By business · Travel and stays

Instagram auto-replies for tour guides

A guide is on their feet leading twenty people through an old quarter when a visitor asks where the tour starts tomorrow. Comment-to-DM answers meeting points, times and private-tour questions while you talk. It does not take bookings or check spaces, and the page covers what stays with you.

Updated 6 October 2026

Start free See the set-ups

Comment words for tour guides

Ask people to comment one word in your caption or video. Each word sends something different.

MEET: The exact meeting point with a landmark to look for, what you hold or wear, what time to arrive and what to do if they cannot find you.
PRIVATE: How a private tour works: who it suits, your rate for a group of a given size, the length options and how far ahead to ask.
TIMES: Your tour timetable by season and day, with the days you do not run and how to find the next date with spaces.
LANGUAGE: Which languages you guide in, which days each is offered and how to ask for another if you can arrange it.
WEATHER: What happens in rain, extreme heat or a strike: whether the tour runs, what to wear and how a cancellation or a move is handled.
CRUISE: Shore tours timed to a ship's arrival and departure: how you plan around the all-aboard time, where you collect and how you return people.
ACCESS: The honest account of accessibility on your route: steps, slopes, cobbles, rest stops and what you can change for wheelchair users or slower walkers.

4 set-ups to try

Each one shows the conversation it creates. After a comment, the first DM is plain text, as Meta requires, and the link follows once they answer.

Meeting point from a “where does it start?” comment
Someone comments on your post
MEET
Public reply under their comment
The meeting point is in your DMs 📍
First DM (plain text)
Thanks for the comment. Which day is your tour, and roughly what time? Reply and I'll send exactly where to meet, what to look for and what to do if you can't find us.Yes pleaseWhere we meetSee the meeting point
Most tour problems start with a missed meeting point. Asking for the day tells you which route the person is on, and a card with a landmark and a photo means fewer frantic messages on the morning itself.
Private tour enquiries from a small-group Reel
Someone comments on your post
PRIVATE
Public reply under their comment
Details are on their way to your DMs
First DM (plain text)
Thanks for asking. How many of you are there, and are any of you children or people who find long walks difficult? Reply and I'll send how private tours work and what they cost.Yes pleasePrivate tours and ratesSee the options
A private tour is priced by group size and pace. The two questions tell you whether to offer a short, slow route or a full day, and let you decline early if the date is already taken by a group tour.
Cruise passengers from a port-day Story
Replied to your story
CRUISEThanks for the message. Which ship are you on, and what time must you be back on board? Reply and I'll send how our shore tours are planned around that and where we collect you.Shore tours and all-aboard timesSee how it works
Cruise guests live by the ship's schedule. The all-aboard time decides which route is possible, and a clear plan for getting back, in writing before they pay, is often what decides whether they book at all.
Rain or heat questions the night before
WEATHERThanks for checking. Which day is your tour, and is it a morning or an afternoon one? Reply and I'll send what we do in rain or extreme heat and how we let you know if anything changes.Our weather policyRead the policy
Weather messages cluster the evening before a tour, when you are busy. A reply that states the policy and how you will contact them stops a flood of repeat messages, but the final call is always yours.

Freebies worth commenting for

A printable one-page map of the tour route with the meeting point circled and the nearest toilets and cafes marked
A what-to-wear and bring list for a day on cobbles, in heat and in rain, written for your town
A short history primer on your main sight with the five stories you tell most, in a form people can read before the tour
A food-stop guide for your area: where guides eat, what to order and what to avoid near the main sights
A guide to using public transport to reach the meeting point, with fares and the last departures
A list of the ten phrases visitors most need in the local language, with a rough pronunciation
A rainy-day plan for visitors: indoor sights, opening hours and what to book ahead
A guide to tipping and customs for visitors from abroad, covering how things work in restaurants and on tours

What visitors message a guide

Visitors write from a hotel bed or a plane seat, often in another time zone, and what they want is simple: where, when, how much and what if it rains. Answer the fixed facts automatically and keep every question about availability for yourself.

