How to Become a Local Friend on Roavi (Step-by-Step)

If you've searched "become a Local Friend Roavi," you're probably past the "is this legit" stage and ready to actually do it. Good — this is the guide. Five steps, no fluff, and you can realistically be live today.

What Is a Local Friend?

A Local Friend isn't a tour guide. There's no license, no script, no company van, no boss. You're just someone who knows their city and is willing to show it to a traveler who wants the real version — not the version in a guidebook.

You set your own rate, your own schedule, and your own idea of a good time. Like coffee shops? Show someone your favorite three. Know the best late-night food spots? That's your thing. You decide what you're offering, and travelers who want that specifically will find you.

If you want a feel for what a real meetup actually looks like — what you talk about, what you do, what you walk away with — this first-person account of showing tourists around is worth reading before you sign up. And if you're still weighing whether this concept makes sense as a side hustle at all, this overview of getting paid to show tourists around your city covers the bigger picture.

If you're already sold, keep going.

Step 1: Sign Up at Roavi

Go to Roavi and create your account. It's free and takes about two minutes — name, email, city, done.

There's no application fee, no subscription required to get started, and no commission taken out of what you earn later. Signing up just gets your profile into the system so you can start building it out.

Step 2: Build Your Profile

This is the step people rush, and it's the one that actually determines whether travelers message you. Take 15 minutes and do it right.

• Profile photo: A clear, friendly photo of your actual face. Not a group shot where someone has to guess which one is you, not a heavily filtered selfie. Travelers are trusting a stranger with their afternoon — a real, approachable photo goes a long way.
• Bio: Two or three sentences. Who you are, what you love about your city, what kind of experience you offer. Write like a person, not a brochure.
• Specialties: Pick what you're genuinely into — food, nightlife, art, outdoors, history, shopping, whatever it is. Be specific. "I love food" tells a traveler nothing. "I know every taco truck in my neighborhood" tells them exactly why they should message you.

The more specific and human your profile feels, the easier it is for the right traveler to pick you out of a list.

Step 3: Set Your Rate

You set your own hourly rate — nobody assigns it to you. Here's a rough starting point based on where you live:

• Major expensive cities (NYC, SF, LA, Miami): $35-50/hr
• Mid-size cities (Chicago, Austin, Nashville, Denver): $25-40/hr
• Smaller cities: $20-30/hr

If you're brand new, it's smart to start toward the lower end of your range. Your first couple of meetups are about building reviews, not maximizing dollars per hour. Once you've got a few five-star experiences behind you, raise your rate — travelers pay more for guides with a track record.

Step 4: Add the Optional Verified Badge (If You Want It)

Somewhere along the way you'll see the option to add a Verified Local badge for $9.99/month. This is completely optional, and it's not something you need to worry about right now.

It doesn't gate anything — you can get listed, get messaged, and start earning without ever touching it. It's simply an extra trust signal some Local Friends choose to add later, once they're established, for travelers who are comparing several profiles and want the added assurance of a verified ID. Think of it as a growth decision for down the road, not a requirement to begin.

Step 5: Start Getting Bookings

Once your profile is live, here's what actually happens:

• Travelers browse Local Friends by city and specialty on Roavi.
• They message you directly through the platform.
• You go back and forth to agree on time, place, and what you'll actually do together.
• You meet up, show them your city, and get paid directly for your time.

There's no cart, no checkout page, no waiting on a payment processor to release funds through the platform. It's you, a traveler, and a plan.

Tips to Get Your First Booking Fast

A few small things make a real difference in how quickly you start hearing from travelers:

• Fill out every field. Incomplete profiles get skipped over — a fully filled-out profile signals you're serious.
• Add at least three photos of you out in your city. Not stock photos, not landscape shots with no person in them — you, actually doing the things you say you like.
• Respond within an hour when you can. Travelers are often planning last-minute and move on to whoever answers first.
• Share your profile on your own social media. Your first booking often comes from someone who already half-knows you.
• Treat your first two or three meetups like an audition. Those early reviews are what make every booking after them easier.

Ready? Sign Up Now

That's the whole process — sign up, build a profile that actually sounds like you, set a fair starting rate, and let travelers find you. No fees to join, no commission on what you make, and verification stays optional whenever you're ready for it.

Sign up as a Local Friend on Roavi