Has anyne any experience of booking this company for tours please?

This is Paul, President of ToursByLocals.



Everything Starwood900 says about the guide is correct. Vincent's behavior was unacceptable and was a clear violation of ToursByLocals policy to substitute guides except in unusual circumstances and always with the prior agreement of both the traveler and ToursByLocals. Once we found out all that had transpired, Vincent was fired from our site.



However, I take issue with Starwood900's portrayal of our response. The first we heard about the problem was when we were notified by our payment processor of a 'chargeback' 19 days AFTER the tour (we had long since paid Vincent as he had indicated to us that the tour was successfully delivered).



I immediately emailed both the guide and Starwood900, asking for clarification. In my email to Starwood900, I asked him to call us to discuss the matter. The guide reconfirmed that the tour was delivered successfully, but that it was delivered by a friend. Of course, this raised a red flag for me as it is against policy. But Starwood900 did take the tour from the substitute, so I waited to hear what he had to say.



In the absence of a response from Starwood900, I reported what I did to the payment processor, which initiated the 'dispute' that Starwood900 refers to.



Starwood900 replied 6 days later with a brief overview of what happened and to say that he was traveling and that he would call when he returned home (he has never called), and never gave us his phone number when asked). I've only learned of his side of the story through several other emails which have gone back and forth.



There's no doubt that refund is deserved in this case and that was never an issue. Clearly the source of the problem was an irresponsible guide (now fired from ToursByLocals).



Reporting the problem right away and giving ToursByLocals the opportunity to make a refund, would have made a quick solution possible. It would also have saved us the payment we made to the guide and the 'chargeback' fee applied when someone disputes a charge. With our payment processor and for credit card systems in general, once a 'dispute' process starts it has a life of its own and makes quick resolution difficult.



In our two years of operation our guides have successfully delivered thousands of tours. And we've given refunds for tours cancelled because of earthquakes, volcanos, bad weather and, on rare occasions, for guides that messed up a tour.



ToursByLocals had only two other 'chargebacks'. They were both resolved in our favour as the dispute resulted from the customer making a purchase long ago and forgetting what the purchase was about.



I'm sure I speak for all business people to say that you should first contact the business to try work out a solution to a problem. Issuing a refund to a credit card charge is easy and takes only a few minutes. Once you dispute the charge, even if the business accepts liability, there is a chargeback fee plus a black mark against the business. If you don't get satisfaction, the 'chargeback' route is still available to you.

Hi,



My caveat: I do some writing work for ToursByLocals, so am in no way an unbiased traveler! But I thought maybe I could provide you with a bit of info to help you make a decision.



I want to direct you to the Traveler Reviews on the toursbylocals.com site. When the company was started in 2008, one of the most important things the owners wanted to establish was a system where travelers could rate and comment on individual guides - to make it easier for subsequent travelers to pick the most reliable guides and best tours. We're now working on a way to link these reviews travelers post on our site to TripAdvisor - or at least encourage our travelers to come here and post separate reviews.



Good luck with your trip planning! You can communicate with a guide you like directly, or if you have any questions, call the Vancouver office to talk to Paul M.

Hey, no problem! I'm not Paul, though, I'm Sara. :) Paul is far more important. :) I don't work in the office, but just like to spread the word about this company whenever I can - I really like their business model - think it's unique and a great idea.

Hey Paul thank you...... I will consider what you have said.. its wonderful just to have a reply! think this will be the way to go..... so with interest I will review all aspect.. thank you for your support in this...

hmm.... yeah this service doesnt come cheap.. and I am reluctant to pay out $200-300 withiut know ing something about.... so thak you for this warning...

whoops sorry Sarah.... thanks for the tip...

I have had personal experience with this company back in September 2010, and it was extremely BAD. We booked a private tour for $250 with a guide named Vincent in Seoul, Korea and, after he was not very responsive, we confirmed by email that he: 1) would be personally giving the tour; 2) was fluent in English; and 3) was a self-described "foodie" knowledgeable about Korean food.



On the appointed day of the tour, Vincent did not show up. After waiting 20 minutes, we called his cell phone and, in a sleepy voice, he informed us that he was in Thailand on business and would be sending a subsitute guide instead! The substitute turned out to be a greenhorn who had never given a tour before, spoke halting English at best, and knew little or nothing about interesting/good Korean food. Obviously, we were not provided what we had paid for so we disputed the $250 charge. The worst part of this experience is that toursbylocals, after being informed of their guide's shady behavior, still fought the disputed charge. BUYER BEWARE with this company!

Very positive experience in the Baltics and St Petersburg. I would not think of trying to get around without one initially - then after the first tour you can branch out if you have additional days.



Daruius in Vilnius was excellent - we saw so much, heard interesting stoires of history and culture, were not rushed at all, got a personalized tour, and wnet over 45 minutes without being charged.



And in St Petersburg they can help cut through red tape and line waiting as well. We were able to get to Catherines Palace much more easily than if on our own.



We used tours by locals in India, the Baltics and Russia - I really think they are a great value - and SO SO much better than paying for a Gray Line tour or other big group tour and getting the microphone experience. The young (mostly) people hired by TBL are great!



Bill Frazier

Thanks Bill and Paul for your contributions to this forum...... sadly our trip to Vilnius is now on hold due to the airine going bust- however I will remember these posts and hopefully when we manage to get our money back and new arrangements made I can once again look at ToursByLocals.... thanks again...