# FreeGuides

> FreeGuides is a guest experience platform for hotels and hostels that covers the whole guest journey, from planning the trip to coming back. Travellers find partner properties on What’s On by FreeGuides and book direct. On property, one QR code runs self check-in, a digital compendium, reservations and an AI receptionist called Eli, in the guest’s own language and with no app. Off property, it earns the property revenue from the tours, excursions and shows guests book.

## Key facts

- Company: FreeGuides Pty Ltd, Sydney, Australia (founded 2023)
- Category: hospitality guest experience platform (B2B software for hotels, hostels and serviced apartments)
- Scale: 3,500,000+ guests served, 37,304+ rooms, 163 cities
- Customers include: IHG, Accor, Capella, Radisson, Novotel, Crowne Plaza, St Christopher's Inns, Ostello Bello
- Guest access: scan one QR code; web-based, no app or login; 100+ languages detected automatically
- Setup: about 48 hours, done for the property; QR stickers and stands posted out
- Pricing (list prices in AUD per property per month, from the same rate card the app bills): hotels, apartments and holiday rentals pay Basic from A$128 and Premium from A$200 (up to A$481 for a 250+ room luxury hotel in a premium market), set by the property's size (under 100 rooms, 100 to 249, 250 and over) and location. Hostels pay by number of beds and location: a 60-bed hostel in Australia pays A$36 Basic, A$73 Standard or A$145 Premium, and no hostel pays more than A$400. Group plans for chains: contact us.
- Plans (hotels): Basic: digital compendium, events & excursions and analytics dashboard; Premium adds local recommendations map, self-guided walking tours, the AI receptionist Eli, PMS integration & online check-in (rolling out now), upsell pop-ups & offers and loyalty tools (coming soon). Hostels also have Standard, which adds the guest group chat.
- Discounts: 5% to 20% for committing 6 months to 3 years, plus 10% for paying a year up front (never more than 50% in total). Billed in 30 currencies.
- Trial: setup is free; a 10-day free trial starts once guests are scanning the property's QR codes
- Integrations: GetYourGuide, Viator, GuruWalk and Ticketmaster (excursions, walking tours and shows, with commission), ExperienceOz and Blys (bookable activities), Eventbrite and Meetup (event import), Stripe (event ticketing), Mews PMS (online check-in, upgrades and stay extensions; rolling out now, Cloudbeds next)
- Compliance: GDPR compliant; guest phone numbers are never shared; analytics and advertising cookies load only after consent. [Privacy Notice](https://freeguides.com/privacy), [Security](https://freeguides.com/security), [Sub-processors](https://freeguides.com/subprocessors)

## The guest journey

- Planning ("I want to take a trip."): Travellers find things to do on What’s On, picked by local hotels and hostels. For the property: Seen before guests choose where to stay.
- Booking ("Where should we stay?"): Partner properties are listed on What’s On, and guests book with you directly. For the property: More direct bookings.
- Arriving ("We’ve just landed."): Online check-in before they arrive, then one QR code for everything about the stay. For the property: Shorter queues at the desk.
- Staying ("Can we book the spa?"): Eli answers questions day or night, in the guest’s language, and passes the rest to your team. For the property: Fewer repeat questions at reception.
- Exploring ("What should we do tonight?"): Tours, day trips and shows to book, alongside your own events. For the property: Commission on what they book.
- Coming back ("Let’s come back next year."): Late check-out, extra nights and a review request at the right time. For the property: Guests who return.
- Travellers not staying at the property: Visitors in the area can find your venues and events too.

