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🐝 Cycle Cities Buzz - A new Cycle Cities chapter has just started! 🚲

Published about 2 months ago • 2 min read

Hi Reader,

The new membership is officially live, and it’s great to see several of you have already signed up.

This is exactly the kind of momentum we were hoping for.

If you haven’t had a chance to go through all the details, you can find everything here:

Symposium News 🤝

Hamburg 2027 brings the community back together at a key moment for the industry, where new challenges and opportunities are reshaping how operators grow and compete.

This edition is designed to create sharper conversations, stronger connections, and more actionable outcomes than ever before.

With the new membership structure in place, a few important updates:

  • Pro members → your Symposium ticket is already included and secured
  • Basic members → you can still purchase your ticket at the current rate
  • Early bird tickets remain at €349, before the next price increase

If you’re planning to join, it’s worth securing your spot sooner rather than later.

Membership — What You Should Know 💡

For those who haven’t received or had time to read the previous update, here’s a quick reminder of what’s now in place:

  • A more structured platform
  • Two membership tiers (Basic & Pro)
  • A clearer focus on business growth and direct impact

And importantly:

We are opening the Symposium to a small number of carefully selected non-members, to bring in fresh perspectives, new connections, and more collaboration opportunities.

A quick note on emails:

We noticed some of you didn’t receive the previous update. In most cases, these emails bounced back, which likely caused the issue.

If that’s your case, please check your spam or promotions folder, and add our email address to your contacts so future updates land correctly.

We’ve now cleaned and updated the database going forward.

Groupwork Gold Nuggets 💛

Gold Nuggets remain a core part of the membership across both tiers.

This week we go back to Morning Group B: Growth Hackers — Sales & OTAs (Rob Dijkhuis, Ari Apteker, Tiago Monteiro, Rob Graham, Aitor Guadilla Olozaga, Emmanuel Darley).

How are operators incentivizing guests to book direct rather than through third parties?

  • Immediate review capture​
    Encourage Google reviews right after the tour to strengthen SEO before guests go to OTAs.
  • Product quality investment​
    Better bikes, guides, and experience → drives word of mouth and repeat direct bookings.
  • Google Ads (intent capture)​
    Capture high-intent users early in the funnel. Some operators invest around 20% of ticket value.
  • AI-driven SEO​
    Structure content and data so AI and search engines can better understand and surface your business.

In short: the most effective operators are combining product, visibility, and timing to capture demand before it reaches OTAs.

This is exactly the kind of practical, experience-based insight that will continue to be part of the membership across both tiers.

Whatsapp Discussion 💬

Following the last Gold Nuggets and a question Emmanuel raised in the WhatsApp group about Google Ads, I revisited the archives to pull together relevant material.

The result is a Practical Guide: Boost Direct Bookings with Google Ads, Social Ads & AI Visibility, including:

  • How to structure campaigns as a bike tour operator
  • Where to focus budget and intent
  • Common pitfalls to avoid
  • Best practices for AI-driven search visibility

Community — What’s next ➡️

If you haven’t explored the new membership structure yet, this is a good moment to do it.

We’re working with a deadline of May 1st to transition into the new model.

No pressure, but the earlier you get involved, the more you’ll get out of it as everything starts to take shape.

Isabella

Managing Director (Interim)
Cycle Cities 🚲

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