The expert guide
From approved to paid, in seven short blocks.
Key connects you, someone who genuinely knows a place, with travellers heading there, over 30-minute video calls. You talk, share a live map, and they leave with a personal list of places. Here’s everything, start to paid.
Apply, and get vetted
Every expert on Key is reviewed by a human, that’s the product. Apply at key.new/become-an-expert with a few lines about who you are. Approved? A personal invite link lands in your inbox.
Build your profile
Your invite opens the profile editor. Two things are required: a profile photo and a short portrait intro video, shot on a phone is perfect. Add your specialities as tags and your pricing.
Pricing is yours, per call length, say 30 minutes for $50. Clients pay in USD wherever they are. A free tier makes an easy first hello.
Connect your calendar, set your hours
Set weekly hours, block time off, and connect Google Calendar or Outlook in two clicks. It works both ways: your existing events block Key bookings, and confirmed calls write themselves into your calendar. Clients can only ever book times you’re genuinely free.
Get booked
Clients pay by card when they book, you never chase money. You get an email and a calendar event; you both get a shared “digital desk” where they tell you what they care about before the call.
If they write on the desk, you get an email the moment it happens, a quick reply sets the tone. And if their notes aren’t your territory, decline gracefully from your dashboard: they’re refunded in full and pointed to a better match. A kind no beats a so-so call.
The call
Calls happen in the browser, no apps, and your first call opens with a fifteen-second tour. You join with camera and mic live (muting is one tap), then share a live map: drop pins, draw routes, open street view together.
Everything is captured, recorded and transcribed, every place on the shared desk with exports to Google and Apple Maps. You keep the replay and transcript too: your own record of every client.
How you get paid
After the call ends, your 80% transfers automatically to your bank through Stripe, typically within a few business days, with a “you’ve been paid” email each time. Setup is a one-time step: Stripe collects your bank and identity details directly (Key never sees them) and works in most countries.
If you cancel, the client is always refunded fully, cancel early and rarely. Gift-voucher-funded calls pay you identically. Your earnings, pending and paid, live on your dashboard.
Every $100 call
If the client cancels
House rules
Recommend what you genuinely love, no sponsored placements, no affiliate links, no upselling, ever. That promise is why clients trust your list. Show up on time, keep your availability honest. That’s the whole rulebook.
We look after the people you send us. Every client gets a replay, their places, and a person to write to. You get paid after every call, without asking.
Questions? Support, or just reply to any email from us. A human reads it.