Announcing: Vayable Ambassadors

When George W Bush was up for reelection, I kept hearing my friend’s parents say that if “He gets reelected I’m leaving the country.” Of course, he did get reelected and they did NOT move out of the country. And it left me disappointed because I imagined these fabulous baby boomers becoming expats: leaving their home city, state or country and really entrenching themselves somewhere else, becoming a true local. Think of all the intrigue, the rites of passage and the cultural shift that happens every day! I wanted to live vicariously through them because, personally, I am not strong enough to leave my freedom fries for more than a few months.

But it turns out there is a shortcut to becoming a local anywhere in the world and Vayable Guides are it! Since our launch, our guide community has grown exponentially and among these guides there are some that we can truly call an Ambassador: someone who entrenches themselves in a culture and people and can give you access whenever you might want it or need it. These guides are making Vayable even better than we thought possible.

Since it is St. Valentine’s Day, we thought it would be appropriate to launch our Vayable Ambassador program. Think of it as one big Valentine to the guides who are going out on the most tours, getting the most reviews and being role models. Want to know more? Head on over to our Ambassador page.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

A Vayable Love Story: Mike and Erica

At Vayable, we are romantics. We love bringing people together and creating friendships; maybe, if the stars align the right way, something more will come out of it! With Valentine’s day around the corner, we thought that we would share our love story of two guides. Here is a guest post jointly written by Mike and Erica. Soon you will be able to book a joint beer and wine tour they will lead!

It was 12/12/12, a cold night in the SOMA district of San Francisco. Vayable’s holiday party was jamming inside the walls of Terroir, one of the best natural wine merchants you can come by. I post up at the bar, not knowing anyone inside, and barely connected to the Vayable community. Next to me is Mike, sommelier and key-speaker of the evening, and my soon-to-be boyfriend just waiting for the questions after his talk. Our connection was undeniable. After a few hours of meeting a people, but mostly getting nerdy with one another over aroma and taste, finish and complexity, we knew something special was there.

Our romance was serendipitous - just as our love for beer and passion for wine is. Vayable brought us together and now we hope to bring what we love to the Vayable community.

Some of the greatest ideas people conjure are when they are around a table - eating food, sipping glasses of fermented goodness, and engaging with each other. Community is formed with full bellies and open hearts. We hope to bring people together through an innovative, engaged, and delicious beer, wine and food pairing collaboration. For a very long time people have commented on the beautiful relationship between wine and food, and more and more these days people are also becoming interested in the dynamics between beer and food. We hope to see how exactly each sip makes eating more vibrant, how they contrast and compliment one another, while paying attention to how they affect one’s palette.

Our vision is rooted in both of our love for things craft - so much of what we have access to today is watered-down and capitalized to the point where you forget someone is actually making what you are using, what you are eating, what you are drinking. Small breweries, vineyards, and wineries exist everywhere, with people building something from a passion, from nothing, with their bare hands. Their hard work goes unnoticed by the masses, and we hope to change that, little by little, every single day.

We thank Vayable for bringing us together, for the gift of love and passion, and for the excitement of exploring the world.

Introducing: The Calendar and Scheduling

This month we are spreading the love with a slew of new features! You’ve been asking for it, so we built it for you! We are taking the calendar for guides out of beta and releasing it for everyone to start entering events and blackout times.

 
Add events. Go on auto-pilot!

Whether you want to create a single event or schedule repeating tours — when customers book these they will be instantly confirmed, making it easier for everyone!

 

 

 

Block off times you are unavailable.

Maybe you work during the day or are going on vacation. Customers will not be allowed to request these times.

 

 

Here’s the nitty gritty:

As always, they will still be able to request any date or time that you have not set as unavailable, and these reservations will still require your approval. So what are you waiting for? Start setting up your events! All you need to do is go edit your experience and navigate to the “schedule” tab.

If you have any questions or just want to give us a shout, please feel free to give us a shout at support@vayable.com!