the tour ending.

Of course, that’s just an example and not the standard rate. But according to the company, people typically earn around $20–$25 an hour. Not bad for something that can actually be very fun.

To see an example, check out this guide where Dijon, a San Francisco-based filmmaker and photographer, offers a tour named “Photograph the Souls of San Francisco.” He charges $99 for 2 hours—that’s almost $50 an hour. Judging by the number of reviews he has, it seems like he is doing well.

2. Shiroube

Shiroube is another service created with the primary goal of connecting locals with travelers looking for unique experiences.

This service comes from Japan (the actual name “Shiroube” stands for “to be a guide”), and it is still relatively young. They have around 5,000 guides in more than 3,000 cities.

What makes Shiroube stand out is its flexibility and the variety of services it offers:

• If a client just wants a few tips, they can be provided with a selection of guidelines via email.
• A client can order a custom-made itinerary based on their schedule and preferences.
• Clients can also book a full tour-guide package.

After creating an account as a guide, you can post three ads free of charge. If you clearly specify your strengths, such as expertise in nightlife, history, or sports events, you’re already halfway to success.

Since they are still in the early stages, their payment system is not fully established yet. However, they are working on introducing a system that will make the service free for users by incorporating corporate sponsorships.

3. ToursByLocals

This company has been around since 2008. Although it’s a fantastic platform, signing up is more rigorous compared to the others listed here.

Their application process involves a detailed interview, including two phone calls. This is done to ensure that you are qualified and knowledgeable.

The good news is that there is no upfront cost for you (the tour guide). However, you will need to share 20% of your earnings from each tour with the company.

That 20% fee, in my opinion, is well worth it. Not only do they provide free training and cover you with $3 million in liability insurance, but you also benefit from their experience and reputation. You don’t have to promote yourself, find clients, or deal with any of that hard stuff. You just join them, and they take care of the rest.

4. SnappyGo

Update: No longer in service.

To qualify as a great SnappyGo adviser, you need to know how to provide a travel experience that surpasses what the average travel agency can offer.

At its peak, SnappyGo had over 11,000 advisers offering services in more than 1,800 destinations across 181 countries. But there was still room for more contributors.

The application process was designed to determine if you had what it took to be a travel advisor. If you made it through, your role would involve providing itineraries and travel tips with details about your hometown that only a true aficionado would know.

How could you get a gig on SnappyGo?

There were two ways this could happen:

1. If a traveler searched on their own, they could contact you directly through your profile.
2. A traveler could send an adviser request to SnappyGo, which would then reach out to relevant adviser profiles and encourage them to contact the potential client.

As far as money went, you could expect $30–$40 for shorter itineraries. Creating such an itinerary typically took just a couple of hours to complete.

Longer itineraries could bring you up to $150.

It goes without saying that good credentials and more experience can significantly impact your rates.

5. Rent a Local Friend

The people who use this site to rent friends have various reasons for doing so, with many looking for locals willing to show them around.

One of the best aspects of working with this company is that you don’t have to work with anyone you don’t want to. You can accept or reject any client.

Here’s how it works: You join the site for free as a “Local Friend.” Then, interested people will contact you on the site, and you can offer them a customized tour plan. And yes, you get to set your own prices.

As far as pay goes, there’s one major difference between this site and the others mentioned here. Instead of charging a percentage of every tour, they charge a flat fee of $100 per year.

What does $100/year get you?

It gets you a personal page on the site where your services are listed. They will also help you with some marketing. To what extent, we don’t know.

When a traveler contacts you and books a tour, they’ll pay 30% of the agreed price through the site, and the remaining amount after the tour is paid to you in person.

Final Words

If you have some spare time you don’t want to waste and you know your hometown like the back of your hand, this can be a great way to earn some extra money occasionally.

It can be your hobby—something you enjoy doing—and you still get paid for it. And that is always a big plus.