## Features

- [Digital compendium](https://freeguides.com/features/digital-compendium): A branded digital compendium for hotels and hostels. Guests scan one QR code to see Wi-Fi, check-in times, breakfast, house rules and local tips in their own language. No app, update it in seconds.
- [Eli, the AI receptionist](https://freeguides.com/features/ai-receptionist): Eli is an AI receptionist trained only on your property information. It answers guest questions 24/7 in their own language and hands over to staff when it should.
- [Self-guided walking tours](https://freeguides.com/features/self-guided-walking-tours): Give guests GPS-guided, narrated walking tours of your neighbourhood, written by your team with an AI tour generator. FreeGuides builds your first three tours for you.
- [Events & excursions](https://freeguides.com/features/events-and-excursions): A What’s On calendar for your guests that fills itself: GetYourGuide and Viator excursions, GuruWalk walking tours, Ticketmaster shows and your own self-guided tours, around the events you run. You earn commission on partner bookings.
- [Bookable activities](https://freeguides.com/features/bookable-activities): Guests book local tours, experiences and treatments through your FreeGuides profile, at the same price as booking direct, and your property earns commission on every booking.
- [PMS integration & online check-in](https://freeguides.com/features/pms-integration): Connect FreeGuides to your PMS: guests check in online before they arrive, buy upgrades, early check-in and late check-out, and extend their stay from their phone, with every charge written into your PMS. Rolling out now, starting with Mews.
- [Guest group chat](https://freeguides.com/features/guest-group-chat): A private, property-only group chat for current guests. Guests leave automatically on their check-out date, phone numbers are never shared, and staff can schedule announcements and pin the day’s plans. GDPR compliant.
- [Analytics](https://freeguides.com/features/analytics): See how many guests scan your QR code, what they click, which tours they finish, where they come from and what they spend. Real-time dashboard plus a monthly email report.

## Who it is for

- [Hotels](https://freeguides.com/for/hotels): FreeGuides runs the hotel guest experience from one in-room QR code: a branded digital compendium, a 24/7 AI receptionist, online check-in through your PMS, and excursions and walking tours that earn the hotel commission. Guests need no app.
- [Hostels](https://freeguides.com/for/hostels): FreeGuides helps hostels build community and revenue: a guest-only group chat, a What’s On of events and excursions, self-guided walking tours, online check-in and a 24/7 AI receptionist, all behind one QR code.
- [Apartments](https://freeguides.com/for/serviced-apartments): A digital house manual and 24/7 AI assistant for serviced apartments: check-in steps, appliance guides, house rules and local tips in the guest’s language, behind one QR code.
- [Airbnb hosts](https://freeguides.com/for/airbnb-hosts): FreeGuides gives Airbnb and holiday rental hosts a digital house manual, a local guidebook and a 24/7 AI assistant in every guest’s language, from one QR code. No app for guests.
- [Hotel groups](https://freeguides.com/for/hotel-groups): Roll FreeGuides out across every property in a group: parent and child accounts keep brand content in sync, each property keeps its local tips, and analytics compare sites side by side.
- [Tourism boards and councils](https://freeguides.com/for/tourism-boards): Councils and tourism boards publish self-guided walking tours on FreeGuides. Fund a tour and it is free for every visitor, with QR codes for signs and visitor centres and a page built to be found on Google.
- [Tour creators and guides](https://freeguides.com/for/tour-creators): Guides and creators: build a self-guided walking tour stop by stop in your browser, with photos, stories and your own voice, and share it on FreeGuides Tours with a link and a QR code.

## FreeGuides family

One company, FreeGuides Pty Ltd, runs these sites. Each has its own briefing at /llms.txt.

- [FreeGuides](https://freeguides.com): this site, for hotels, hostels, apartments, holiday rental hosts, hotel groups, tourism boards and tour creators
- [FreeGuides Tours](https://tours.freeguides.com): Self-guided walking tours that play on your phone, with a live map and the stories at every stop. Travellers unlock a tour on their phone for a small one-off fee; tours funded by a council or tourism board are free. Tours are published by guides, hotels, hostels, councils and tourism boards. Briefing: https://tours.freeguides.com/llms.txt
- [What's On by FreeGuides](https://explore.freeguides.com): What’s on this week in your city: local events, free walking tours, tours to book and the places local hotels recommend. Briefing: https://explore.freeguides.com/llms.txt
- [FreeGuides dashboard](https://app.freeguides.com/signin): where properties sign in to run their guest experience
- Partner bookings: the traveller sites link to partners such as GuruWalk, Viator and OpenTable with a FreeGuides partner reference; those bookings are made on the partner's site. Only FreeGuides' own tours are sold on FreeGuides Tours.

