Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about tour scheduling, guide management, and how EasyPlanning helps tour operators and DMCs.
Tour Scheduling & Calendar
What is the best way to schedule tours and assign guides without spreadsheets?
Tour scheduling software replaces Excel sheets, WhatsApp groups, and email chains with a single intuitive calendar interface. EasyPlanning lets you create tours quickly, assign guides with automated matching, and handle cancellations — all from one place. Guides see their schedule instantly, availability is checked in real time, and you eliminate manual coordination entirely.
How do tour operators prevent double-booking tour guides?
Double bookings happen when guide availability is tracked manually across spreadsheets or chat messages. EasyPlanning checks each guide’s existing assignments in real time before confirming a new one. Conflicts are flagged automatically, so you never assign the same guide to two tours at the same time. A full audit trail records every scheduling action for complete transparency.
How do you handle last-minute guide cancellations for scheduled tours?
When a guide cancels, EasyPlanning flags the tour automatically and notifies the operator. Other qualified, available guides can then apply for the open spot through the approval system, or the operator can manually reassign. Automated notifications ensure fast turnaround so every tour stays covered.
Can I set up recurring or repeating tour schedules?
Yes. Most tour operators run the same tours on a weekly or daily basis. EasyPlanning supports quick tour creation with recurring schedules, so tours are automatically added to the calendar without manual entry. You can then adjust individual dates, guide assignments, or capacity as needed.
How does tour operation automation reduce administrative overhead?
Tour operation automation eliminates repetitive tasks like manually checking guide availability, sending confirmation emails, and updating spreadsheets. EasyPlanning automates guide matching and notifications, provides an approval system that combines manual and auto-assignment options, and maintains a full audit trail — reducing administrative overhead significantly for small to large tour operators.
Guide Management & Assignment
How do I manage a large pool of freelance tour guides?
Managing freelance guides means tracking availability, languages, certifications, and past assignments across dozens or hundreds of people. EasyPlanning consolidates this into guide profiles with skills and language filters, a self-service portal for setting availability, and automated matching that suggests the right guide for each tour. Operators see everything in one place instead of juggling spreadsheets and WhatsApp.
How can tour guides set their own availability for scheduling?
Guides log into their own EasyPlanning dashboard and mark the dates and times they’re available or unavailable. When an operator schedules a tour, only guides who are available and qualified are shown as options. This self-service approach eliminates the need to call or message each guide individually, improving the guide-client matching experience.
How do you match tour guides to tours by language or expertise?
Each guide profile in EasyPlanning includes spoken languages, certifications, and areas of expertise. When assigning a guide, operators can filter by these criteria to find the right match. EasyPlanning’s automated matching can also suggest the best-fit guide based on tour requirements. This is critical for multi-language tour operators and DMCs serving international visitors.
What is the difference between manual and auto-assignment for tour guides?
EasyPlanning offers both options through its approval system. With manual assignment, the operator picks a guide from the list of available, qualified candidates. With auto-assignment, the system automatically matches and assigns the best-fit guide based on availability, skills, and language requirements. Most operators use a combination of both depending on the tour.
How do I track tour guide hours and create invoices?
EasyPlanning calculates guide hours automatically based on tour duration and assignments. The reports section shows hours per guide per month, guide distribution across tours, and guide costs — making it straightforward to create invoices and track workload distribution across your freelancer pool.
For Tour Operators & DMCs
What software do tour operators and travel agencies use to manage guides?
Tour operators and DMCs typically rely on Excel sheets, WhatsApp groups, or generic calendar tools — but these don’t scale. Purpose-built tour scheduling software like EasyPlanning is a web-based SaaS platform that centralizes tour scheduling, guide assignment, and cancellation handling into a single calendar interface. It provides guide profiles, automated matching, notifications, reporting, and a full audit trail.
What is the difference between a tour template and a scheduled tour?
A tour template defines the tour itself — its name, duration, required languages, meeting point, and how many guides are needed. A scheduled tour is a specific instance of that template on a particular date and time with assigned guides. Think of templates as the blueprint and scheduled tours as the actual events on your calendar.
How do DMCs manage guide scheduling across multiple tour types and languages?
DMCs often run dozens of different tour types with different language and skill requirements. EasyPlanning lets you create separate tour templates for each type, each with its own guide requirements and language filters. The shared calendar shows all tours across all types, making it easy to spot gaps, avoid conflicts, and optimize resource utilization.
