Last Updated: June 2026
By accessing or using the Guidecall application, website, and associated services (collectively, the "Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to all of the terms, you may not access the Service.
Guidecall acts strictly as a technology platform connecting independent outdoor guides ("Guides") with customers ("Clients"). Guidecall is not a guiding service, outfitter, charter operator, or transportation carrier. All guiding services are provided by independent contractors who are not employees of Guidecall.
By providing your phone number and expressly opting in via your account settings, you consent to receive SMS text messages from Guidecall relating to your account activity, bookings, trip reminders, secure messages, payouts, and calendar updates.
You must be at least 18 years old to create an account. You are responsible for safeguarding your account credentials. Guides are solely responsible for acquiring and maintaining all necessary commercial licenses, insurance, permits, and certifications required by federal, state, and local laws (see Section 14).
Guides apply for one or more of three distinct products on the platform: In-Person Trips, Scheduled Calls, and On-Call sessions. Each product is reviewed independently by Guidecall admins. A Guide may be approved for some, all, or none of these products, and the approval set determines what the Guide may offer:
All payments are processed securely through our third-party payment processor. Guidecall collects all customer payments as the limited payment-collection agent of the Guide; your payment to Guidecall fully satisfies your payment obligation to the Guide for the booked service. Guides must complete payout setup (identity details, tax form, and bank-account details) before they can receive payouts. The following platform fees apply:
Payout Holds. Guide payouts for calls are held for 24 hours after call completion. Guide payouts for In-Person trips are held until the day after the trip date to allow refund disputes to be opened. Guidecall reserves the right to extend a hold, suspend a payout, or cancel a payout entirely in the event of suspected fraud, severe policy violations, or an open refund ticket.
Reversals. When a refund is issued, the corresponding Guide payout is automatically reversed or deducted from future payouts. If a reversal fails, the outstanding amount is deducted from the Guide's next eligible payout.
Payment Plans & Saved Cards. For In-Person Trips booked more than seven (7) days in advance, payment is collected on a schedule: a 50% deposit, 25% midway between booking and the trip date, and the final 25% the day before the trip. By booking with a payment plan you authorize Guidecall to securely save your card and automatically charge the scheduled installments to it when they come due, without you being present. No charge is captured more than ninety (90) days before the trip date; for bookings made further in advance, your card is saved at booking and the deposit is charged when the trip is ninety (90) days away. We send you an email and/or SMS reminder before each scheduled charge. If an installment fails, we notify you immediately with a secure link to update your payment method; unresolved payment failures are treated under Section 7.
Guide Promotional Purchases. Guides may purchase optional promotional products from Guidecall, including slot-blast email credits (escalating pricing disclosed at purchase) and featured search placement (priced per week as disclosed at purchase). Promotional purchases are charged at the time of purchase (by card or platform credit balance), are delivered immediately or on the schedule described at purchase, carry no Guide payout component, and are non-refundable once delivery has begun, except where required by law or at Guidecall's discretion.
Cancellation eligibility and refund treatment depends on when the cancellation occurs and which party initiates it:
Refund Tickets. Customers may open a refund ticket inside the platform. Guidecall admins review every ticket and may deny, partially approve, or fully approve a refund based on the evidence presented. Approved refunds are credited to the customer's on-platform credit balance or returned to the original payment method at Guidecall's discretion. Guides may dispute refund decisions within seven (7) days of the decision date; disputes are reviewed by Guidecall and resolved within 48 hours.
Credit balances issued as refunds are non-transferable and may only be used for future Guidecall bookings. Guidecall may issue goodwill credits at its sole discretion, which are not tied to any specific session or payout reversal.
Scheduled Calls are pre-booked video sessions between a Client and a Guide on a fixed date and time. Pricing is set by the Guide (Flat, Tier, or Per-Species pricing modes).
On-Call sessions are real-time video sessions a Client can request from any Guide who has marked themselves available. Pricing for On-Call sessions is set by the platform.
Video & Audio Recording. All Scheduled Calls and On-Call sessions are hosted by Daily.co inside private two-participant rooms. Every session is recorded to the cloud. By joining a session, both parties consent to being recorded. Recordings are retained for dispute resolution, refund review, and platform integrity. Recordings are accessible only to Guidecall admins for review purposes and to the call participants themselves on request. See our Privacy Policy Section 5 for retention details.
Customers may leave a tip for the Guide after an In-Person Trip is completed. Tipping is optional. Guides may opt out of receiving tips entirely from their profile settings.
