Our GetYourGuide Experience: A Cautionary Tale
Like many family businesses without big ad budgets, we've relied on platforms like GetYourGuide to promote our Prague tours and reach more travelers. Unfortunately, our product was suddenly deactivated without prior warning or a clear appeal process, wiping out over 1,000 glowing reviews from happy customers. Here's our story—shared as a heads-up for fellow suppliers and future clients.
Who is GetYourGuide?
GetYourGuide is a Berlin-based travel platform founded in 2009 by ETH Zurich alumni Johannes Reck, Tao Tao, Martin Sieber, and Tobias Rein. It began as a student project after a Beijing trip highlighted the pain of booking local tours. Today, it connects millions of users to 150,000+ experiences across 18,000+ cities, from skip-the-line tickets to guided adventures. With 50,000+ supply partners and 10 million+ tickets sold in Q3 2025 alone, it's valued at billions, fueled by $600M+ in funding (including SoftBank) and heavy TV/social ad spends.
While convenient for travelers, we've found it challenging for small suppliers like us.
Getting Listed: "You Can't Sit With Us"
Like TripAdvisor or Airbnb, GetYourGuide acts as a marketplace—suppliers list tours, they take a commission, and they don't run experiences themselves. They're notoriously selective, often rejecting products for unclear reasons, even if you believe they're unique. Understandably, Get Your Guide refuses to accept experiences if they are too similar to those in their catalog, but this rule does not apply to everyone.
Despite their "one-of-a-kind" pitch, you can find almost identical products, such as the entrance ticket to the Prague Castle, offered by the official ticket office as well as independent companies. Even if you can provide a convincing argument about the value of your offer and why it differs from everyone else, ultimately, Get Your Guide holds the final say. If your product doesn't fit their vibe (for whatever reason), you're out—like high school clique rules.
Hidden Pitfalls Once You're In
If you make it through the selection process, watch for these common gripes from suppliers:
Automated support: No supplier phone line—only email or their occasional outbound calls (usually about customer issues). Responses feel robotic. That can cause a lot of frustration when you are dealing with an urgent issue.
Unwanted refunds: Despite Get Your Guide’s clear refund policy, there were cases where attendees still got reimbursed after they joined the tour or cancelled at the spot. When we appealed this decision to customer support, we were not given a clear explanation of why the refund was issued to customers who did not qualify for it.
Payment delays: Not our issue, but widespread complaints online suggest payouts can allegedly lag or get shorted—plan your cash flow accordingly.
Sudden deactivations: In our view, this can happen even with strong performance, no violations, and full terms compliance. Their policies give them broad discretion.
Our Story: Deactivated Despite 4.9 Stars
We've been on GetYourGuide for years, building a stellar 4.9/5 rating across 1,000+ reviews. Then, out of nowhere, our tours vanished. After a few emails, they cited a "broader strategic curation" with no prior notice or appeal option, saying it is their final decision to deactivate our tour.
It took us a very long time to get established on the platform and start receiving bookings, so this sudden cut-off hit us like a truck. We still have a couple of tours active on the platform and old bookings for a deactivated tour that GetYourGuide asked us to honor. Now we know that all of our work can just disappear in the snap of a GetYourGuide staffer’s finger, so it is only natural, in our opinion, to feel uncertain.
We are not discouraging anyone from registering on GetYourGuide — it’s a great work opportunity while it lasts. But how long will it last? That is the real question.
Lessons for Suppliers and Travelers
In our experience, suppliers have little recourse to challenge decisions. As a small Prague operator, losing that visibility (and paying platform fees) hurt—especially with no loyalty shown, even after years of solid performance. Online, other ex-suppliers report similar unpleasant surprises. To us, using Get Your Guide was like a gamble: great while it lasts, risky long-term. Diversify platforms—don't bet everything on one. Document everything (reviews, emails), and keep cash reserves for delays. Travelers: Check supplier independence; platforms can pull listings anytime.
Frequently Asked Questions: GetYourGuide for Suppliers
Can GetYourGuide remove listings anytime?
Yes, per their Supplier Terms, they can temporarily remove Product Offers, stop bookings, or deactivate accounts immediately for issues like quality, fraud, or "severe defects," or with 30 days' notice. In our case, our 4.9-star Prague tours were gone, citing "broader strategic curation" after no timely warning. We were informed after the fact.
Do suppliers get prior warning before deactivation?
Not always. Terms allow instant action for risks or chargebacks. We had zero heads-up despite 1,000+ reviews.
Is there an appeal process?
Limited—email support, but their decisions are most probably final. Our vague response came after persistence.
Why reject strong-performing tours?
They cite "optimization" or standards, but duplicates (e.g., Prague Castle tours) persist. Our metrics were top-tier.
Are refunds issued post-attendance?
Yes, support can approve despite proof of service. Happened to us.
Payment delays a risk?
Common complaint: terms permit withholding. Plan reserves.
WRITTEN BY VALERY
Licensed Prague guide and co-creator of Real Prague Guides (50K+ YouTube subscribers). My company, 100 Spires City Tours, leads some of the highest-rated tours in Prague.
📷 Instagram: @realpragueguides
📺 YouTube: Real Prague Guides
🎫 Book a tour: tours-prague.eu
Disclaimer: This article reflects the personal opinions of the author and is not intended to discourage visitors to Prague from businesses mentioned above.