So, I believe that one of the best things about being a local guide is getting to know new people, having fun, and of course, being able to get some profit while you do what you love, but the funny thing is that all these came together by surprise, and now I’m loving it.
When I started as a local guide I never thought how my life was about to change, especially because I started doing as a hobby and now is part of my life, and it’s funny how so many digital assets came together without noticing. Let me get you up to speed.
First I was using Google’s Local Guide just to share some reviews of the best places (as rewards to the great work they were doing) and the worst ones too (as a warning for other users to avoid suffering as I did) I was getting into. Then my parents, that had an apartment on the beach (Tucacas, Falcon) asked me to take care of it because they didn’t have the time to do so, so after a while, I decide to add it to Airbnb, with really low expectations to be honest.
And so it began, the first guests started to arrive and with them all the new questions:
- What are the best beaches around here?
- Is there any supermarket nearby?
- What restaurants would you recommend?
In the beginning, it was a repetitive process to answer the same questions over and over, but then Google came along with the best solutions of all, just create local lists for each kind of requirement and share the links. If the guest found a new spot I asked them to share their experience with me so I can share it with future guests.
After a while, new guests started asking if there where any scuba diving schools nearby, and guess what, I’m a Scuba Instructor, but after I got an office job I was basically out of the water for good, but I gave it a try a couple of weekends when guests requested it, and now it’s the best part of all the experience, and I’m the one offering the opportunity to live the adventure to all the new guests.
So, you might ask What is the most interesting thing you’ve done as a Local Guide? the short and quick answer is to start enjoying life while I work, meeting new people and showing them around while we improve the great and bad places with honest reviews for future guests.
I just wanted to share this great experience and how, without knowing it, all these nice assets came together to change my life.
