Travel Insights

Updates to the SmartGuide content platform model

Written by SmartGuide | Apr 16, 2025 11:54:43 AM

SmartGuide strives to provide top-quality content for its users and thus performs content quality reviews. Until the end of 2024, SmartGuide received public funding specifically to support guide content authors and therefore offered extensive support, reviews, and consultations for free. Since this project was completed, SmartGuide has updated the services provided for content authors as of April 15, 2025.

What does this mean for content authors with Priority Support?

Nothing changes for authors with Priority Support. These authors will receive full CMS support, including a chat with a human expert and complimentary content reviews.

    • Priority support is included in all Prime packages and can also be purchased standalone (starting at €25 monthly
    • Customers exceeding €200 monthly payment/prepayment for Premium Private Content are eligible to request complimentary Priority Support

What changes for content authors without Priority Support?

In short, it is still valid that you can “Create and edit guide yourself easily using a powerful Content Management System (CMS) with unlimited scope of content”.  Anyone can still use CMS fully self-service to publish Basic private content. The author is responsible for studying the content and CMS manuals and following the guidelines and minimum requirements.

What changes is that unreviewed content from CMS authors who chose not to pay for content reviews will only be published in Basic Private modeThis means the guide will only become visible in the SmartGuide app after a user scans a dedicated QR code and will include ads.

Creating a digital audio guide on the SmartGuide content management system

 

The content needs to pass a paid manual content review for the content author to benefit from: 

      • SmartGuide distributing the content to its 1.6+ million users on the app and more on the website (Public content)
      • Participation in SmartGuide revenue share from content sold to SmartGuide subscribers (Subscriber-only content)
      • Offering content as Premium Private to your own customers (ad-free, includes offline download and AI planner),

One content review costs €100 per language and can be ordered directly in the CMS or through a SmartGuide representative.

For a small scope of publish requests (e.g., <20 places), the reviewer may even be able to correct some minor mistakes directly; for bigger requests, the check will take a random sample. The result will be either a guide published for all SmartGuide users or a rejection with clear examples of content requirement breaches, with links to guidance on how to fix it. In case of resubmission after rejection or a request to do content updates, another review payment will be required.

The author will instantly get a QR code in the CMS that activates and opens their content in SmartGuide, to be able to distribute their content to travelers through their channels in line with the SmartGuide brand manual

Additional marketing support can be purchased in preset packages for €100-€500 directly on the web, and custom marketing support is available via a SmartGuide representative.


SmartGuide content management system

Nothing changes about a charge of up to €1 per user (with volume discounts) to upgrade from Basic Private content for end users to Premium Private content.

For customers with a historical contract that included free content upgrades, that stays valid until the end of the contract.

Get Priority Support with SmartGuide Prime

The easiest way to enjoy the full support is to purchase a SmartGuide Prime service that starts from €25. SmartGuide fits any buget.
Let's talk about which SmartGuide Prime services would be the best fit for you.