Can I see reports on tour fill rates, cancellations, and guide performance?
Yes. EasyPlanning includes built-in reports for fill rate (percentage of guide seats filled), cancellation rate, guide distribution across tours, guide hours for invoicing, guide costs, and top-performing tours. These insights help operators optimize scheduling, reduce unfilled tours, and improve operational efficiency.
Is there an audit trail for tour scheduling and guide assignments?
Yes. EasyPlanning maintains a full audit trail for all scheduling actions — tour creation, guide assignments, cancellations, reassignments, and approval decisions. This provides complete transparency and accountability, which is especially important for larger tour operators and DMCs managing many guides.
Integrations
Does EasyPlanning integrate with Bokun, FareHarbor, or Rezdy?
EasyPlanning is built to sit alongside reservation systems like Bokun, FareHarbor, and Rezdy, not replace them. Tours and bookings live in your reservation system; EasyPlanning handles the guide-scheduling layer that those tools leave to spreadsheets. A direct two-way integration with the major booking platforms is on the public roadmap — there is no live booking-system sync today. If you need a specific integration sooner, contact support@easyplanning.io and we will share the current integration plan.
Can I add tour assignments to my calendar?
Every assignment email EasyPlanning sends includes a single-event calendar invite (.ics file) the guide can add to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or Outlook with one tap. This adds the specific tour as an event in their calendar. Subscribable calendar feeds (a single URL that keeps a guide’s whole schedule synced as new assignments are added) are on the roadmap and not live today. Operators who need a full-roster calendar feed should contact support so we can prioritize the ask.
Does EasyPlanning offer an API or AI-agent integration?
Yes. EasyPlanning has a public MCP server at api.easyplanning.io/mcp — AI agents like Jace AI and Claude Desktop can read schedules, list guides, and create or update assignments through it. Setup instructions are at the MCP docs page at easyplanning.io/docs/mcp. The MCP server (and any direct API consumer) authenticates with company-scoped API keys you can issue from in-app at the API keys page (easyplanning.io/api-keys). Outbound webhooks and Zapier are on the roadmap; the MCP server covers most agent-driven automation use cases today.
What notifications do guides receive when an assignment is offered or changed?
Today EasyPlanning sends email notifications for new assignments, accepted or declined assignments, schedule changes, and last-minute reassignments. The new-assignment email includes a single-event calendar invite (.ics) the guide can save to their calendar with one tap. Each guide controls their own notification preferences from their portal. Slack, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, and SMS notifications are on the roadmap and not live today.
Security & Compliance
What sign-in options does EasyPlanning support?
Operators and guides can sign in with email and password or Google sign-in. Each account is scoped to a single company and is issued role-appropriate permissions (operations, guide). Single Sign-On via SAML 2.0 or OIDC is on the roadmap for the Enterprise plan and is not live today. Customers with a near-term SSO requirement should contact support@easyplanning.io before signing — we will share the SSO timeline and any interim SSO-style options on the Enterprise plan.
What records does EasyPlanning keep of schedule changes?
Every assignment in EasyPlanning has a current state visible to the operator and the guide it is assigned to: who is on the tour, when it was last updated, and the assignment status (offered, accepted, declined, cancelled, completed). Cancellation and reassignment events generate notification emails that act as a written record. A dedicated administrator-facing audit log of all changes (with before/after values, exported on demand) is on the roadmap. Customers with an external-audit requirement that needs a formal log feature should contact support.
Where can I find EasyPlanning’s data-handling commitments?
EasyPlanning’s full data-handling, retention, and processing commitments are documented in the Privacy Policy at easyplanning.io/privacy. The policy covers what data EasyPlanning collects, how long it is kept, where it is processed, who has access, and how customers can request export or deletion. For data-processing addenda (DPAs) or specific compliance questions (vendor security questionnaires, sub-processor lists, EU residency), email support@easyplanning.io — these are handled on a per-customer basis today rather than published on the marketing site.
About EasyPlanning
What is EasyPlanning?
EasyPlanning is a web-based SaaS platform designed for tour operators and travel agencies to streamline guide scheduling and tour management. It consolidates tour scheduling, guide assignment, and cancellation handling into a single intuitive calendar interface. Key features include guide profiles with skills and language filters, automated matching and notifications, quick tour creation, and an approval system combining manual and auto-assignment. It replaces Excel sheets, WhatsApp, and email — reducing administrative overhead and optimizing resource utilization.
Who is EasyPlanning for?
