You've decided to offer self-guided tours. Smart move. They're a fantastic way to scale your business without hiring more staff, and guests love the freedom to explore at their own pace.
But now comes the tricky part: how do you actually build the app?
A quick Google search shows dozens of platforms promising easy tour creation. Some want you to build everything yourself. Others offer to do the heavy lifting for you. Both have their place, but which one actually fits your business?
Let's break it down so you can make the right call.
The DIY Approach: Build It Yourself
DIY self-guided tour platforms give you the tools to create your own app from scratch. You pick the points of interest, write the descriptions, upload photos, maybe record some audio, and publish it yourself.
Sounds straightforward, right?
In theory, yes. In practice, it's a different story.
The Reality of Going DIY
Here's what the DIY route actually looks like for most bike rental shops, tour operators, and hotels:
The learning curve is real. Most platforms come with dashboards, content management systems, and settings that take time to master. You'll spend hours watching tutorials and reading documentation before you even start building.
Content creation takes forever. Writing engaging descriptions for 15-20 points of interest isn't a quick task. Neither is taking quality photos, optimizing them for mobile, or recording audio guides that don't sound like you're reading from a script.
Technical troubleshooting falls on you. GPS not working properly? App crashing on certain devices? Maps not loading? You're the one figuring it out, or submitting support tickets and waiting for answers.
Updates and maintenance are ongoing. A road closes. A restaurant on your route shuts down. A new attraction opens nearby. Every change means logging back into the platform and making edits yourself.
Publishing is another headache. Getting your app into the App Store and Google Play involves developer accounts, compliance requirements, and approval processes. Miss a step and you're stuck in limbo.
When DIY Makes Sense
DIY platforms work well for businesses that have:
- A dedicated tech-savvy team member with time to spare
- Experience building digital products
- The bandwidth to handle ongoing maintenance
- A genuine interest in learning new software
If that sounds like you, DIY could be a fit. But for most tourism businesses? That's a lot of time spent on software instead of guests.
The Done-for-You Approach: Let Someone Else Build It
Done-for-you services flip the script. Instead of you learning the platform, creating the content, and wrestling with technical issues, a team handles it all for you.
You provide the essentials, your points of interest, your branding, any upsells or additional services you want to offer, and the app gets built and published on your behalf.
How a Managed Service Actually Works
With a managed service like Routzz, the process looks completely different:
You share your POIs and content. Tell us the spots you want on your route, share any existing photos or descriptions, and let us know about extras like restaurant recommendations or equipment rentals.
We build the app. Our team designs the experience, structures the navigation, and creates a polished product that carries your branding.
We handle the tech. GPS accuracy, offline functionality, map integrations, device compatibility, all of it is our problem, not yours.
We publish it for you. No developer accounts to set up. No app store guidelines to decode. We get your app live and ready for guests.
We manage updates. Need to change a route or add a new point of interest? Just let us know and we take care of it.
The Zero Tech Stress Factor
Here's the real benefit: you don't become a software company.
Running a bike rental or tour operation is already demanding. You're managing bookings, maintaining equipment, training staff, handling customer questions, and actually delivering great experiences.
Adding "learn how to build and maintain an app" to that list isn't just time-consuming, it's distracting. Every hour you spend troubleshooting GPS issues is an hour you're not spending with guests or growing your business.
A done-for-you service removes that entire burden. You stay focused on hospitality. We stay focused on technology.
Side-by-Side: DIY vs. Done-for-You
- Setup time
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- DIY Platforms: Weeks to months
- Done-for-You (Routzz): Days to weeks
- Learning curve
-
- DIY Platforms: Steep
- Done-for-You (Routzz): None
- Technical skills required
-
- DIY Platforms: Yes
- Done-for-You (Routzz): No
- Content creation
-
- DIY Platforms: You handle it
- Done-for-You (Routzz): We guide and assist
- App publishing
-
- DIY Platforms: Your responsibility
- Done-for-You (Routzz): We handle it
- Ongoing maintenance
-
- DIY Platforms: You manage it
- Done-for-You (Routzz): We manage it
- Troubleshooting
-
- DIY Platforms: Your problem
- Done-for-You (Routzz): Our problem
- Your focus
-
- DIY Platforms: Split between tech and guests
- Done-for-You (Routzz): 100% on guests
Which One Is Right for Your Business?
The honest answer: it depends on your resources and priorities.
Choose DIY if:
- You have a team member who genuinely enjoys building digital products
- You have significant time to invest upfront and ongoing
- You want complete control over every technical detail
- Your budget is extremely tight and time is abundant
Choose Done-for-You if:
- You'd rather focus on your guests than on software
- You don't have dedicated tech staff
- You want to launch quickly without a steep learning curve
- You prefer predictable costs over unpredictable time investments
- You value zero tech stress
For most bike rentals, tour operators, and hotels, the done-for-you approach delivers better results with less friction. You're in the hospitality business, not the software business.
The Real Cost of "Free" Platforms
One thing worth mentioning: many DIY platforms advertise low or no upfront costs. But the hidden cost is your time.
If you spend 40 hours learning a platform, building your tour, troubleshooting issues, and managing the app store submission process: and your time is worth even $30/hour: you've already invested $1,200 before the app goes live.
Then there's the ongoing maintenance. Every update, every fix, every seasonal change adds more hours.
A managed service has a clear price tag. DIY has a hidden one.
What Your Guests Actually Experience
Here's the part that matters most: from your guest's perspective, they don't care how the app was built. They care that it works.
They want:
- Clear navigation that doesn't get them lost
- Interesting content that enhances their experience
- Reliable GPS that tracks their progress
- An app that doesn't crash or drain their battery
Both DIY and done-for-you can deliver this: if executed well. The difference is whether you want to be the one ensuring that quality, or whether you'd rather have experts handle it.
Making the Decision
Self-guided tours are a proven way to add revenue, reduce staff workload, and give guests more flexibility. The technology to deliver them exists and is more accessible than ever.
The question isn't whether to offer self-guided tours. It's how much of your energy you want to pour into the technology behind them.
If you're excited about building apps and have the time to invest, DIY platforms give you the tools.
If you'd rather spend that energy on your guests: welcoming them, helping them, and making sure they have an incredible experience: a done-for-you service like Routzz handles the rest.
Either way, the goal is the same: memorable experiences for your guests and sustainable growth for your business. Choose the path that gets you there with the least friction.