![]() “People are now spending more money on experiences than things,” he says. Like Lyfx, Surfhouse seeks to plug guests into the local scene. “I think people will use the service,” says Nikki Harth, co-owner of Surfhouse, a hotel and guiding outfit in Encinitas, California. But given the ubiquity of Uber and the rise of Airbnb Experiences, the short-term-rental giant’s attempt to get into peer-to-peer activities, the market may finally be ready. Hamilton thinks his timing was off and travelers weren’t willing to reserve adventures without a bit of personal interaction first. They’d use us for research and then book directly with the guide.” “But we couldn’t get people to book through us. “It wasn’t an issue of getting people on the platform-we had plenty of guides and plenty of users,” he says. ![]() In 2015, James Hamilton launched GuideHire but couldn’t keep it afloat. Of course, similar platforms have come and gone. Climblife connects wandering dirtbags with would-be guides, Showaround lets international travelers book a variety of experiences led by locals, and Back40 links up venturesome vacationers with “hosts” throughout New England. ![]() Lyfx isn’t the only app trying to disrupt the guiding industry. (Silicon Valley slang for “life experience.”) The app launched in Utah, Colorado, and California in July, and aims to be the Uber or Airbnb of adventure, connecting travelers in need of beta with knowledgeable residents willing to show them around for a fee. “I needed a local to show me around, but I had no good way to connect with them,” says the Italy-based former advertising executive. The mountains that dominated the horizon were inviting, but access was a puzzle. Pedro McCardell was on a solo motorcycle trip to Patagonia when he realized that he needed help.
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