For operators and freelance guides
Freelance tour guide contract: what to agree, clause by clause
Updated 7 November 2026 by Ravid Efroni, founder of GuidePing, which sends guide offers on WhatsApp. Read the tool comparisons with that in mind.
Short answer
It is 21:40 and your guide for tomorrow's 10:00 tour writes that she cannot come. If the tour was sold on GetYourGuide and nobody replaces her, the guests get a full refund and GetYourGuide charges you 25% of the price on top (Supplier Terms, section 3.10). What you can ask of the guide depends on what the two of you agreed.
From the guide's side it looks like this: the operator cancels your Saturday tour on Friday evening, and you have already turned down another company for that morning. Whether you are paid depends on the same agreement.
Guide associations have written rules for both cases. The Dutch National Guides' Association, GUIDOR, says a guide who cancels inside 48 hours without a valid reason and without an approved replacement pays the client the full fee for the tour (GUIDOR terms, 11.8). The same terms make the client pay the guide the full fee for a cancellation inside 48 hours. This page goes through each clause with sources like these, checked on 7 November 2026, and gives you a template to download.
Freelancer or employee: what decides it?
How the work is done in practice decides it, not the word "freelance" in the contract. The tests differ by country. Below are the official rules for Germany, Austria and the US, as written; ask a lawyer or tax advisor for your own case.
| Country | The rule | What a wrong label can cost |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | "Anhaltspunkte für eine Beschäftigung sind eine Tätigkeit nach Weisungen und eine Eingliederung in die Arbeitsorganisation des Weisungsgebers" (§ 7 SGB IV). Either side can ask the Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund for a status decision (§ 7a). | The employer owes the social security contributions (§ 28e), claimable for 4 years after the year they were due, 30 years if withheld on purpose (§ 25). |
| Austria | Self-employed guiding is a regulated trade under § 108 of the Gewerbeordnung; employed guides must also be qualified (WKO). | Licence questions on top of status: see Licences below. |
| United States (federal) | The IRS weighs "the extent of the right to direct and control the worker" through behavioral, financial and relationship evidence. Form SS-8 gets an official decision (IRS). Wage law uses the Department of Labor's own test (DOL). | "You may be held liable for employment taxes for that worker" (IRS). |
| California | "The ABC test starts with an assumption that all workers are employees"; the business must show the worker is free from its control, does work outside its usual business, and runs an independent trade (DLSE). | Our reading: condition B is hard to meet when a tour company hires guides to give its tours. |
Clauses that point one way or the other
Our reading of the rules above, not a legal test:
- Towards self-employment: the guide may decline any offer, works for other companies, is paid per tour on an invoice, carries own insurance, decides how to present the tour.
- Towards employment: a duty to accept tours or fixed shifts, a rota the guide must follow, detailed instructions on how to guide, a uniform and training the guide must attend, one operator as the only client.
- A clause that says "the guide is self-employed" does not change what happens in practice. Germany decides on the whole picture ("Gesamtwürdigung", § 7a), the IRS on the facts.
What should a tour guide contract include?
Seventeen clauses cover what operators and guides argue about. The template has all of them with placeholders.
| Clause | What to fix | Example value |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Self-employed; free to decline; may work for others | No minimum number of tours |
| Fee and payment | Fee per tour, extra time, expenses, invoice, payment term, VAT | Paid within 14 days of invoice |
| Offers and reply time | Channel, reply time, what silence means, conditional replies | 2 hours; 30 minutes inside 24 h |
| Confirmation | When a tour is agreed; day-before check | Agreed when the operator confirms in writing |
| Changes | New time needs a new yes; late changes need consent | 48 hours (GUIDOR 6.4) |
| Cancellation by operator | Fee scale by notice | 0% / 50% / 100% (GUIDOR) |
| Cancellation by guide | Valid reasons; fee scale if none | 0% / 50% / 100% (GUIDOR) |
| Replacement | Who may send whom; operator approval | Approved in writing |
| Arrival and no-shows | Arrival time, waiting time, guest no-show, guide no-show | 15 min early; wait 30 to 60 min |
| Liability and insurance | Who is insured for what; cap | Cap at the tour fee except injury and gross negligence |
| Licences | Which licence, what if it lapses | Licence number |
| Photos, name, reviews | Use of photos on platforms; name and photo shown to guests | Non-exclusive, unlimited in time |
| Guests and confidentiality | Guest data use and deletion; no poaching guests | Delete after 30 days |
| End and law | Notice period; law and court | 14 days' notice |
How fast must a guide answer, and when is a tour confirmed?
