🐝 Cycle Cities Buzz - Keeping Cool, Staying Flexible & Learning Together 🚲

Hi Reader,

I hope high season is treating you well, wherever you are in the world.

Over the last week, one topic dominated the conversations inside the community: heat 🥵

With much of Europe currently experiencing a significant heatwave, operators from across the network shared how they're adapting tours, supporting guides, and keeping guests safe while temperatures continue to rise.

Symposium News 🤝

Preparations for Hamburg 2027 continue to move forward steadily.

Lars is making great progress behind the scenes, and we're getting closer to finalising accommodation arrangements for Symposium attendees. We expect to be able to share hotel information very soon, making it easier for everyone to start planning their trip.

As always, Symposium is much more than a conference. It's three days of learning, sharing experiences, strengthening partnerships, and returning home full of ideas to implement.

If you haven't secured your place yet, registrations remain open.

Secure your spot

Groupwork Gold Nuggets 💛

This week's insights come from:

Morning Group E: Operational Excellence — Logistics: Yannis Skiadopoulos, Rupert Riedl, Kay Farrell, Hegoi Iparaguirre, Pedro Basso, Gerard Feijen

2. What is your strategy for managing no-shows and last-minute cancellations?

The discussion revealed a surprisingly consistent approach across operators.

The following content is only visible for the Cycle Cities Members.

• Cancellation policies are essential — but flexibility still matters.
Most companies maintain clear policies as a safety net while trying to remain understanding when guests face genuine issues.

• Rebooking is often preferred over strict enforcement.
Rather than losing a customer entirely, many operators offer guests the opportunity to move their booking to another date.

• Small administrative fees can help.
Some companies charge a modest fee (around €10) when guests request last-minute date changes.

• No-shows are treated differently.
The general consensus was clear: when guests simply don't turn up without notice, operators typically retain the full payment.

Insight: Clear policies protect your business, but flexibility builds goodwill. The sweet spot seems to be combining firm boundaries with human judgement.

Tool of the Week 🛠️

Early Insights from the Cycle Cities Ads & Acquisition Survey

Although we've only received a handful of responses so far, some interesting patterns are already beginning to emerge.

SEO continues to be one of the strongest acquisition channels

Several operators identified Organic Search as one of their most valuable booking sources, reinforcing the importance of investing consistently in website content, local SEO, and Google Business Profiles.

Broad keywords often underperform

Members highlighted that highly specific, intent-driven searches such as "bike tours Berlin" or "ebike hire McLaren Vale" tend to perform better than broad tourism terms or generic industry jargon.

Competing with OTAs remains a major challenge

Operators continue to report difficulties competing against OTAs, particularly when price becomes the traveller's main decision factor.

Google Ads requires resources

One recurring lesson: if you don't have the time or expertise to manage Google Ads properly, it may be worth investing in external support rather than running campaigns without sufficient knowledge.

A huge thank you to everyone who has already contributed.

The survey remains open, and we'd love to hear from more members before compiling the final Cycle Cities Ads & Acquisition Playbook.

Complete the survey here

The more responses we receive, the more valuable the findings will be for everyone.

Community — Highlights ➡️

If there was one topic that brought the community together this week, it was the European heatwave.

With temperatures climbing above 40°C in some destinations, members shared how they are adapting operations to protect both guests and guides.

Some of the ideas shared included:

☀️ Moving tours to earlier or later time slots.

☀️ Cancelling afternoon departures when temperatures exceed safe thresholds.

☀️ Adding extra water, hydration, and ice cream stops.

☀️ Using shaded routes, rivers, tunnels, and city cooling points.

☀️ Offering free e-bike upgrades on particularly hot days.

☀️ Encouraging guests to arrive earlier to rest and acclimatise before departure.

☀️ Having guides monitor guest wellbeing more closely, particularly older travellers or guests arriving stressed and overheated.

One recurring theme emerged throughout the discussion:

Heat is not an exception anymore — it's becoming part of the new reality of bike tourism.

The conversation also highlighted something else that makes this community so valuable: operators facing the exact same challenges, sharing solutions in real time.

Thank you to everyone who contributed.

And if the WhatsApp group has been quiet on your end recently, remember: sometimes all it takes is one question to spark an incredibly valuable discussion.

See you in the next Buzz,

Isabella

Managing Director (Interim)
Cycle Cities 🚲

Cycle Cities on Social