## Get started

- [Create your own demo](https://freeguides.com/create-demo): submit the property's name and an email; FreeGuides builds its guest profile (compendium, branding, walking tours, events, local recommendations) in a few minutes and emails the login
- [Book a meeting](https://freeguides.com/demo)
- [Get your price](https://freeguides.com/pricing/request): ask for a property's exact monthly price by email, or book a time with Daniel, the founder
- [Key cards and stands](https://freeguides.com/key-cards-and-stands): engraved wooden key cards, printed key card inserts, wooden QR stands and QR stickers, made with the property's logo, to order
- [Plans and prices for hotels](https://freeguides.com/for/hotels#plans)
- [Plans and prices for hostels](https://freeguides.com/for/hostels#plans)
- [Plans and prices for apartments](https://freeguides.com/for/serviced-apartments#plans)
- [Plans and prices for Airbnb hosts](https://freeguides.com/for/airbnb-hosts#plans)
- [Hotel groups: talk to sales](https://freeguides.com/for/hotel-groups#talk-to-sales)
- [Contact](https://freeguides.com/contact): hello@freeguides.com

## Resources

- [FAQ](https://freeguides.com/faq)
- [Explainer video](https://youtu.be/0Mgt8Vd0lPY)
- [What Is a Digital Compendium? (And Why Hotels Are Replacing the Printed Binder)](https://freeguides.com/blog/what-is-a-digital-compendium)
- [AI Receptionist for Hotels: What It Does, and What It Doesn’t](https://freeguides.com/blog/ai-receptionist-for-hotels)
- [7 Ways to Grow Ancillary Revenue at Your Hotel or Hostel](https://freeguides.com/blog/hotel-ancillary-revenue-ideas)
- [How to Set Up a Hotel QR Code System Guests Actually Use](https://freeguides.com/blog/hotel-qr-code-system)
- [Multilingual Guest Service: How to Support 100+ Languages Without Training Staff](https://freeguides.com/blog/multilingual-guest-service)

## Frequently asked questions

### What is FreeGuides?

FreeGuides is a guest experience platform for hotels, hostels and apartments that covers the whole guest journey, from planning the trip to coming back. Before the stay, travellers find partner properties on What’s On by FreeGuides and book direct. On property, one QR code in each room opens self check-in, a digital compendium, reservations, an AI receptionist called Eli that passes what needs a person to the right one, a guest group chat and a What’s On of events and excursions, in the guest’s own language and with no app to download. Off property, it earns you revenue from the walking tours, excursions and shows guests book, and lists your restaurant, bar and spa for travellers staying elsewhere.

### Do guests need to download an app?

No. FreeGuides is 100% web-based. Guests scan the QR code and it opens in any modern mobile browser, in their own language.

### How long does setup take?

About 48 hours from sign-up to QR codes in rooms. Tell us about your property in a two-minute form, we build your profile and first three walking tours, and we post you QR stickers and stands.

### How many languages does it support?

100+ languages, detected automatically from the guest’s phone. The compendium, recommendations and Eli all respond in the guest’s language.

### How does the AI receptionist work?

Eli answers from your own compendium, recommendations and tours, 24/7, in the guest’s language. If it cannot solve a problem in two attempts it hands the guest to reception, and medical or safety issues go straight to a human. You can read every conversation in the dashboard.

### Can we earn revenue with FreeGuides?

Yes, on and off property. Guests book excursions, walking tours, experiences and show tickets through GetYourGuide, Viator, GuruWalk, Ticketmaster, ExperienceOz and Blys, and your property earns commission. On property you sell tickets to your own events through Stripe, and with the PMS integration you sell upgrades, early check-in, late check-out and extra nights straight into your PMS.

### How much does FreeGuides cost?

Pricing is per property per month, set by your plan, your market and the size of your property. Basic includes the digital compendium, events and excursions, and analytics. Premium adds Eli, self-guided walking tours, local recommendations, upsells and the PMS integration. Exact prices are on the pages for hotels, hostels, apartments and Airbnb hosts.

### Is FreeGuides GDPR compliant?

Yes. FreeGuides is GDPR compliant, guests’ phone numbers are never shared, and guest chat members are removed automatically on their check-out date.

## Digital compendium

The room binder, rebuilt for phones and in every guest’s language.

- Highlights up front: Guests care most about three things: Wi-Fi, check-in and check-out times, and breakfast. Highlights put those at the top so nobody has to ask.
- Every language, automatically: Content is translated into 100+ languages based on the guest’s phone. You write it once.
- Update once, every room has it: Change a breakfast time or add a closure notice from the dashboard and it is live instantly. No reprinting.
- Your brand, not ours: Your logo, colours, photos and voice. Add categories, images, video and buttons that link to anything.
- Feeds your AI receptionist: Everything in the compendium is what Eli, the AI receptionist, answers from. Keep it current and Eli stays accurate.

## Eli, the AI receptionist

Every guest question answered instantly, day or night, in their own language.