Put a reply time in writing and say what silence means. Without it, an offer sent at 16:00 can sit unanswered until the operator calls round at 22:00. Neither association text we read sets a reply time; this is the clause most templates leave out.
- Reply time: for example 2 hours, and 30 minutes when the tour starts within 24 hours.
- Silence: the offer counts as declined and the operator may ask the next guide. Some operators prefer the opposite (silence counts as yes); if so, write it down, because the guide must then reply to every offer to avoid being booked.
- Conditional replies: "yes if I can finish by 12" is not an acceptance until the operator agrees.
- Confirmation: the tour is agreed when the operator confirms in writing, so both sides have the same record.
- Day before: the operator sends tomorrow's details and the guide confirms by a set time. A guide who drops out is found the evening before, not at the meeting point.
What cancellation fee is fair, for both sides?
A sliding scale by notice, the same in both directions, is what the published association terms use. Here are two, plus the template's default.
| Free until | Then | Last stretch and no-show | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GUIDOR, client cancels | 7 days before | 50% of the fee (7 days to 48 h) | 100% inside 48 h, or guest no-show after the guide waits up to 1 hour |
| GUIDOR, guide cancels without valid reason or replacement | 8 days before | Guide pays 50% (7 days to 48 h) | Guide pays the full fee inside 48 h |
| Braunschweig guild, client cancels | 3 working days before | 50% of the price | 100% on the day or if the group does not appear (guide waits 30 min) |
| This page's template (both directions) | [7 days] | [50%] from [7 days] to [48 h] | [100%] inside [48 h] |
Sources: GUIDOR general terms, articles 5.7, 11.2 to 11.8; Braunschweig guild terms. Both are terms between a guide and whoever books the guide. An operator using a freelance guide is in the client's seat.
Why operators want a guide-side clause
When a tour runs without a guide, the platform charges the operator, not the guide. GetYourGuide refunds the guests and charges 25% of the retail price per guest, and expects a no-show rate of 0.2% or lower over 90 days (Supplier Terms 3.10, quality standards). Viator may pay nothing for the booking, may charge "reasonable fees", and may remove a product after five cancellations within 48 hours of travel in 90 days (Supplier Agreement 2.5, quality standards). More on these numbers: GetYourGuide commission and Viator commission for tour operators.
The platform's penalty can be larger than the guide's fee for the tour: 25% of a full group's price, for example. A clause that passes all of it on may not be fair or, in some countries, valid. The template caps what the guide pays and leaves the amount to you.
Why guides want an operator-side clause
A freelance guide who accepts a tour usually turns down other work for that slot. If the operator cancels the day before, the slot is lost. Under the GUIDOR terms the guide is paid the full fee for a cancellation inside 48 hours, and half from 7 days to 48 hours.
Who finds a replacement guide?
Either side may, but the operator should approve any replacement the guide sends before the tour. The operator answers to the platform and the guests for whoever turns up.
- Viator: "Supplier may subcontract delivery of the Products with Viator's written consent ... Supplier remains responsible for Product delivery" (section 9.5). It does not say whether a freelance guide counts as a subcontractor.
- GetYourGuide's Guides feature shows travellers the assigned guide's name, photo and phone number one hour before, and only guides with a complete profile can be assigned (GetYourGuide). An unknown replacement will not match what the guests were shown.
- Language and licence: the replacement must speak the tour language and hold any licence the tour needs.
- Fee: say who pays the replacement and at what rate. In the template the operator pays an approved replacement directly and the guide owes no cancellation fee.
- GUIDOR and the Braunschweig guild both treat a suitable replacement as the way out of a guide cancellation; Braunschweig warns that "personal reasons may necessitate a last- minute change in guide" (terms).
What happens when the guide or the guests do not show up?
- 01Guests do not show up: the guide waits an agreed time (30 minutes in Braunschweig, up to 1 hour under GUIDOR) and is then paid in full.
- 02The guide is late: the guide tells the operator at once. Viator's agreement says the operator must tell affected travellers through Viator's interface (section 2.5).
