Urban Saunters

Urban Saunters is an award-winning London-based tour operator offering small group private tours and bespoke experiences. With groups limited to 15-20 people and unscripted, professional guides, Urban Saunters focuses on authentic storytelling and personalised experiences that consistently earn five-star reviews across all platforms.

While satisfied with their previous booking provider, Urban Saunters recognised opportunities to enhance their booking experience, especially around private tours and customer-facing widgets. 

During a late-night trial, CEO Slawek Kukielka discovered Bókun’s unique one-click Viator import feature, enabling an almost instant migration of all their tours. Since switching, Urban Saunters has experienced significant growth in direct online bookings, elevating their operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Key Results

• Significant growth in direct bookings through the Urban Saunters website
• Better capture and management of private tour details, including adult and child breakdowns
• The overnight switch included instant connection to Viator and GetYourGuide marketplaces via Bókun
• More efficient operations enabled by the Bókun portal and mobile check-in app
• 58.6% of bookings come from Viator, 18.3% from direct sales, and 18% from GetYourGuide

Limitations of the previous booking software held back their ability to fully capture the needs of private tours and personalise customer interactions. 

This lack of detailed booking information affected operational planning and pricing accuracy. As CEO, Slawek Kukielka shares, “People would just book for four people total, so we didn’t know how many children were in the booking, how many adults, or infants. We couldn’t even inform the guide to prepare for children on tour, and we wouldn’t know the ages of our customers.”

Moreover, pricing became challenging and inefficient. Slawek adds that “from the business side, people were paying adult prices for everyone, and we didn’t know if we had children who could pay cheaper tickets for venues. So customers were overpaying for tickets, and we couldn’t optimise our guide assignments based on the group composition.”

The customer-facing widgets of the previous booking platform also lacked flexibility and ease of use, often requiring manual fixes and causing delays. This led Urban Saunters to seek a more robust and integrated system that could streamline bookings, improve customer experience, and support their business growth.

During a late-night trial, CEO Slawek Kukielka discovered Bókun’s unique feature: a one-click import from Viator that could migrate all their tours quickly and effortlessly. This discovery set the stage for an overnight switch that would transform their booking system and accelerate direct sales growth.

“I started my trial account with Bókun just to see what features were there and to start playing with the system. Then probably, it was like midnight one day, I discovered Bókun offers this feature to import directly from Viator. I switched fully to Bókun because I found it was exactly what I needed straight away. For me, that was a no brainer.”–Slawek Kukielka, CEO of Urban Saunters



The overnight switch to Bókun was easier than Slawek imagined. There was no downtime, no data loss, just a smooth transition, which was critical for maintaining uninterrupted service. The trial immediately gave the CEO the confidence to commit fully, knowing right away that Bókun could meet all technical and operational needs.



“The team at Bókun was very responsive and handled all the backend technicalities, which took the pressure off us completely.”

Since switching to Bókun, Urban Saunters experienced notable improvements in their booking flow, operations, and customer service. “Everyone has been super excited about the move that we decided to take. It’s made our lives easier,” shares CEO Slawek Kukielka.



The CEO’s goal was to create less work for the people involved in running our tours but this change brought more than just booking ease.

“It’s not just a booking system, it’s a platform that helps us connect everything internally and externally, which adds real value to our daily operations,” adds Slawek.



“What really stands out is how easy the platform is to use and how well it fits with our product and the way we operate. The booking tools and platform combined create the perfect experience for our clients. We aim to make the tours smooth, easy, and enjoyable, and the platform plays a big part in delivering that overall experience.”–Slawek Kukielka, CEO of Urban Saunters



Other Key Operational Improvements:

• Centralised management of bookings and tour details across all private and small group tours, significantly reducing administrative workload and minimising errors
• A customer self-service portal empowers guests to change dates or cancel bookings independently, greatly reducing support queries and manual interventions
• The mobile check-in app provides tour guides with an efficient tool to manage guest arrivals and attendance on site, improving the speed and quality of check-in

“Before, we handled all booking changes and cancellations manually through email, which was time-consuming. Now, our guests manage their own bookings via the Customer Portal, and I receive instant notifications. Additionally, our guides use the mobile check-in app to efficiently manage guest arrivals and attendance on tour days, significantly smoothing operations,” adds Slawek.

Urban Saunters found that adopting Bókun’s platform transformed how they manage bookings and interact with customers. The suite of tools included in Bókun equips them with detailed insight and operational control that was missing before. 

“Thanks to Bókun’s widgets, we have clear visibility of the number of adults, kids, and infants in each booking, including their ages. This helps us inform our guides exactly who to expect and how to prepare. Also, with the Customer Portal now, guests can change dates or cancel booking without needing to contact us, which saves a lot of time and hassle.”–Slawek Kukielka, CEO of Urban Saunters



Bókun widgets

The intuitive booking widgets helped Urban Saunters capture detailed information about adults, children, and infants for each tour booking. This allowed their guides to prepare tailored experiences and ensured pricing accuracy, which boosted customer confidence and satisfaction.

Marketplace distribution

The overnight switch with Bókun included immediate activation of links to Viator, GetYourGuide, and other marketplaces. This kept Urban Saunters connected to a wide customer base through top resellers while they grew their direct sales channels.

Mobile check-in app

Tour guides from Urban Saunters now use Bókun’s mobile check-in app to easily manage guest arrivals and attendance on-site. This mobile tool has simplified daily tour operations, making check-in faster and improving the overall customer experience.

The main lesson for Urban Saunters was that investing in the right booking system pays off in operational efficiency and happier clients. 

“The most important lesson is that having a platform that’s easy to use and works well with how we operate makes a huge difference. This ease of use lets us reduce admin time and focus more on giving our customers memorable tours.”–Slawek Kukielka, CEO of Urban Saunters

Switching to Bókun has enabled Urban Saunters to significantly grow their direct bookings while simplifying their operations. The user-friendly interface and comprehensive tools have freed up valuable time for the team to focus on delivering exceptional tour experiences rather than administrative tasks. 

As CEO, Slawek Kukielka shares, “Before the self-service portal, we spent so much time handling booking modifications that we couldn’t focus on business growth.”

Bókun’s mission is to help your tour and activity business generate more bookings with less work. Start your free 14-day trial today to explore our software can help you save time and grow your business.