> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.helmkit.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Key Concepts > A complete guide to understanding Helm and how it helps travel agencies and guides manage tours Helm is a platform for travel agencies and independent guides to manage tour bookings, schedules, and assignments. If you run walking tours, food tours, adventure activities, or any kind of guided experiences, Helm helps you organize everything in one place. The platform solves a practical problem: when you're managing tours, you need to keep track of customer bookings while also coordinating the logistics of running the actual tours. You might have multiple customers booked for the same departure, and you need to assign guides, allocate resources, and keep everyone informed. Helm handles both sides of this—individual customer bookings and the operational details of running tours. It connects your booking system with your scheduling and guide management, so you can see the complete picture of what's happening and when. ## Understanding Runs and Events Helm organizes your tours using two connected concepts: events and runs. Understanding how these work together is key to using the platform effectively. ### Events An event is a single customer booking. When someone reserves a spot on your tour, that creates an event in Helm. Each event contains all the booking-specific information: who's coming (passengers), their contact details, where to pick them up, what tour they booked, what they paid, and the status of their booking. ### Runs A run is a container for one or more events, representing the actual tour departure. Think of a run as the physical event where guides show up and the tour happens. If you have a morning walking tour at 9:00 AM, that's one run. Multiple customers might book that same tour time, creating multiple events, but they all belong to the same run because they're happening together. This separation exists because tours have both booking-level information (specific to each customer) and operational-level information (shared across everyone on that departure). By keeping these separate, you can manage individual customer details while also coordinating the shared logistics of running the tour. Every event belongs to a run—they can't exist independently. When you create a new booking, Helm automatically creates a run for it or adds it to an existing run if you're booking into an already-scheduled departure. ## Understanding Information Organization Understanding what lives at the run level versus the event level helps you know where to look for information and where changes will apply. Run-level information is shared across all bookings in that departure. When you assign guides to a run, those guides are assigned to everyone on that departure. When you add operational notes or comments, they apply to the entire run. Other run-level resources include: * **Tickets** — inventory allocation for equipment or resources * **Calendar events** — sync with Google Calendar for your team * **Invitations** — sent to guides or staff for the entire departure * **Assignments** — guide assignments that apply to all passengers * **Comments** — operational notes visible to your team and assigned guides These resources reflect the operational reality: one guide leads the tour for everyone, one departure time applies to all passengers, and logistics are coordinated once for the entire group. Event-level information is specific to each booking. This includes the passengers coming on that booking, their contact information, pickup details, the experience they booked, the rate they paid, their booking status, and language preferences. Each booking maintains its own set of: * **Passengers** — who's coming on this specific booking * **Contact information** — phone numbers and emails for this customer * **Pickup details** — where to collect this customer * **Experience and rate** — what they booked and paid * **Booking status** — confirmed, pending, or canceled * **Language preferences** — which language this customer needs Each event's details remain separate even when multiple bookings are part of the same run. The guides see all the passengers across all the bookings, but each customer's specific details stay independent. This means you can have three different bookings: different customers, different pickup locations, different rates, all part of the same operational departure with shared guides and logistics. ## Users in Helm: Agencies and Guides Helm serves two distinct types of users: agency members and independent guides. Understanding the difference is important because they have different roles and permissions in the system. ### Agency Members Agency members work for your company and have access to your organization's bookings, schedules, and settings in Helm based on their role (owner, admin, or member). ### Independent Guides Guides are independent contractors, not organization members. Add guides to your roster so they can view and manage assignments from your agency, while still working with other agencies independently. This distinction matters because it affects how guides interact with your system. You don't invite guides to join your organization as team members. Instead, you add them to your roster, they maintain their own profile and availability, and you assign them to your runs. By default they accept or decline assignments based on their schedule and preferences, but they can also choose to auto-accept future invitations from specific agencies they trust. ## Roles and Permissions Within your agency, team members have roles that determine what they can do in Helm. You assign roles when you invite someone to join your organization, and you can change roles at any time from the team management page. ### Owner Owner has complete control over the organization. Owners can access everything, including billing information, payment settings, and the ability to delete the organization. This role is typically reserved for the business owner or primary administrator. An organization can have multiple owners, which is useful for partnerships or businesses with multiple principals who need full access. ### Admin Admin can manage most aspects of the organization, including inviting team members, managing bookings and assignments, and configuring settings. Admins cannot access billing information or delete the organization. This role works well for operations managers or senior coordinators who need broad access without financial controls. ### Member Member can view and manage bookings, handle assignments, and maintain their own schedule. Members cannot change organization settings or manage other team members. This role is appropriate for coordinators or staff who work with bookings day-to-day but don't need access to organizational settings. ## How Users Work in Helm ### **Getting bookings into Helm** You start by getting your bookings into the system. If you use a reservation system like Bókun, you can [connect it](/features/integrations/bokun) to automatically sync bookings as they come in. When customers book tours through your system, those bookings appear in Helm automatically with all the customer