- 03The guide does not show up and gave no warning: no fee, and the guide pays the amount agreed for a cancellation inside 48 hours, or the operator's documented costs up to a cap you choose.
Liability and insurance
Agree in writing whose insurance covers the guide during your tours. Platforms make the operator carry cover, and associations often insure their member guides.
- Viator requires "general liability insurance and errors and omissions insurance" and decides whether the cover is sufficient (Attachment 3). The policy must be held by the legal entity that runs the Viator account (Viator help).
- Members of the Braunschweig guild and the German guides' association BVGD "have professional liability insurance as well as liability insurance for financial loss"; the guild limits a guide's liability to deliberate or grossly negligent breaches and to the tour fee (terms).
- GUIDOR's terms make the client indemnify the guide against claims by participants and third parties (article 8.11). An operator signing a guide's terms takes that on.
- The template keeps injury, intent and gross negligence outside the cap. Whether a cap is valid at all depends on local law.
Does a tour guide need a licence?
Some cities and countries require one; many do not. Two examples with official sources:
- Austria: self-employed guiding is a regulated trade; the state exam includes a business exam and follows a course of at least 250 teaching hours. "Als durch Dienstvertrag beschäftigte Führer dürfen nur geprüfte Fremdenführer eingesetzt werden" (WKO).
- New York City: "You need a Sightseeing Guide license to guide or direct people to any place or point of interest" on a tour; the exam has 150 questions and you need 97 right (NYC Business).
- Platforms expect it too: Viator's supplier agreement requires the operator to hold all "registrations, licenses, permits" for its products (section 9.1).
Germany has no national guide licence that we found. Check the rules of your city before you agree on this clause.
Photos, name and reviews
If a guide's photos go into your listings, get rights wide enough to pass on to the platforms. Viator takes a "nonexclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, transferable, sublicenseable ... worldwide right" to content you upload and asks you to confirm you hold the rights (section 7.1). A guide who only gave you permission for your own website has not given you that.
- Name and photo: GetYourGuide shows travellers the guide's name, photo and phone number. Get the guide's agreement in the contract, or agree to leave out the phone number.
- Guest photos: only with the guests' permission.
- Reviews: say whether the guide may quote reviews that name them, and with or without your company name.
Download the free template
One Word file, 17 clauses, plain English, every value in [BRACKETS] for you to set. A red notice on the first page says it is not legal advice. Delete what does not fit your tours and have it checked for your country.
How GuidePing runs the reply-time, cancellation and replacement clauses
GuidePing sends tour offers to your guides on WhatsApp and applies your rules. It covers part of what the contract describes, not all of it.
| Clause | What GuidePing does | What it does not do |
|---|---|---|
| Reply time | You set the time to answer (default 2 hours, 30 minutes inside 24 h) and what no answer means: ask the next guide, or count as yes. A late yes counts only if the tour is still open, and you can switch that off | It does not enforce anything against the guide |
| Confirmation | A clear yes books the guide; a reply with a condition or a question comes to you. Every offer and answer is logged with its time | It is not a signature on a contract |
| Day before | Each booked guide gets tomorrow's details and confirms. A no releases the guide, other guides are asked, and you are told | It cannot stop a guide from falling ill |
| Cancellation by the guide | A guide who writes that they are ill tomorrow has the day marked off and open offers move on; a tour already booked is flagged to you | A guide giving back a booked tour at other times goes to you, not to the next guide automatically |
| Replacement | The next guide in your order is asked, by language, tour and who is free. You can stop asking a set number of hours before the start and take over | It does not approve a substitute the guide sends |
| Availability | Each guide taps their days off on a personal link, no app; tours are not offered on those days | |
| Fees and no-shows | No invoices, fees or check-in at the meeting point |
More on running freelance guides this way: scheduling freelance tour guides without an app and the tour guide availability calendar.
Questions
What should a tour guide contract include?
The parties and status, the fee per tour and how it is paid, how offers are sent and how fast the guide replies, when a tour is confirmed, changes, cancellation by either side with a fee scale, replacement guides, arrival and no-shows, liability and insurance, licences, photo and review rights, guest data, notice and the law that applies.
Is a freelance tour guide an employee or an independent contractor?
