# 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)