---
title: "Toolkit: Local Guide"
description: "> Local Guide puts a filterable places guide on your site, with a map of the places and your homes, and a \"Nearby\" list on each property page, all readable by search engines and AI assistants. --- ## What it…"
url: "https://homerunner.io/docs/toolkit-local-guide/"
updated: "2026-10-11"
category: "Search & Discovery"
---

# Toolkit: Local Guide

> Local Guide puts a filterable places guide on your site, with a map of the places and your homes, and a "Nearby" list on each property page, all readable by search engines and AI assistants.

---

## What it does

A list of local recommendations only helps your bookings if guests and search engines can actually see it. Local Guide reads your places from a places endpoint and prints them into the page itself, so the content is there on first load instead of appearing after a script runs.

It gives you two things:

- **A guide page.** Category chips across the top, place cards grouped by category, and a map showing the places and, optionally, your homes. Selecting a card opens a window with the photo, description, address, website link, and any perk you offer guests.
- **A Nearby stack on property pages.** A short list of the closest places to the home being viewed, with distance, so a guest sees what is around before they book.

For example, a guest on a Sonoma guide page taps the **Restaurants** chip, sees the restaurants grouped together, and opens one to read your note about it and see "Guests of Your Brand: free dessert."

Local Guide shows only what your endpoint returns. It does not create places. If you manage recommendations in Hostfully Guidebooks, see [Setting Up Your Local Recommendations Guide](/docs/local-recommendations-guide/).

## How to turn it on

### 1. Switch on the module

In the **HomeRunner Toolkit Hub**, switch on **Local Guide**. It is off until you turn it on.

### 2. Connect your places

Open the **Local Guide** panel and enter the **Endpoint base URL**. It must start with `https://` and have no query string. Until it is set, visitors see nothing and only administrators see a reminder.

Select **Save Local Guide Settings**, then **Test endpoint**. The test reports whether the endpoint answered and whether your site could read it.

### 3. Add the guide page

Add the shortcode to any page:

```
[hrtk_local_guide]
```

Options:

| Option | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `region` | Show only places in these regions. Separate several with commas. |
| `category` | Show only these categories. Separate several with commas. |
| `show_homes` | `1` or `0`. Overrides the Homes on the guide map setting for this page. |
| `perks_only` | `1` to start with only places that offer your guests a perk. |
| `heading_level` | `2`, `3`, or `4`. The heading size used inside the guide, so it fits your page outline. |

### 4. Add the Nearby stack to property pages

Either switch on **Place the nearby stack after the booking widget** (Conversion Kit booking widgets), or place the shortcode yourself:

```
[hrtk_local_guide_nearby]
```

Options: `limit`, `property_id`, `heading`, `subheading`. On a property page the shortcode finds the property on its own. Elsewhere it prints nothing unless you give it a `property_id`.

## Settings

| Setting | What it controls |
| --- | --- |
| **Endpoint base URL** | Where your places come from. `https://` only. Empty means nothing shows to visitors. |
| **Adapter** | Which data format the endpoint speaks. The default works with the standard HomeRunner places format. |
| **Presentation preset** | The look of cards, rows, and the card window. The default is Explorer. A developer can add more presets for your site. |
| **Region map** | One `your-location-slug=endpoint-region-slug` per line. Matches the location of each property to the region name the endpoint uses. Locations you do not list pass through unchanged. |
| **Places post types** | Only for sites that keep places on this same website. A comma list of post types; saving one of those posts refreshes the guide pages at once. Leave empty for a remote endpoint. |
| **Brand short name** | The name used in "Your Brand perks only" and "Guests of Your Brand." Defaults to your site name. |
| **Distance unit** | Miles (default) or kilometers. |
| **Homes on the guide map** | On by default. Draws your published homes on the guide map. |
| **Rows** | How many places the Nearby stack shows, 1 to 8. The default is 4. |
| **Placement** | Off by default. When on, the Nearby stack appears after the booking widget, and the `[hrtk_local_guide_nearby]` shortcode prints nothing on property pages so the stack is not doubled. |
| **Heading** and **Subheading** | The Nearby stack text. Defaults are "Nearby" and "Places we'd send a friend, within {radius} of this home". `{radius}` prints the search distance in your unit. |
| **Enable partner actions** | Off by default. Adds the request form and the booking handoff to the card window for partner places. Turn it on only after the endpoint's forms are delivering. |
| **reCAPTCHA v3 site key** | Used by the request form when the endpoint does not send its own key. This is separate from the key in the [reCAPTCHA v3](/docs/toolkit-recaptcha-v3/) module. |
| **Request form fields** | Show a phone field, a message field, or both on the request form. Name, email, and the other basics are always included. |

## Tips

- **Open the guide on perks.** Guests can switch **Perks only** on the guide, and `perks_only="1"` starts the page that way. It is useful for a "Guest perks" landing page.
- **Match your map style.** In Map Styling, the **Local Guide map** switch draws your Mapbox tiles on the guide map. See [Map Privacy](/docs/toolkit-map-privacy/) for how exact home locations are kept off public maps; the Nearby stack uses the same public location.
- **A guide with no places hides itself.** If the endpoint is empty, unreachable, or the home has no map location, the Nearby stack shows nothing rather than an empty box.
- **Changes appear within minutes.** The guide keeps a saved copy and refreshes it in the background, so a new place can take a few minutes to show. Use **Test endpoint** to confirm the source is answering.
- **Pair it with the map.** [Map All Pins](/docs/toolkit-map-all-pins/) covers the property map; Local Guide covers the places around it.