- Trained on your property: Eli answers from your compendium, local recommendations and tours, with deliberately limited internet access so it sticks to what you have told it.
- Speaks the guest’s language: A guest can ask in Mandarin, Spanish or German and get an answer in the same language.
- Knows when to hand over: If Eli can’t solve something in two tries, it hands the guest to reception. Medical and safety issues go straight to a human.
- Private troubleshooting notes: Add hidden notes, like how to reset the air conditioning, that Eli can use without showing them to guests.
- Every chat on record: Read every conversation in the dashboard and spot the questions your compendium should answer up front.

## Self-guided walking tours

Your city the way your team knows it, narrated and GPS-guided from your door.

- Three tours built for you: FreeGuides creates your first three tours. Add as many more as you like.
- Written by AI, voiced by you: Add your stops and the AI tour generator writes the content, which is turned into audio. Or upload your own voice recordings.
- A guide guests recognise: Use a real staff photo for the guide introduction. Guests meet someone from your team before they set off.
- Live GPS, no paper maps: Guests see themselves on the route as they walk, with a satellite view to spot buildings.
- Finish at your bar: End the route back at the property for a social finish, and see where guests drop off in analytics.

## Events & excursions

Every day of the stay planned, with tours and shows that pay you commission.

- Fills itself: Switch on auto-fill and the coming days are packed with excursions, guided walks and shows from GetYourGuide, Viator, GuruWalk and Ticketmaster, around the events you run yourself.
- Commission on what guests book: You earn commission when guests book partner excursions and walking tours or buy show tickets. Nothing to stock, nothing to manage.
- Your own events, ticketed: Pub crawls, tastings and classes: sell tickets through Stripe, run recurring events and check guests in with a browser-based RSVP scanner.
- Your tours on the schedule: One of your self-guided tours is slotted into each day’s daylight hours, so there is always something to do.
- Import in a click: Bring in events from Eventbrite, Meetup or any event page link.
- See what works: Event analytics show revenue, attendees and average attendance, so you know which nights to repeat.

## Bookable activities

Guests book tours through you at the same price, and you earn the commission.

- Set up for your city: We configure GetYourGuide, ExperienceOz and Blys activities for your location, and tune the search to what your guests want.
- Same price for the guest: Guests pay exactly what they would booking direct. Your commission comes from the provider.
- Zero staff effort: No stock, no bookings to manage, no front-desk upsell scripts. It runs on its own.
- Add your own: Link your own paid tours, transfers or packages from the compendium alongside partner activities.
- Reported and paid out: Ask for a commission breakdown at any time. Commission is paid every 6 or 12 months.

## PMS integration & online check-in

Guests check in online and buy upgrades from their phone, and every sale lands in your PMS.

- Online check-in: Before arrival, guests send their contact details, arrival time and preferences straight into your PMS, so reception has everything before they walk in. Room keys stay with your team.
- Upgrades, early check-in, late check-out: Offered at the right moment: early check-in before arrival, late check-out near departure, upgrades and breakfast in between. They are your own PMS products, at your own prices.
- Extend your stay: Guests add nights from their phone, with live prices and availability from your PMS. Nobody is ever charged a figure they were not shown.
- Revenue you can check: Every upgrade, extra and extension is written into your PMS, so what FreeGuides earns you is in your own financial records, not just a dashboard.
- Safe by design: Guests confirm their booking with their name and room. Lookups are rate-limited and never reveal who is staying where.

## Guest group chat

The WhatsApp group for everyone staying tonight, without the phone numbers.

- Current guests only: Only guests staying with you can join. They are removed automatically at midnight on their check-out date.
- Privacy first: Phone numbers are never shared. Guests can report a message, which blurs it for everyone until staff review it.
- Scheduled announcements: Set up daily happy-hour reminders, weekly events or one-off updates, and pin the day’s schedule to the top.
- Solo travellers, sorted: Guests travelling alone post that they are keen to meet people, and the chat does the rest.
- Staff at the desk too: Reception reads and replies from the dashboard on any computer.

## Analytics

See what guests look for, so you can put it first.

- Scans and interactions: How often your QR code is scanned and which buttons and categories guests open.
- Where guests are from: Guest countries from their phone settings, to plan languages and campaigns.
- Tour drop-off: See where guests stop on each walking tour and improve the route.
- Monthly report: A summary lands in your inbox on the first Monday of every month. CSV exports on request.
- Groups in one view: Hotel groups can compare properties and keep brand content in sync from a parent account.