Made to Hike is Europe's first guide-centric marketplace that connects certified IFMGA and IML mountain guides with adventure seekers. We prioritize authentic experiences, verified credentials, and fair compensation for professional guides across the Alps, Dolomites, Pyrenees, and Scottish Highlands.
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Let me shortly introduce myself. I'm a passionate hiker who loves to spent time in the mountains. Currently I am a certified Mountain Leader (ML) in the UK & Ireland and training to become a IML in 2027. My favorite places for hiking are Scotland, Dolomites and the Pyrenees. But I've been trekking across the world form Guatemala, Finland, Norway to Iceland, New Zealand, and Peru. Somewhere along the way, I realized we needed a better way to connect guides with adventurers - one built around fair pricing (guide first), genuine community, and responsible mountain tourism.
So I'm building MadeToHike.com - think Airbnb, but specifically for certified mountain guides. A place where guides can focus on what they do best (being in the mountains), while we handle the marketing and bookings.
We want to offer fair economics. Where guides keep 95% of the revenue. Most of the current platforms take 20 or more % away from where the value is created. Beyond fair economics we'll offer:
- Marketing handled for you - Professional booking platform with advertising across Google, Facebook, and Instagram
- Smart waiver management - Automated waiver collection with real-time tracking, multi-party support for group bookings, insurance verification, medical history collection, and participant tracking
- Automated packing lists - Smart packing lists tailored to your tour type, automatically sent to participants
- Less admin, more guiding - Complete dashboard to manage bookings, track revenue, and monitor waiver status in one place
- Community that cares - Only certified guides (like IFMGA, UIMLA and local certifications) who value authentic, responsible mountain experiences
We're looking for 50 founding guides to test the platform. Are you a certified guide or do you know someone who would like to help us test the platform?
We are looking for certified guides (testers) from European mountain regions and beyond. Whether you guide in the Alps, Highlands, Pyrenees, Carpathians, or mountain ranges around the globe, we want to hear from you. This is about building something properly, with input from people who understand what matters in the mountains.
👉 Visit our guide invite page to learn more and get started: www.madetohike.com
The signup is straightforward - create your profile, list your tours, and start testing. First 50 guides lock in the founder benefits.
This is built by someone who guides and hikes regularly, so development happens between as we are on the go. But that means it's being built by someone who understands what guides actually need - less admin, more mountains, and fair compensation for your expertise.
Questions? Reach out directly. Always happy to talk with fellow mountain enthusiasts.
Hi Michel,
Thanks for joining us and sharing Made To Hike with the Travel Massive community!
How do people currently find guides for hiking? Is it word of mouth, or via other methods such as Facebook groups?
I'm curious about your decision to only take 5% for marketing. If other platforms are taking 20% or more, then they have more revenue for paid advertising, and can outbid your platform. So how will you be able to "out market" the competitors with less marketing budget?
Hi Ian,
First of all, thanks a lot for your reply and questions! That is much appreciated.
Currently there is a wide variety of finding a local (certified) guide. Local tourism associations, travel agencies play a huge roll. Word of mouth is very important. But we also see more and more unsafe situations where people go into the mountains without a guide or appropriate knowledge.
As a guide I wanted to see a platform that helps me be more in the mountains without taking a +20% or more cut of my base price. We ask a small fee (5%) from the Guide and add a service fee (10%) on top of the base price for the Hiker/Booker.
Hence we’ll be able to market properly and community building / word of mouth / referral is rewarded properly through the platform as well.
Happy to hear if you see other opportunities as well.
Cheers and happy hiking!
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Thanks :)
VERY cool idea. Congrats and good luck!
Thanks a lot! If you know of any guides who like to test, let me know :)
I mean, I know primarily of North America associations that are chock full o' guides, if that's of interest to you? I'd try reaching out to America Outdoors, AMGA, perhaps The American Alpine Club (and Alpine Club of Canada), etc. etc.
My personal focus is on Europe right now, due to my personal network. But we are open to any certified guide from around the world. AMGA is on my list as well to approach. So, yes that would be of interest indeed :)