Text messages for Berlin tips

Users don't need to go down a hole: They can simply send a text message to ask for live, on-the-spot advice. The "text-message travel guide" set up by two Berliners offers tourists up-to-date tips from locals which they probably wouldn't get from a traditional guidebook.

Like British writer Lewis Carroll's famous Alice, who encounters things in Wonderland she never would have come across elsewhere, tourists will be introduced to a fun side of Berlin they weren't expecting to discover.

"We thought it would be better to connect them with a real insider than to sell them a possibly out-of-date guidebook," says co-founder Luke Atcheson, who has also written conventional city travel guides. The 29-year-old is originally from Ireland, but has been living in the German capital for several years.

A free service for everybody

Tourists ask Atcheson and his co-founder Jan Tewes Thede for tips via text message and suggestions are sent back the same way. It's a free service, although donations are welcome. So far, says Atcheson, donations tend to range from 2 to 10 euros (between $2.30 and $11.50) a piece. The number to text is: +49 157 80231912.

"We get around 50 requests a day," says Atcheson. That number is higher during the weekends. "We get a surprising amount of people asking about live gigs and places for unusual dates," he adds. One person even asked for a good spot to propose marriage. Some requests are illegal. "We regularly get asked where you can buy drugs." Don't ask that.

Tips beyond the regular sights

Atcheson and Thede say there are even legit questions they cannot answer. "If we don't know a great fish restaurant in Reinickendorf [a Berlin district], then we say so."

Tourists increasingly expect more from a Berlin visit than a hotel room and a quick tour of famous landmarks like Brandenburg Gate and the Holocaust Memorial. "The standard sights are out," says a spokesman for the city's official tourism promoter VisitBerlin. "People want more authenticity." Many tourists in Berlin have already been to the city before and want to see something different.

Atcheson says his text-message tips are quicker, more individualized and a lot more up-to-date than those you can find in a conventional guidebook. "That's the reason why traditional city guides are dying and services like 'White Rabbit' are in demand," he says. "Post-tourism, hipster tourism, whatever you call it" - a certain group of tourists want actual experiences rather than picture-postcard views.

Greeters, a complement to guidebooks

Platforms like AirBnb and Wimdu, through which Berliners can rent their appartments to visitors, also belong to the same trend. The same thing goes for the website "Spotted by Locals," where locals recommend places which couldn't be found in guidebooks. In many places, so-called "greeters" are replacing guidebooks: They're locals who volunteer to share their knowledge of their city with tourists.

Traditional tourist information services are also making use of the new trends. VisitBerlin has developed an app which offers "inside-track tips." "The idea is to offer recommendations off the beaten tourist track," says the spokesman. So instead of being directed towards the Reichstag building or the Brandenburg Gate, visitors get tips on finding a tree-top adventure on ropes or where to rent kayaks.

"We're also doing it to try diffuse the masses of tourists more broadly around the city," says the spokesman. But he doesn't believe traditional guidebooks will disappear any time soon.

"They complement each other wonderfully," he says, adding that some books are also specialized in particular areas of interest.

So what's the hottest insider-trading tip for visitors to Berlin? "That depends on what you want," says Atcheson. At the moment, parties you can only find out about through word-of-mouth are popular.