Guidesly
Guidesly operates a mobile-first two-sided marketplace connecting outdoor enthusiasts with verified guides for fishing, hunting, diving, skiing, kayaking, ATVing, and related activities across the US, monetizing via marketplace commissions, guide subscriptions, and AI-powered marketing tools.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersTopsfield, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Guidesly does
Guidesly, Inc. operates a two-sided mobile-first marketplace that connects outdoor recreation enthusiasts with verified guides for fishing, hunting, diving, skiing, kayaking, ATVing, white water rafting, and snowmobiling. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Buffalo, New York, the company is incorporated in Delaware and serves all 50 US states. The platform consists of a consumer-facing booking site and Guidesly Trips mobile app for discovery and instant booking, paired with a separate guide-facing product called Guidesly Pro that lets service providers manage listings, bookings, client communications, and business operations.
The core technology stack runs on AWS and combines a traditional marketplace transaction layer with a vertical AI product called Jack AI, launched in June 2025. Jack AI uses Amazon SageMaker AI and Bedrock to perform computer vision across 400+ fish species, extract structured trip metadata from raw trip data, and generate tone-matched marketing content for websites, social media, and email campaigns at a reported cost of $0.10–$0.50 per report. Supporting modules include a free Custom Website Builder (130+ guide sites created), Booking Protection insurance powered by Vertical Insure, and Guidesly Gift Cards. Guidesly monetizes through a percentage service fee on bookings (marketplace commission), Guidesly Pro and Guidesly Plus subscriptions for guides, gift card sales, and embedded insurance distribution, targeting outdoor enthusiasts on the demand side and small-business guide operators on the supply side.
Guidesly firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Guidesly
- Legal name
- Guidesly, Inc.
- Website
- https://guidesly.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Guidesly operates a mobile-first two-sided marketplace connecting outdoor enthusiasts with verified guides for fishing, hunting, diving, skiing, kayaking, ATVing, and related activities across the US, monetizing via marketplace commissions, guide subscriptions, and AI-powered marketing tools.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Guidesly industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Outdoor Recreation Marketplace
- NAICS
- Tour Operators (561520), Tour Operators (56152)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Fishing, Hunting And Trapping (900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Private Guided Tours & Personal Tour Guides (THAJALAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Wildlife & Nature Interpretation Guides (Birding, Photography, Naturalist) (THAAALAE), Winter & Mountain Guides (Ski, Snowshoe, Avalanche, Ice Climbing) (THAAALAF), Hiking, Trekking & Mountain Guiding (THAJABAA)
Keywords
Where Guidesly is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Topsfield
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Guidesly business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- Marketplace Commission: Guidesly charges service fees to Service Providers calculated as a percentage of the fees that Guidesly Guests agree to pay in a Booking. This is the primary revenue stream from facilitating transactions between guides and customers.
- Guide Services Subscription: Guidesly Pro and Guidesly Plus subscription services for guides to manage their businesses, access premium features, and enhance their visibility on the platform.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Gift cards for fishing charters and guides |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Service Provider Commission |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
Guidesly product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Guidesly operates a two-sided online marketplace that connects outdoor recreation enthusiasts with verified guides for fishing, hunting, diving, skiing, kayaking, ATVing, and other guided experiences, offering instant booking, real-time availability, secure payments, and trusted reviews via web and mobile. The platform also provides a guide-side SaaS offering (Guidesly Pro) for managing bookings and business operations, an AI-powered marketing automation tool (Jack AI) that generates trip reports from raw trip data, and free custom website building for guides.
Product overview
Guidesly operates as a platform-plus-modules architecture consisting of: (1) Guidesly Platform — the core B2C marketplace connecting outdoor adventurers with guides for fishing, hunting, diving, skiing, kayaking, ATVing, and other activities; (2) Guidesly Pro — the guide-facing mobile app for booking and client management; (3) Jack AI — AI-powered marketing automation tool for guides; (4) Booking Protection — insurance product for booking protection; (5) Custom Website Builder — free websites for guides; (6) Guidesly Gift Cards — digital gift card product; and (7) Guidesly Trips App — consumer mobile app for booking adventures. The platform leverages Vertical AI solutions combining computer vision for species detection, NLP for content generation, and process automation for guide marketing.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Jack AI: AI-powered marketing automation system for outdoor guides that transforms raw trip data into ready-to-publish content across websites, social media, and email campaigns.
Products and services
- Guidesly Platform (Marketplace) Online marketplace platform available via guidesly.com and mobile app that connects outdoor enthusiasts with verified guides for fishing, hunting, diving, skiing, kayaking, ATVing, and other guided experiences, featuring instant booking, real-time availability, secure payments, and trusted reviews covering all 50 US states.
- Guidesly Pro Mobile app and platform for outdoor guide service providers to manage bookings, client relationships, marketing, and grow their businesses; the first mobile app purpose-built to connect anglers with verified fishing guides.
- Jack AI AI-powered marketing automation system that transforms raw trip data from outdoor guides into ready-to-publish content for websites, social media, and email campaigns; uses computer vision for fish species detection across 400+ species and NLP for tone-matched trip report generation at an estimated $0.10–$0.50 per report.