information, tour details, and scheduling. If you don't have an integration, you can create bookings manually by entering customer details, selecting the tour, and setting the date and time. ### **Organizing and scheduling operations** Once bookings are in Helm, you organize and schedule your operations. The calendar view shows all your upcoming runs, letting you see at a glance what tours are happening when, how many passengers are coming, and which runs still need guides assigned. You can view your schedule by day, week, or month, and switch between three view modes to see your operations from different angles: * **Calendar** — The default grid view showing runs as time blocks across days and weeks * **Timeline** — A horizontal lane view that groups runs into parallel tracks, useful for seeing how tours overlap * **Agenda** — A vertical day-by-day list that you can group by experience, tag, start time, guide, or other criteria to organize your schedule the way that makes sense for your team ### **Assigning guides** When it's time to assign guides, you select from your roster based on availability and skills. Helm shows you which guides are available for each run based on their [connected calendars](/features/integrations/google-calendar). When you assign a guide to a run, they receive a notification and can accept or decline the assignment. Some guides may choose to auto-accept invitations from your agency, in which case the assignment is confirmed immediately instead of waiting in a pending state. Since guide assignments happen at the run level, one assignment covers all the events in that departure. ### **Managing operational details** As tours approach and happen, you manage the operational details. You can allocate tickets (if your tours use equipment or have inventory), add operational notes in comments, communicate with guides about special requests, and track which runs are confirmed versus still in progress. ### **Monitoring booking status** Throughout this process, you monitor the status of your bookings. You can see which bookings are confirmed, which are in progress, and which have been completed. After tours happen, guides mark them complete, and you can review how everything went. ### **Completing your profile** Before you can receive assignments, you complete your onboarding profile. Your profile tells agencies about your capabilities and preferences. You select which cities or regions you work in, ensuring you only get assigned to tours in your areas. You add your skills and specialties—whether you focus on food tours, history, adventure activities, or other types of experiences. You indicate which languages you can guide in, and you can add certifications or other qualifications that set you apart. ### **Connecting your calendar** A key part of your profile is [connecting your personal calendar](/features/integrations/google-calendar). When you link your Google Calendar to Helm, agencies can see when you're available without you having to manually update your status. Your busy times automatically block you from being assigned tours, and when you accept assignments, they appear on your personal calendar. ### **Receiving and accepting assignments** After your profile is set up, you start receiving assignment notifications. When an agency assigns you to a run, you get an email and an in-app notification. You can view all the details: what type of tour it is, when and where it happens, how many passengers are coming, and any special notes from the agency about dietary restrictions, accessibility needs, or customer preferences. By default, you accept or decline assignments based on your availability and interest. If you work regularly with a specific agency, you can turn on auto-accept for that agency so future invitations confirm immediately. When an assignment is confirmed, it gets added to your synced calendar automatically. You can see all your upcoming tours in your Helm dashboard and in your personal calendar app. ### **Accessing tour details** As tours approach, you have access to all the run details, based on the agency's privacy settings. You can see passenger names, contact information, pickup locations, and any operational notes the agency has added. You can communicate with the agency through comments if you have questions or need to report issues. ### **Completing tours** After completing a tour, it is automatically marked as complete in Helm. This creates a record of the tour's completion and lets the agency know everything wrapped up successfully. ## Glossary Helm uses specific terms for different parts of the system. Knowing these terms helps you navigate the platform and communicate with support or your team. | Term | Definition | | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Runs** | Tour departures—the operational events where guides and passengers meet and the tour happens. Runs contain one or more events. | | **Events** | Individual customer reservations (also called bookings). Each event represents one booking with its own passengers and details. | | **Guides** | Independent tour leaders who conduct your experiences. Guides maintain their own profiles and work with agencies through the roster system. | | **Agencies** | Tour operators or travel companies (also called organizations) that use Helm to manage their operations. | | **Rosters** | The connections between agencies and guides. When you add a guide to your roster, they can see and accept assignments from your agency. | | **Experiences** | The types of activities you offer (also called tours)—walking tours, food tours, bike tours, etc. These are the products customers book. | | **Rates** | Pricing options for your experiences. Different rates might represent different group sizes, seasons, or customer types. | | **Main contact** | The primary contact for a booking. This is the person who booked the tour and is responsible for the booking. They might not be part of the passengers list. | | **Passengers** | The people attending a tour. Each event has one or more passengers. | | **Tags** | Color-coded labels you assign to experiences to organize, filter, and group your schedule. Tags are shared across your organization. | | **Tickets** | Run-level inventory allocations. If a tour requires equipment or resources, you allocate tickets at the run level. | | **Assignments** | The connections between guides and runs. When you assign a guide to a run, you create an assignment that the guide can accept or decline. | | **Comments** | Operational notes and communication threads attached to runs. Use comments to share information with your team or guides about specific departures. | ## What's Next? Now that you understand how Helm works, you're ready to start using it. Set up your agency account, configure your organization, and invite your team Get your first bookings into the system and complete your first assignments **For guides:** If you've been added to an agency roster, start with [Your First Success](/getting-started/first-success) to complete your onboarding profile and view your first assignment. For deeper information about specific features, explore the documentation sections on runs and events, guide management, scheduling, and integrations.