They ask	Send automatically	Answer yourself when
Where do we meet?	The MEET card, with a landmark photo	They cannot find the place right now: reply or phone them
Do you have space tomorrow?	TIMES, with how to see availability	Spaces are limited: only you know the real number
Can we do it in Spanish?	The LANGUAGE card	They want a language you offer only on request
Is it OK for my mum, who uses a stick?	The ACCESS card	They describe a specific need: talk through the route together
Will it run in the rain?	The WEATHER card	A storm warning or closure changes the plan
Can you take 25 from our coach?	Nothing automatic	Always: group size changes price, guides and licences

Posts that fill tomorrow's tour

A Reel that walks from the meeting point to the first stop, with MEET in the caption.
A short clip from a private tour with a family, with their permission, and PRIVATE.
A Story on the morning of each tour showing the group assembling, with TIMES for the next dates.
A post in two languages about the same street, with LANGUAGE for the full list.
A rainy-walk video that shows the tour still runs, with WEATHER.
A port-day post on what you can see in six hours, with CRUISE.

Guides tend to be busiest in the dry season and over school holidays, with spikes when a cruise ship or a large event is in town. Check your own tour history, switch the matching words on a few weeks ahead and test each one from a second account.

From a comment to someone on the tour

The first DM asks for the day or the group size, so the card shows the right meeting point or price.
The card opens your booking page, your own form or a messaging number. DMFast does not take payment for tours or hold spaces, so you confirm every booking yourself.
Give away the route map or the rainy-day plan for an email, and export the list as a CSV for next season's announcements.
Use the reminder for people who asked about a private tour and stopped replying. Visitors often wait for their travel companions to agree.
Reply personally to the day-before messages. Time-zone gaps mean the 24-hour window can close while you are asleep.

A guide in India could use the DMFast store to sell a self-guided walking route as a digital product, or to take free or paid 1-on-1 calls, such as a planning call before a long trip, with payments through Razorpay. Tour fees themselves are collected your own way.

Licences, safety and honesty

Guiding licences. Some countries, cities and sites require guides to hold a licence or to be accredited for a particular monument. Check your local rules before advertising a route or a language.
Insurance and safety. Check what liability insurance you need for the tours you run, especially for activities such as boats, climbs and children, and say clearly what you do and do not provide.
Accessibility. Describe your route as it is. A wrong answer about steps or slopes can strand someone, so keep the ACCESS card factual and invite questions.
Prices and cancellations. State what a price includes, such as tickets and transport, and the cancellation terms, before someone pays.
Photos of guests. Ask permission before posting anyone's face, especially a child's.
Meta's rules. One private reply per comment within 7 days, and messages only within 24 hours of someone's last message.

Messages to copy

Questions people ask

Can it tell someone if there is space on tomorrow's tour?

No. It does not see your bookings or your headcount. It can send your timetable and say how to check, or tell people you will reply. Only you know whether there is a seat, so keep that answer personal.

Will it work for visitors who message in another language?

Keyword replies send the text you wrote, in the language you wrote it. A comment is matched by the word you set, so add the words visitors really use. AI replies on Growth and Business use only the information you give, so include the languages you can answer in.

Can the first DM include the meeting-point map link?

Not after a comment. The first private message to a commenter must be plain text, so it can name the landmark and ask which day they are coming. The map card follows once they reply. After a Story reply or a DM they sent first, the card can follow at once.

Can I message everyone who booked last month about a new tour?

Not through Instagram. Automated messages go only to people who wrote to you within the last 24 hours, and official tools cannot send mass DMs. Use the email list from a lead magnet for new-tour announcements.

Does it work for a Facebook Page and Messenger?

Yes. Comments on Page posts and Messenger messages get the same keyword replies, though Story replies and the follower gate are Instagram only. It does not work on WhatsApp, where many guides take bookings, or on a personal Instagram account.

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Answer every MEET comment in seconds

Pick a post and the word. DMFast replies under each comment, sends the DM and follows with your link once they answer, day and night. It can collect emails on the way. Free plan, no card.

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