The Booking AgencySign up

How It Works

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How It Works

For freelancers

1. Sign up - free in 60 seconds

2. Build your profile - photos, portfolio, services, rates, availability

3. Get found - we surface you in city and category searches across 340K+ cities

4. Book and keep 85% - clients send an inquiry, you agree the terms

For clients hiring talent

1. Search by city and category - "wedding photographer in Bali", "Spanish translator in Mexico City"

2. Compare profiles - verified portfolios, ratings, response time

3. Agree the terms - discuss the work and the price

4. Book - your way, on your terms

For event planners

1. Open a workspace - pick a template (wedding, conference, retreat, and more)

2. Plan everything in one dashboard - tasks, vendors, attendees, budget, timeline

3. Source talent and venues from the catalog - speakers, photographers, hosts, coordinators

4. Run the event - RSVP page, check-in, post-event reports

For agencies

1. Set up your roster - invite your talent and present them under your brand

2. Manage your bookings in one place - pipeline, contracts, invoicing

3. Grow your reach - your roster gets discovered in the same city and category searches

Behind the scenes

We aggregate millions of venues (cafes, coworking, hotels, gyms, restaurants) from open city data, layered with talent profiles, jobs, gigs, and travel context. So when you search "speaker in Chicago," you also see where they can speak: venues that fit, hotels nearby, ground transport, lounge access.

That is the model: city, people, venues, and travel, together in one discovery platform.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does The Booking Agency work for talent?

You create a profile for free with photos, services, rates, and availability. It is indexed into city and category searches across the directory and starts receiving inbound inquiries. You reply with an itemized quote, the client accepts it, and that acceptance forms the booking and the contract. The client pays us, we hold the money until the engagement has happened, and then pay you out minus 15 percent. You set your own rates and decide which work you take.

How does The Booking Agency work for clients?

Browse talent by city and category, save shortlists, and post jobs for free. Send an inquiry to anyone you are interested in at no cost. The talent replies with an itemized quote, and if you accept it you pay exactly that amount, with nothing added on top. We hold the payment until the engagement has taken place, which means you are not sending money into the void and the talent is not chasing you afterwards.

Why does the booking run through the platform instead of directly?

Because it protects both sides. The client knows the money is held until the work happens, and the talent knows the money exists before they show up. It also means there is a contract, an invoice, and a route to dispute resolution if something goes wrong. That is what the 15 percent covers: 10 percent for the platform and 5 percent for payment handling, payouts, holding the funds, and dispute management.

How do I sign up?

Visit /auth?mode=signup, pick talent or client, and create an account with email or social login. Talent build a profile in five to ten minutes, clients can browse and post straight away. There is no application queue and no waiting for approval.

How long does it take to set up a talent profile?

Five to ten minutes for the basics: name, city, services, rates, and contact preferences. Adding photos, portfolio samples, languages, and availability brings it to roughly twenty minutes. You can save and come back to it. Add a photo before anything else, it carries real weight in how you rank.

What happens after I send an inquiry?

It lands in the talent inbox on the platform and in their email. They can decline, ask questions, or send you an itemized quote. Accepting a quote creates the booking and the contract between you and the talent, with The Booking Agency acting as agent. Payment and payout run through us from that point on.

What if there is a problem with a booking?

Contact us. Because the payment runs through the platform and is held until the engagement has taken place, we can act on a dispute rather than watch from the sidelines. Report conduct issues such as impersonation, fraud, or harassment through /contact, and the trust team reviews it. Repeated violations result in removal from the platform.