You acknowledge that fishing, boating, and other outdoor activities arranged through the Guidecall platform are inherently dangerous and involve risks of physical injury, drowning, equipment failure, exposure to weather, encounters with wildlife, and other hazards that cannot be fully eliminated. By booking any trip, call, or service through Guidecall, you voluntarily assume all such risks for yourself and any guests in your party, including risks arising from a Guide's negligence or error.
Guidecall is a marketplace, not a tour operator, captain, charter service, or transportation provider. We do not own or operate any vessels, vehicles, or equipment, and we do not supervise, train, or certify Guides. Guides are independent contractors solely responsible for the conduct, safety, equipment, insurance, licensing, and execution of every trip booked through the platform.
Customers are encouraged to confirm a Guide's licensing, insurance, vessel condition, and safety practices independently before any trip. Customers must also sign any waivers, liability releases, or assumption-of-risk documents requested by the Guide on the day of the trip.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Guidecall and its officers, directors, employees, and affiliates shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, including physical injury, death, property damage, loss of profits, loss of data, or loss of goodwill arising out of your use of the Service, any trip or call arranged through the platform, or any act or omission of a Guide or other user.
Liability Cap. In no event shall Guidecall's total cumulative liability to you under these Terms exceed the booking fee actually paid to Guidecall for the specific session at issue, or one hundred U.S. dollars ($100), whichever is greater. This cap applies regardless of the theory of liability — contract, tort, strict liability, or otherwise.
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Guidecall and its officers, directors, employees, and affiliates from and against any claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of (a) your use of the Service, (b) your violation of these Terms or any law, (c) your violation of any third-party right, including any intellectual-property or privacy right, (d) any injury, illness, or property damage you or your guests suffer or cause during any trip, call, or service booked through the platform, or (e) any dispute between you and a Guide or other user.
By onboarding as a Guide on the platform, you represent and warrant that you (a) hold all required federal, state, and local licenses, permits, and certifications applicable to your services, including any U.S. Coast Guard captain's license required for the waters in which you operate, (b) maintain commercial general liability insurance and any other coverages required by law or industry standard for the duration of your time on the platform, (c) operate vessels and equipment that meet all applicable Coast Guard, state, and local safety standards, (d) comply with all federal, state, and local laws, including environmental, fish-and-game, employment, and tax laws, and (e) will promptly notify Guidecall in writing of any lapse, suspension, or revocation of any of the foregoing.
Payout Setup. Guides must complete payout setup — accurate identity details, a completed IRS Form W-9, and a valid U.S. bank account — to be eligible for payouts. Guides who fail to complete payout setup may be unable to receive payouts until they do so. Additional verification may be required by Guidecall or its payment processor, and Guidecall is not responsible for delays caused by failed or incomplete verification.
Guides are solely responsible for collecting any trip-day waivers, liability releases, or safety acknowledgements from customers. Guidecall does not collect or store such documents on a Guide's behalf.
Pricing Parity. Guides agree that the prices listed on Guidecall will match the prices charged on their own website and on any other booking platform on which the same trip or service is offered. Listing higher prices on Guidecall than on a Guide's direct site or competing platforms is prohibited. Guidecall reserves the right to audit pricing across platforms. Violations may result in a written warning on first offense; repeated or significant violations may result in account suspension or removal from the marketplace.
Guidecall permits customers to book sessions without creating an account by providing an email address, name, and phone number ("Guest Checkout"). The customer service fee described in Section 6 applies to all Guest Checkout transactions and is retained entirely by Guidecall.
Guest customers receive booking confirmations and management links by email. Anyone in possession of a confirmation link may view booking details; sensitive actions (cancellation, refund) require a separate one-time code emailed to the original guest email at the time of the action. Guests may request deletion of their data at any time via guidecall.app/privacy/delete.
You may request deletion of your contact information at any time. Logged-in users may do so from Account Settings. Guests and former users may use guidecall.app/privacy/delete. We will anonymize your name, email, and phone within seven (7) days of confirmation. Records of past bookings, payments, and refunds remain in our systems in anonymized form to satisfy our obligations under federal, state, tax, and payment-network rules (including IRS retention and payment-network dispute-history requirements). See our Privacy Policy Section 10 for retention specifics.
We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated by email or in-app notification. Your continued use of the Service after a change takes effect constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms.
Questions about these Terms? Email admin@guidecall.app.