For a private tour, agree the date, group size, itinerary and total before asking for a booking deposit. Show how much the guest pays now, what remains due and when the reservation becomes confirmed. A custom-tour request is an inquiry; it should not silently consume a confirmed booking slot or look like a completed reservation.
This guide is for independent guides handling tailored walks and private experiences through their own page, email or WhatsApp. The templates below are original examples to adapt to your actual service and policies.
What should a private-tour request collect?
Ask for enough information to check the work before requesting payment. Keep the initial form short; a guest should not need to design the complete itinerary for you.
- Preferred date and an alternative, with the destination's local time.
- Number of adults and children, plus the children's ages where relevant to the offer.
- Preferred language, tour length and main interests.
- Meeting area or pickup request.
- Practical access requirements the guest wants you to consider.
- Contact email and optional phone number for tour arrangements.
Ask about a budget when it meaningfully affects the scope. Avoid requesting passport details or unrelated sensitive information for an ordinary city walk. Explain whether you are holding the date while preparing a proposal and how long that hold lasts.
Send a quote the guest can accept without guessing
Your proposal should connect the requested date and time to one defined service. Include the route outline, duration, group limit, meeting arrangement, inclusions, exclusions, total price, deposit and balance deadline. Put cancellation, rescheduling and weather terms where the guest can read them before paying.
Real businesses use different arrangements. TourJapan describes an inquiry, consultation, quote and 30% deposit sequence. Heritage Toronto's 2026 private-tour information specifies a 50% deposit. These are their policies, not evidence of a universal correct percentage.
Choose an amount that reflects your reserved time, committed costs and customer expectations. The applicable rules and fairness of cancellation terms depend on your circumstances; calling a payment “non-refundable” does not by itself settle every cancellation or refund question.
Example: a €320 private tour with a 25% deposit
Suppose you agree a three-hour private walk for four guests at €320 total. The agreed deposit is 25%, with the rest due seven days before departure. This is a hypothetical schedule, not a PayRequest default.
| Item | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Full tour price | Agreed group total | €320 |
| Deposit due now | €320 × 25% | €80 |
| Remaining balance | €320 − €80 | €240 |
| Total guest payments | €80 + €240 | €320 |
The deposit is a partial payment for the service. It is different from a security deposit, which can temporarily reserve funds on a card. For tour reservations, use the booking-payment workflow rather than describing a card authorization as money already paid.
If a guest books inside your seven-day balance window, decide whether full payment is required immediately and show that before checkout. If the plan changes to €360 after the deposit, obtain agreement to the change: €80 paid then leaves €280, not the original €240. Do not rewrite the original agreement silently.
Keep inquiry, payment and confirmation separate
Use clear states in your workflow: request received, proposal sent, awaiting required payment, confirmed, balance due, and completed or cancelled. Those are operational stages, not a promise that every label appears verbatim in a product interface.
PayRequest bookings supports fixed and percentage deposits, shows the service total and balance, and confirms the booking after the required payment succeeds. For a tailored request, approve the offer first and direct the guest to the agreed payable booking. Keep the booking connected to the accepted scope.
Before offering a time, check your other tours and external commitments too. Do not treat an unverified third-party ticket, payment screenshot or “I'll pay later” message as a confirmed resource. If you collect the balance separately, reference the same booking and check successful receipt before marking it paid. Remaining-balance tracking alone should not be described as an automatic future card charge.
Guest messages you can adapt
Request acknowledgement: “Thanks for your request for a private tour on [date] for [number] guests. I will check the route and availability and reply by [time]. Your request is not yet a confirmed booking.”
Proposal: “Your [duration] private tour on [date, local time] costs [total], including [items]. Pay [deposit] using [booking link] to confirm the available slot. The remaining [balance] is due [date]. Please read the itinerary and cancellation terms before paying. This proposal is valid until [deadline].”
Confirmation after successful payment: “Your tour is confirmed. We received [deposit] toward the total of [total]. The remaining [balance] is due [date]. Meet at [location] at [local time]. Your booking reference is [reference]. Contact me at [contact] about changes.”
Send these only when the underlying facts are true. If a proposal expires or a slot is no longer available, resolve availability before taking money against the old offer.
Give guests one place to start
Your tour booking page can show fixed tours and a clear request option. Use the pricing worksheet before promising a custom total, then use PayRequest bookings to collect the required full payment or deposit.
PayRequest's Free plan has a 2% standard platform payment fee, capped at €25 per transaction. Premium is €5/month with 0% standard platform payment fees while active. Provider fees and commission-payment exceptions remain separate. A deposit and later balance can create separate payment transactions, so budget for the actual payment schedule.
Editorial note: AI assisted this article and illustration. Sources were reviewed on 26 October 2026. The request checklist, payment schedule and messages are original hypothetical templates, not a tested tour booking or a universal cancellation policy.
