[BadCookie]

I'm headed to Paris, Barcelona, and Rome next month, and I'm looking for things to do while I'm there. I used Airbnb to book lodging in all three cities. I'd love to use Vayable to book things to do, too, but here's the problem: I almost certainly won't book an experience that doesn't have multiple positive reviews. It's quite annoying to have to click to see the details of the experience in order to see how many reviews the experience has. I find myself using the back button a lot as soon as I see that there are no reviews. (That seems to be a problem in Barcelona more than Paris, so I'm sure it depends on the location.) For me, the reviews are the most important thing, and I doubt that I am alone in that.

Anyway, thought I'd share in case the OP works at Vayable and is in a position to do something about it. :)

Vayable has a lot of potential and I'm definitely in the target market, so I hope something that I said is helpful.

[timr]

Vayable co-founder here -- thanks for considering us! We know that getting more reviews is a priority, and we're always working on that. But it's definitely good feedback to hear about including review count in the listing summaries. Thanks -- we'll do that!

In the meantime, we'd be happy to help you find good activities for your upcoming trip -- either give us a call (our 800 number is in the header), or contact me directly.

[phreanix]

I responded to OP above. Good to see you guys on this post. The concept was a dear one to me (used to host a lot of out of towners), and actually considered a similarly themed site.

Is there a way to search tours or experiences by genre or budget? I can't seem to find it.

[phreanix]

Would you feel better if the guides had a presence (blog/twitter/etc) that you can look through before committing?

I want to know a guide's qualifications, I want to know that this guy knows what he's talking about. If I'll be placing a good chunk of my vacation time in his hands, I want to see this guide write, get a feel for his sense of humor, and get the vibe of his personality.

[niggler]

"I almost certainly won't book an experience that doesn't have multiple positive reviews."

... even if they were spam or written by the venues themselves?

"For me, the reviews are the most important thing, and I doubt that I am alone in that."

Years of seeing these review systems gamed/bought for have left me jaded.

[realdlee]

I think if the review linked to the reviewer's profile that would help. Certainly there isn't a 100% way to prevent gaming reviews, but there are plenty of measures to keep people honest.