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"\u00A0\nName: Vayable\nQuick Pitch: Vayable is a marketplace for travelers seeking unique traveling experiences.\nGenius Idea: Discover, book and sell authentic experiences and tours with local and experienced tour guides.\nIf you\u2019re planning to travel, why not fly to Fiji and fish with a Fijian king? Or how about spend a night in Alcatraz with just you and your friends?\nTravelers interested in authentic experiences like these can now find them on Vayable - a marketplace that lets people discover, book and sell unique, local experiences in more than 600 cities worldwide. Instead of booking tours through travel agencies, Vayable lets you book them directly through experienced travelers or tour guides.\nVayable has more than 2,500 tour guides who are either seasoned experts \u2013 experienced travelers or tour guides, or savvy locals \u2013 guides that know everything from the culture to the history of the city they live in. Once a tour is booked, travelers can connect with tour guides via direct messages.\n\u201CTravel agents can\u2019t be experts at every place around the world,\u201D Jamie Wong, CEO of Vayable, told Mashable. \u201CEvery one of our guides is an expert of their own towns and part of a community that they are passionate about.\u201D\nTravelers can search for unique trips and tours by destination. Once they select an experience and a few times available times, Vayable will authorize their credit card information. Credit cards are not charged until the guide confirms the experience within 24 hours.\n\nAs soon as the booking is confirmed, travelers can use direct messages to communicate with the tour guide, ask them questions and request any changes.\n\u201CCutting out the middle man provides a better, more affordable experience because there\u2019s more accountability from both sides of the marketplace\u201D says Wong.\nFounded in April 2011, Vayable screens each guide during an interview before they can offer an experience or tour. For each booking, the company charges a 3% service charge to travelers and takes 15% of the total booking price."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/07/27/vayable/>