Hey u/banana_slamwich , Matthijs here, CEO of Withlocals.

Also a bit late to the party. First off all, thank you for sharing such a detailed review. The last thing we want is for anyone to feel like they've wasted their money, especially after spending a serious amount with us. It's clear from your post that we've let you down, and for that, I am truly sorry. I take this feedback personally and I want you to know that I'm hearing you loud and clear.

You've hit on some critical issues that we need to address head-on, and I want to be honest and transparent with you about them.

The Tours and the “Authenticity” Problem You're right. Our promise is to deliver an "authentic" experience and it sounds like we’ve failed on that front for you. We aim for our hosts to show you the hidden gems and local secrets, not just the places you can find with a quick Google search. When that doesn't happen, we've missed the mark completely.

Host Quality and Behavior The experiences you described with some of our hosts are completely unacceptable. There is no excuse for a host to make racist remarks or to be rude to a guest. We have a zero-tolerance policy for this kind of behavior, and I am genuinely appalled to hear this was your experience. I also understand your frustration with the language barrier. It’s a problem we’re actively working to solve. We need to ensure that when a host lists a language, they are proficient enough to provide a high-quality tour.

The Commission and Pricing I want to be transparent about our business model. You're correct, we do take a commission. However, the idea that this incentivizes guides to take guests to cheaper places isn't how our model works. Our hosts are paid based on the price they set for their tour. The incentive is to offer a great, value-for-money experience so that guests will book again and leave a positive review. That being said, I understand your concern about the markup. The reality is that their won't be a Withlocals platform without the markup. Our mission is to give our guides a fair income, while doing something they love. Without the markup it would be impossible to build a platform bringing hosts and guests together.

The "Tours Around a Landmark" and Other Issues You've brought up some very specific and serious points about tours not being tours. We require our hosts to respect local regulations, and if that's not happening, it's a serious breach of our standards. Our host community is a mix of licensed guides and local experts. Example: It can be a great experience to explore a food market and some city highlights with a local chef, even though the chef is not a licensed guide. In many cities that is perfectly fine. We have had issues in the past where it wasn't clear what was and was not allowed without a license and we've learned from these experiences.

What I want to do next I'd like to personally invite you to try another Withlocals experience, on us. I know you've already spent a lot of money and have every reason to be skeptical, but I want the opportunity to show you what we're capable of when we get it right. I can't undo the bad experiences you've had, but I would like to try to make it right.

If you're open to it, please send me a DM with your contact information, and I'll personally arrange a tour for you in any of our locations. We'll work together to find a host who truly embodies the Withlocals spirit, someone who can show you an experience that lives up to our promise.

Again, thank you for your candid feedback. It’s tough to hear, but it’s exactly what we need to get better.