How do guides set their availability?

Through the Helm mobile app or web interface. Guides can set recurring weekly patterns, block specific dates, and mark extended time off. Changes take effect immediately and are visible to coordinators in real time.

What if a guide doesn't update their availability?

You can set default availability patterns per guide and require them to confirm availability for specific periods. Helm also flags guides who haven't updated their availability within your defined window.

Can I see availability across my whole team at once?

Yes. The team availability view shows all guides on a timeline, color-coded by status: available, assigned, unavailable, or unconfirmed. You can instantly spot gaps in coverage for upcoming tours.

Does availability sync with Google Calendar?

Yes. Helm syncs with Google Calendar bidirectionally. If a guide blocks time in their personal calendar, it can reflect in Helm. Assigned tours also appear in the guide's Google Calendar automatically.

Availability

Know who's free before the phone rings

Guides set their availability. You see it instantly. When a booking needs staffing, Helm shows exactly who's free, qualified, and ready — before you pick up the phone.

Helm is tour operations software — scheduling, OTA sync, and team coordination in one platform.

Try Helm for free

3 in 4

tour operators still call or text guides to check availability

Arival, 2024

3.1h

weekly coordinator time spent confirming guide availability

28%

of assignment delays caused by waiting for availability confirmation

Self-service availability

Guides set their own availability windows — weekly patterns, one-off blocks, vacation days. The information is always current because they control it.

Real-time availability view

When you need to staff a tour, Helm shows you who's free at that time. No phone calls, no waiting for text replies. Filter by qualifications, location, and language.

Availability alerts

Get notified when availability drops below thresholds for upcoming tours. Spot coverage gaps days in advance instead of hours before departure.

Why real-time availability changes everything for tour operators

The most common workflow in tour operations is also the most wasteful: you get a booking, you need a guide, and you start calling. Is Maria free on Thursday? Let me text João. Wait, didn't Sarah say she was on holiday? The back-and-forth to confirm a single assignment can take 30 minutes — time you don't have when you're coordinating 15 tours a day.

The root cause is simple: guide availability lives in the guides' heads. Some operators maintain a shared spreadsheet, but it's always out of date. Others rely on WhatsApp messages, which disappear in the scroll. The result is that coordinators spend hours each week on a task that should take seconds — checking who's free.

Helm puts availability management in the hands of the people who actually know: the guides themselves. Each guide can set recurring availability patterns (e.g., available Monday-Friday, 8 AM-6 PM), block off specific dates, and mark vacation periods. This information is live — when you open the scheduling view, you see current reality, not last week's spreadsheet.

The impact is immediate. Coordinators report saving 3+ hours per week on availability checking alone. But the bigger win is speed: when a last-minute booking comes in, you can identify and assign a qualified, available guide in under a minute instead of starting a phone chain that might take an hour.