Host, Guide or Photograph on Weekends: 7 Sites That Pay Locals

Intro

Host, guide or photograph on weekends: seven sites pay locals, and here is how to join each. Number one pays hosts the full price they set, so it comes last. Another takes no commission on its free plan.

7. Snappr can assign you photo shoots in your area at times that suit you

Number seven: Snappr can assign you photo shoots in your area at times that suit you, then pays after you deliver the edits. Shoots range from portraits and events to products, food, families and parties. It says it handles the operations and marketing, so you can focus on taking photos. Its terms say pay goes out bi-monthly to an online payment service, minus Snappr's fee.

Its page lists the places it is recruiting in today, so check yours. It wants professionals with years of paid work and their own professional camera, flash and lenses. For twelve months after it introduces you to a customer, all payments with that customer go through Snappr. It can withhold pay for a shoot the customer reports as not completed properly.

Permits, licenses and taxes on this income are yours to handle, under the laws that apply to you. To start, you apply on its join page as a freelancer. Its terms also ask you to consent to a background check before you take shoots. If this one helps, subscribe: next comes a site where travelers pay in advance for a meal in your home.

6. On Traveling Spoon

Number six: on Traveling Spoon, you set your pay to cook for travelers, who pay in advance. You host travelers in your home for a home-cooked meal or a private cooking class, with no other paying guests. Its terms say travelers pay your price plus its markup, and it deducts the markup and any taxes and fees before paying you. Its home page lists the destinations where it offers cooking classes, so check yours.

You must be eighteen or older, and it asks you to answer booking requests within twenty-four hours. It asks for fresh homemade food and purified bottled water with sealed caps. Its host help page and its terms describe payout timing differently, so check the current rule. Its terms say it can deactivate a profile after three negative reviews.

If travelers cancel a direct booking within forty-eight hours of the experience, you are paid in full. Tax reporting is yours to work out, under your local rules. Joining takes four steps: an online form, a video interview, a visit with a tasting, then your payment details. Number five lets you claim shoots that already have a paying traveler.

5. Smiler shows the payout upfront on each shoot you claim

Number five: Smiler shows the payout upfront on each shoot you claim, and tips are all yours. The travelers have already booked and paid when a shoot pops up in your app. You pick the slots, mornings, golden hours or weekends, and there is no quota. You deliver edited photos within forty-eight hours through the app.

Its join page says payouts go out weekly, and its terms describe a monthly invoice, so check the current rule. By our count, on a fifty-dollar photo upsell, its 20% fee plus 2% processing leaves you thirty-nine. Bookings come from its own site and, it says, the world's biggest travel platforms. It is recruiting in a few cities now, and says photographers from other cities can apply as it expands.

You need whatever licenses, tax registration and insurance your local law asks for. Refunds and chargebacks come back out of your fee. Applying is free and takes about three minutes with your portfolio. It says its team usually reviews within a week.

Number four lets you price every tour yourself.

4. ToursByLocals lets you set your own schedule and the price of every tour

Number four: ToursByLocals lets you set your own schedule and the price of every tour. You design private tours on foot, by public transport or with a vehicle, for travelers who book online. It keeps a commission, a percentage set when your guide account opens, and pays you weekly after each tour. It can change that percentage with at least thirty days' notice.

Your price must cover every cost of the tour, including any tips you expect. It welcomes long-time tourism professionals and enthusiastic locals with no previous experience. You must be eighteen or older, or a registered business. The application asks for a pitch of at least fifty words on why a traveler should choose you.

Depending on the country, you may need to register, get a permit or obtain a license first. VAT or similar taxes are yours to report and pay. It says its team handles payments in several currencies, under what it calls a guide-friendly cancellation policy. You apply on its become-a-guide page, confirm the verification email, and its team contacts you about the next step.

Four down, and so far each one collects the guest's payment for you. Seven more weekend ideas are in our earlier video, linked on screen. Number three runs on tips.

3. GuruWalk takes no commission on its free plan

Number three: GuruWalk takes no commission on its free plan, and each walker decides what to give at the end. Free tours can last from one to four hours, and you set the itinerary, schedule and languages. There is no booking fee for travelers, and the free plan has no upfront cost. The free plan allows one tour, with up to five travelers per event and two events a day.

It also includes twenty free bookings a month. Past twenty, you pay only for the extra bookings at the end of the month. It says you can be your own boss in any city of the world. Still, a tour for a destination already covered can be rejected.

A tour can also be rejected without a license where the law asks for one. It reminds guides to follow the law in their own country. You sign up, press the guide button on your profile and publish your tour, which is reviewed in up to twenty days. Number two can pay out every day.

2. Withlocals deducts a thirty-two percent service fee from each booking

Number two: Withlocals deducts a 32% service fee from each booking, and you keep the rest. By our count, on a hundred-dollar tour, that fee leaves you sixty-eight. Payouts go to your bank through a payment partner, daily unless you pick another schedule. You host private food, history or art tours, or lead its tested formats with your own stories.

You need at least two years in your city, confident English and some reviews from past guests. It asks for at least eight hours a week, at times you choose. It recruits only in the cities on its live list, so check yours. A license is not needed to be approved, but local licensing rules are yours to follow.

Its terms say a no-show, or deviations that leave a guest very dissatisfied, mean a refund and no payment for you. Tax rules are yours to check where you live. You take its five-minute eligibility check, set up your profile, verify your ID and join a short onboarding. In one breath, six so far: assigned shoots, a markup, upfront payouts, your own tour prices, tips and a set percentage fee.

How much of the price you set do you think number one pays you? Number one has the answer.

1. Eatwith pays hosts the full price they set

Number one: Eatwith pays hosts the full price they set, and the guest pays a 30% service fee on top. Its own example: a twenty-dollar price means the guest pays twenty-six, and you get the twenty. You can host dinner parties, cooking classes, food tours, wine tastings or pop-ups, as long as each takes place in one day. Payment arrives two business days after your event, through a payment partner.

It says its hosts range from home cooks to trained chefs. Starting has no fixed cost, and it suggests pricing your first events on the lower end. Some experiences may need a license, so it tells hosts to check local rules with a legal advisor. It recommends a food safety certificate for every host, and requires one on its partner sites.

You open its host application page, create an account and send a profile with a draft experience and photos. Its team reviews applications within fourteen business days at most, and it suggests a demo event for good photos. Once approved, you finish your experience page, because guests book based on their impression of it. And that completes the seven.

So, seven sites: assigned photo shoots, meals with a markup, upfront payouts, and tours at your own prices. Then tips with no commission, a 32% fee, and number one, which pays hosts the full price they set. Most check your skills, licenses or city before your first booking. You can open one official page, linked below, and read its host terms today.

Which would you try on a weekend: hosting, guiding or photography? Tell us in the comments. Rules differ by site and where you live, and this is information only, not financial advice. This is Wealth Filings.

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