EasyPlanning targets small to large tour operators, travel agencies, and destination management companies (DMCs) who want to reduce manual work, manage guides more effectively, and provide reliable, on-time tours. Whether you manage 5 or 500+ freelance guides, the platform scales with your team.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. All plans include a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. You can set up your tours, invite your guides, and test the full platform before committing to a paid plan.
Do I need to install anything to use EasyPlanning?
No. EasyPlanning is a web-based application that works in any modern browser on desktop, tablet, or mobile. There is nothing to download or install — just sign up and start scheduling.
Can my freelance guides also log in and use the platform?
Yes. Each guide gets their own account where they can view upcoming tours, set availability, and apply for open tours through the self-service portal. Operators control permissions and what guides can see and do.
Onboarding & Migration
How do I bring an existing schedule from Excel or Google Sheets into EasyPlanning?
Most operators bring an existing schedule across in two steps: (1) define the tour catalog and invite guides in EasyPlanning, and (2) recreate the next 1–2 weeks of assignments. Spreadsheet import for historical schedules is on the roadmap; until it is live, the fastest path is to start fresh from "today" rather than back-fill. Teams with messy historical data typically book a free 30-minute onboarding call. Email support@easyplanning.io to schedule one — onboarding rebuilds a Sheet-based workflow in EasyPlanning faster than self-serve does.
How long does setup take for a typical tour operator?
For a small operator (under 10 guides, single city), setup from sign-up to first published schedule takes about 30 minutes: invite guides, import or define your tour catalog, and assign your first week. For a mid-sized DMC (10–100 guides, multiple cities or product lines), expect 2–4 hours spread across one or two sessions: roles and permissions, guide skill tags, language coverage, and policies for declines and overtime. Enterprise customers (500+ freelancers) get a dedicated onboarding manager and typically reach steady state in 2–3 weeks.
How do I invite my guides, and what do they need to do?
From the operator app, add guides individually by email. Each guide receives a one-click invitation link to set a password (or sign in with Google) and complete a short profile: languages spoken, certifications, work-hour preferences, availability, and contact details. No app install is required — the guide portal at easyplanning.io/guide is a mobile-friendly web app. Guides who never accept the invite stay in a "pending" state.
Pricing & Plans
How much does tour guide scheduling software cost?
EasyPlanning offers plans starting with a free Starter tier for small teams (up to 30 guides). Paid plans scale based on the number of freelance guides you manage. All plans include the core scheduling calendar, guide management, automated matching, audit trail, and reporting. Visit our pricing page for current rates.
Can I switch plans or cancel at any time?
Yes. You can upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time. Changes take effect immediately with prorated charges. There are no long-term contracts — cancel whenever you need to.
Billing
Can I change plans mid-cycle?
Yes. Upgrades take effect immediately and are pro-rated for the remainder of the current billing period. Downgrades take effect at the end of the current billing period to avoid mid-cycle disruption to active schedules. Plan options and what is included on each tier are on the pricing page at easyplanning.io/pricing. To change plans, go to Settings → Billing or contact support@easyplanning.io.
What happens if I exceed the freelancer count on my plan?
EasyPlanning does not block schedule publishing or cut off access if you go over the freelancer count for your plan. Instead, the next invoice surfaces an overage line item (or a recommended plan upgrade) so you can choose how to handle it. Soft limits give operations teams predictable behavior during seasonal peaks. If you regularly run above a plan tier’s count, the upgrade typically pays for itself versus the overage rate — see easyplanning.io/pricing for current tier limits.
Self-Service for Guides
What does a guide see when they log in?
Guides see only what concerns them: their assignments for today, the upcoming week, and a calendar view they can scroll forward; their personal availability calendar where they can mark days off, preferred days, or back-up days; open tour applications they are eligible for if their operator runs the marketplace flow; their profile (languages, certifications, contact details); and a notifications inbox. Guides do not see the full operator schedule, other guides’ assignments, or any customer or booking data. Permissions are enforced server-side, not by hiding UI.
How do guides set their availability and accept or decline tours?
Each guide has a personal availability calendar where they mark days as available, unavailable, or "preferred". Operators see an aggregated availability view when assigning tours and can either auto-allocate to the best-fit available guide or send a request that the guide must accept. When a request is sent, the guide receives an email and (if connected) a push notification; they accept or decline from any device with one click. Declines free the slot and trigger the next-best assignment automatically. Decline patterns roll up into the audit log so operators can track reliability over time.
Still have questions?