It depends on how the work is done, not on the contract's title. In Germany the law names working to instructions and being part of the employer's organisation as signs of employment. In the US the IRS looks at behavioral control, financial control and the type of relationship; California presumes everyone is an employee unless all three ABC conditions are met.
What cancellation fee is normal for a tour guide?
Published association terms use a sliding scale. GUIDOR, the Dutch guides' association, charges the client nothing up to 7 days before, 50% of the fee from 7 days to 48 hours, and 100% inside 48 hours or for a no-show. The Braunschweig guides' guild charges 50% after 3 working days before and 100% on the day.
Should a guide pay a fee for cancelling a tour?
Some terms say so. GUIDOR's terms say a guide who cancels without a valid reason and without arranging an approved replacement pays 50% of the fee from 7 days to 48 hours before, and the full fee inside 48 hours. Illness and emergencies are usually valid reasons. Whether such a clause is enforceable depends on local law.
Can a freelance guide send a replacement?
Only if the contract allows it, and the operator should approve the person first. Viator's supplier agreement allows subcontracting delivery only with Viator's written consent and keeps the operator responsible, and the replacement needs the same language and any licence the tour requires.
Does a tour guide need insurance?
Viator requires operators to hold general liability and errors and omissions insurance and may ask for proof. A freelance guide's own professional liability insurance is common in associations: members of the Braunschweig guild have professional liability and financial loss cover through the German guides' association. Agree in writing whose policy covers the guide on your tours.
Do tour guides need a licence?
In some places. Paid guiding in Austria is a regulated trade with a state exam after at least 250 teaching hours. New York City requires a Sightseeing Guide license, with a 150-question exam. Check the rules of your city and of the sites you visit.
Is this template legal advice?
No. It is a free starting point written in plain English for no particular country. Have a lawyer or your chamber of commerce check it before you use it, and replace every placeholder in brackets.
See it with your own tours
Forward one booking email, a guide gets the offer on WhatsApp and answers in their own words. 30 days free, then €99 a month. No card.
Sources
- 1German Social Code IV (SGB IV), § 7 Beschäftigung, checked 7 Nov 2026
- 2SGB IV, § 7a Statusfeststellung, checked 7 Nov 2026
- 3SGB IV, § 25 Verjährung, checked 7 Nov 2026
- 4SGB IV, § 28e Zahlungspflicht, checked 7 Nov 2026
- 5WKO Austria Guides: Berufsbild Fremdenführer, checked 7 Nov 2026
- 6IRS: Independent contractor (self-employed) or employee? (reviewed 19 May 2026), checked 7 Nov 2026
- 7US Department of Labor: Misclassification of employees as independent contractors, checked 7 Nov 2026
- 8California DLSE: Independent contractor versus employee (June 2026), checked 7 Nov 2026
- 9GUIDOR, Dutch National Guides' Association: prices and terms 2027 (PDF, 26 May 2026), checked 7 Nov 2026
- 10Braunschweig Guild of Tourist Guides: General business terms (EN), checked 7 Nov 2026
- 11GetYourGuide Supplier Terms and Conditions (version 1 Oct 2026), read 5 Nov 2026
- 12GetYourGuide Supplier help: Performance Quality Standards (8 May 2026), read 5 Nov 2026
- 13GetYourGuide Supply: Introducing Guides (3 Nov 2025), read 31 Oct 2026
- 14Viator Supplier Agreement (terms from 1 Aug 2026), checked 7 Nov 2026
- 15Viator supplier help: Product Quality Standards, checked 7 Nov 2026
- 16Viator supplier help: Public liability insurance (17 Jul 2026), checked 7 Nov 2026
- 17NYC Business: Sightseeing Guide License, checked 7 Nov 2026
Features and prices are what each vendor published on the date read. Check the vendor before you decide.
Related
- Viator commission for tour operators
No published rate: how the net rate works, Accelerate up to 50%, the $29 product fee, payout dates, cancellations, the August 2026 terms and a €60 example.
- Tour guide availability calendar (free template)
For freelance guides: one sheet of free days for every company you guide for, a free template, and how to share it read-only.
- GetYourGuide commission for suppliers
The 20% to 30% rate, the 2% for twice-monthly payouts, the 25% fee when you cancel, payout dates, VAT and a worked example.
- Tour guide scheduling software compared
18 tools side by side: how each asks a guide, whether it asks the next guide on its own, and what it costs.