At a Buc-ee’s Gas Station in Fort Worth, an Asian looking guy toils 60 hours a week for 7 dollars an hour. Nothing extraordinary there; a lot of immigrants work for minimum wage at gas stations in the United States. But if you were to talk to this guy, you would be surprised to find that he has summited Mount Everest four times and has led 17 expeditions to peaks over 8,000 meters! What on earth is this guy doing in the monotonous landscape and oppressive temperature of Texas?
To answer that question, let us travel halfway around the world to the Nepal Himalayas. Below the towering peaks of Annapurna and along the busy Annapurna Base Camp route, a twenty-year-old on his Dashain holiday gleefully leads a group of Australians. He points at a magnolia flower and says, “Look, a white rhododendron!”. One of the trekkers is skeptical and pointing to the leafless magnolia tree asks, “Do rhododendrons shed leaves?”. Out comes a quick reply, “Oh yes, the white kind does.”
As a lot of trekking companies cut costs to stay in business, they have little incentive to pay more for a better guide. Hence guides who are great at what they do and can command a higher wage get sidelined in favor of kids on holiday.
Surely these are extreme examples, but the real situation comes pretty darn close. And, HoneyGuide is an attempt to reverse this situation.
Guides can receive online payments from trekkers.
Check out the Guide Listing!!
While a direct connection between guides and trekkers has been made possible by a lot of online platforms, a reliable payment system between the parties has been a major problem for a lot of guides looking to scale their business.
How will Guides be compensated, if trekkers cancel their trek at the last moment? How are trekkers to be sure that the guide will not just take off with the advance payment?
This is where HoneyGuide can really help Trekking Guides. We will not only make sure that you get visibility but also ensure a payment system agreeable to both the trekker and the guide.
Guides have a Professional Profile with Verified Reviews and Ratings.
Check out a Sample Profile of Man Bahadur Tamang.
The biggest problem for trekkers and trekking companies alike is to tell the good guides from shitty ones. As it stands now, it is all based on knowing somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody else.
With verified treks, training, achievements, and reviews, Booking a Guide through HoneyGuide is the fastest way to make sure you get a guide who knows the mountains extremely well. Even for those Guides that do not have too much information, you can be sure that they are a lot better than the average as we do extensive reference checks before allowing someone to have a profile at HoneyGuide.
Guides can make a lot more money.
This is perhaps the most important point.
Trekkers are looking to pay good money for experienced and reliable guides. If you think you are one of them, you shouldn’t have to bargain with someone else to get paid what you are worth. Specifically, with HoneyGuide, trekking guides can:
Choose your own Daily Wages
At HoneyGuide, you choose your own wages. Your Reviews and Wages are openly visible to the trekkers. The better the Reviews, the more you can charge for your services.
Run your own Trek
You can also run your own Trek through HoneyGuide. While you will be responsible for all matters related to your trek including client communication, you will also make all the money. HoneyGuide only charges a fixed commission. All the extra money that comes from a large group is yours to keep. 🙂 Further, if you need any help with logistics, HoneyGuide could help.
Don’t need to make money off other Service Providers
The best part, of course, is that now you don’t need to make money off free rooms or rescue operations. The more the actual service providers make, the better the services. Also, this will eventually help those at the bottom of the ladder like porters. More money guides and lodges make, the more they can give out to the porters.
Guides can focus more on the Experience of the Trekkers.
Check out the Sweet Gold Trek.
Since HoneyGuide can take care of logistics like lodges and fights, Guides are free to focus more on making sure that trekkers have the best experience possible during their trek. That means a better Trek and more Tips. 🙂
Since you can run your own treks, you can also craft unique treks and offbeat experiences based on your extensive experience. Want to run a Weed Trek in Tsum Valley? Or perhaps a Food Trek along the Annapurna? Imagination is the limit when it comes to HoneyGuide and Treks. Contact us if you have a crazy idea.
Guides can Train themselves.
Check out the “Trekking in Nepal” Mobile Apps. For Android. For iPhones.
HoneyGuide’s Trekking in Nepal mobile apps is widely used by trekkers, lodges owners, and guides alike to understand more about the Nepal Himalayas. Use the app to know more about local folklore, landscape, birds, animals, and flowers.
Don’t be the guide that points to a magnolia and says it is a rhododendron. Train yourself, Learn more, and Explain better. With HoneyGuide, we hope you will make enough money here in Nepal itself and never have to leave the beautiful Himalayas for scorching Texas.
Fill the Form Below if you wish to Join HoneyGuide. We will contact you within 2 business days.
Or Contact Dakshina at honeybird@honeyguideapps.com / +977-9843376717 if you have any questions.
