DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY – Private Guide World uses fake inquiries to trap guides
I am a licensed tour guide based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Before I paid for the subscription, I received several messages from people asking about tours. But I couldn't reply to any of them because the platform blocks messages until you pay.
I negotiated the fee down to €30 (from the original €50) and paid with my credit card. As soon as I paid, I was able to respond to the messages.
One of them was from someone looking for a guide in Rio for a group of 40 people at the end of August. I replied immediately — professional, complete, with all the details.
That person never responded. Not even a "thank you, we found someone else."
That's when I realized something was wrong.
A serious traveler looking for a guide for 40 people doesn't just disappear after receiving a proposal. Either the inquiry was fake, or the platform uses bots to generate messages just to pressure guides into paying the subscription.
I spent a whole month waiting. Not a single real tourist — German, English, or Spanish-speaking — contacted me.
This is Rio de Janeiro. One of the most visited cities in the world. And in one month, absolutely nothing? It doesn't add up.
If this platform claims to have over 10,000 downloads, then thousands of guides around the world are being exploited. Paying for access to fake messages is not a business — it's a scam.
My advice: Stay away. Save your money. This platform does not deliver real clients.
Vastaus yritykseltä Private Guide World
Luís, your accusation that PRIVATE GUIDE WORLD creates fake inquiries or uses bots to pressure tour guides into paying is completely false.
Before subscribing, you contacted our support team asking for a discount because you said that winter business in Brazil was poor and that you could not afford the regular €50 fee. We granted you a personal 30% discount, reducing the payment to €35.
In your emails of July 12 and 13, 2026, you called PRIVATE GUIDE WORLD “a VERY GOOD platform,” said that travelers were waiting for your replies, and confirmed that you were eager to activate your profile. These statements directly contradict your present claim that you were trapped into paying.
PRIVATE GUIDE WORLD connects travelers with independent local tour guides. We cannot force a traveler to accept an offer or continue a conversation. A traveler failing to reply does not prove that an inquiry was fake.
Because you have now publicly accused our company of fraud without evidence, we have decided that continuing our relationship is inappropriate. On August 4, 2026, we issued a full refund of your €35 payment through Stripe. The refund should reach your account within approximately five business days. After it is completed, your profile will be closed.
We would rather return the entire payment than keep €35 from someone who makes false and damaging accusations against our company.
We wish you success elsewhere. Farewell.