Advice For CityPals

Here are simple tips to help you be a successful CityPal, get tours booked and provide a memorable experience for visitors to your city or country.

Your Profile Picture

First impressions are very important! Your main (first) picture on your profile should clearly show your face with only you in it (no pets, friends or family members). Make sure the image is clear and in high resolution. Don't wear sunglasses because eye contact is important and please, make sure to SMILE! Here are some good examples of Profile Pictures:

Include Several Profile Pictures

One picture is not enough, add a few more pictures that depict your personality and who you are. You may want to show pictures of you with your travelers or standing at spots you include on your tours. Make sure the uploaded images are good quality and high resolution. Here are a few examples:

Describe Your Tours And Who You Are

Travelers want to read about you and the types of tours/experiences you provide. So...don't be lazy! Make sure you write in detail about the tours/experiences you are hosting and a little bit about yourself. Your tour description should be unique, entertaining and easy to read. Avoid spelling and grammar mistakes. Here are a few examples of well written profiles:

Create An Intro Video

A video is a great way to show travelers who you are. Create a YouTube video describing your tour and include the video in your profile. You can create a collage of images and clips with background music or you can record yourself talking about the experiences travelers can look forward to when touring with you. Make sure to record the audio and video in high quality. Here is a couple of good examples:

Create Featured Tours

Travelers don't often know what they want to see and experience. Featured tours are a great way for you to offer an experience menu and tour ideas for travelers to choose from. Your featured tours should be descriptive, with good quality pictures. Here are a few examples of interesting featured tours:

Pricing Your Hourly Rate

Make sure your hourly rate pricing is competitive. Review rates for other CityPals in your city and try to fall within the same range. We highly recommend that you start by pricing at a relatively low rate. And as you get more reviews from travelers, you can gradually increase your rate.

Getting Reviews

With favorable reviews, the site/app automatically places you at the top of the page in the city you service. Your first clients and reviews can come from sharing your profile with family and friends and on your social media accounts. This will attract and promote your specific profile in search engines like Google and Ping. When you finish your tours, don't be shy - ask your travelers to leave you a favorable review.

Accepting Tour Requests

Here are the three steps to book a tour:

• The traveler must send you an official tour request through the booking form (messages are for communication only and don't replace a tour booking request).
• You must accept the tour request.
• The traveler confirms and pays for the tour.

You will get a confirmation as soon as the traveler pays for the tour. If you do not receive an email confirming that a payment has been made, it means the tour request is still NOT confirmed.

Create Custom Offers for Tours and Experiences

You can send custom tour offers to travelers who contact you. To generate a custom offer on our app, simply click on this button in any message thread with a traveler. You can also click on the thumbnail of the traveler who contacted you and click on the "Send Custom Offer" button.

Payments

• Tours MUST be paid through the CityPals app/site. Cash, or any other payment methods are not allowed.
• Please alert the traveler if they will need to pay for extras such as entrance fees, transportation, tickets, meals, drinks, etc. These extras would be paid separately.
• You will receive your service fee from CityPals within 48 hours of the tour being completed.

Be Responsive

Travelers want a quick response to messages and requests. We recommend that you download the Citypals Android or iOS apps for fast and easy communication with the travelers. Also, when travelers send you general questions and requests, respond quickly with a custom offer for a tour/experience that matches their wants, needs, schedule and budget.

Be Prepared

To make their tour worthwhile, learn what your travelers expect of you in advance. Give them a clear picture of what you offer. It's best to discuss tour details with your traveler before you meet. Be diligent and don't be late. If you happen to be behind schedule, please contact your travelers and let them know. Have your phone turned on and charged at all times during the tour.

What's Not Included

Politely inform your travelers of any expenses that are not included in your price, such as transportation, entrance fees or any third-party services.

Communications

We strongly recommend communicating with your travelers via the CityPals app/site to make sure there is a record of your interaction in the unlikely case a dispute arises.

Breaking The Ice

Relax, be in a good mood and eager to start having fun on the tour. It's a good practice to start the tour by asking your travelers to tell you about themselves and the places they come from. When they open up to you, it's easier to bond and find common likes and dislikes.

Need Help?

Contact us if you experience any trouble or have any questions about your booking before, during or even after your tour. We are always ready to help.