- Guidesly Gift Cards Digital gift cards available in various denominations for booking fishing charters and guides across the country, marketed as gifts for anglers.
- Guidesly Trips App Consumer-facing mobile booking app for adventurers to find trips with local guides, discover destinations, and plan adventures; available on Google Play Store.
- Booking Protection Booking protection product powered by Vertical Insure that protects outdoor recreation guest bookings while reducing refund disputes for guides.
- Custom Website Builder Free custom-built websites for outdoor recreation guides to establish their online presence, with over 130 custom websites created for guides as of June 2022.
Quantifiable outcome
- Guides using Jack AI saw 9x revenue growth (from $3,000 to $27,000+ monthly average for top 5 users)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Guidesly
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Guidesly technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability7 records
Feature5 records
Guidesly partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- Vertical InsurecoreBooking Protection powered by Vertical Insure helps outdoor recreation guests protect bookings while reducing refund disputes for guides. Deep integration partnership for insurance/protection services.
- Sport Fishing ChampionshipflagshipOfficial sponsor of Sport Fishing Championship with 'SFC Experience powered by Guidesly' to support SFC events and experiences across North America. Premier event sponsorship for brand visibility.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreAWS is the cloud infrastructure provider for Guidesly's Jack AI system. Uses AWS Lambda, Step Functions, S3, RDS, SageMaker AI, and Amazon Bedrock for fish species detection, trip metadata extraction, and AI-generated content generation.
- Backbone MediaminorPublic relations agency partnership for media outreach and brand awareness. Backbone Media helps get more people on the water through PR efforts.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Guidesly competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Klook: Asia-led tours, activities, and attractions marketplace with global expansion. Comparable marketplace mechanics though stronger Asia-Pacific distribution; overlaps in outdoor and adventure bookings.
- Musement: Tours, activities, and attractions marketplace with strong European presence. Comparable marketplace for guided experiences though with different geographic mix than Guidesly's US-centric footprint.
- GetYourGuide: Global marketplace for tours, activities, and attractions including outdoor experiences. Comparable as a tours-and-activities marketplace with strong international presence and supplier software stack.
- Viator: Tripadvisor-owned marketplace for tours, activities, and attractions including outdoor guided experiences. Comparable marketplace model at much larger scale with established supplier tools and consumer brand.
- Airbnb Experiences: Broad marketplace for host-led experiences including outdoor activities. Overlaps with Guidesly in outdoor guide bookings but operates as a horizontal experiences platform with massive consumer distribution.
Direct peers
- Peek.com: Marketplace and software platform for booking tours, activities, and outdoor experiences. Closely comparable as a vertical-focused experiences platform combining consumer booking with operator SaaS tools.
- FishingBooker: Largest dedicated online marketplace for booking fishing charters and guides worldwide. Directly comparable as a fishing-specific guide marketplace with similar booking, review, and payment infrastructure.
- Rezdy: Booking and distribution software for tour operators and activity providers. Comparable as the guide-side SaaS layer that pairs with marketplace distribution, similar to Guidesly Pro plus marketplace role.
- FareHarbor: Booking software and distribution platform for tours, activities, and attractions operators. Comparable as the operator-facing SaaS backbone with channel manager connecting to OTAs, paralleling Guidesly Pro functionality.
- Checkfront: Online booking management software for tours, attractions, and outdoor activities. Comparable as operator-facing SaaS with channel manager and booking engine functionality analogous to Guidesly Pro.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Guidesly social profiles
Digital presenceGuidesly financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Guidesly leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Guidesly funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors14 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Guidesly M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Guidesly
What does Guidesly do?
Guidesly operates a two-sided online marketplace that connects outdoor recreation enthusiasts with verified guides for fishing, hunting, diving, skiing, kayaking, ATVing, and other guided experiences, offering instant booking, real-time availability, secure payments, and trusted reviews via web and mobile. The platform also provides a guide-side SaaS offering (Guidesly Pro) for managing bookings and business operations, an AI-powered marketing automation tool (Jack AI) that generates trip reports from raw trip data, and free custom website building for guides.
Is Guidesly a public or private company?
Guidesly is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Guidesly founded?
Guidesly was founded in 2020. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Guidesly based?
Guidesly is headquartered in Topsfield, United States, in the North America region.
How does Guidesly make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Marketplace Commission is the primary driver. The others are guide Services Subscription.
Who are Guidesly's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Klook, Musement, GetYourGuide, Viator and Airbnb Experiences. Direct peers are Peek.com, FishingBooker, Rezdy, FareHarbor and Checkfront.
Does Guidesly have an API?
No public API is recorded for Guidesly.
What industry is Guidesly in?
Guidesly's product category is Outdoor Recreation Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAJALAA, Private Guided Tours & Personal Tour Guides, with a secondary code of THAAALAE, Wildlife & Nature Interpretation Guides (Birding, Photography, Naturalist). Its NAICS code is 561520 and its SIC code is 7900.