Episode overview
Host: Rebekah Costley, FareHarbor
Guest: Christoffer Hundahl Hansen, Founder of BeerWalks
When Christoffer Hundahl Hansen started BeerWalks, he thought craft beer enthusiasts and tourists would be his primary customers. He quickly discovered a different opportunity: locals.
Last year, approximately 84% of BeerWalks guests were Danish locals exploring their own cities.
BeerWalks began during Denmark’s COVID-19 lockdown when Christoffer combined three longtime passions: storytelling, exploring cities on foot, and Danish craft beer. What started as a small outdoor experience has grown into tours across eight Danish cities, supported by more than 40 guides and partnerships with 16 Danish craft breweries.
In this podcast episode of Growth Powered by FareHarbor, Christoffer shares how BeerWalks built strong local demand through memorable experiences, approachable pricing, passionate guides, community partnerships, and word-of-mouth marketing.
Key takeaways
Your target customer may surprise you
“I totally misread the potential customer from the beginning,” Christoffer says.
When he launched BeerWalks, Christoffer expected to attract serious craft beer enthusiasts. That audience existed, but he quickly discovered it was relatively small.
Instead, he found that locals were drawn to the opportunity to combine a guided walking tour of their city with Danish craft beer. Today, approximately 84% of BeerWalks guests are Danish locals, while just 16% are tourists.
For tour operators, there’s an important lesson here: Pay attention to who is actually booking your experiences, not just who you originally expected to attract. Your strongest growth opportunity could be an audience you hadn’t considered.
Give locals an experience worth recommending
Attracting locals isn’t simply about targeting people who live nearby. You need to give them an experience they’ll want to share with others. For BeerWalks, pricing plays an important role.
Christoffer intentionally keeps prices approachable rather than maximizing the margin from every guest. His reasoning comes down to what happens after someone takes a tour.
“Locals who join a tour have friends,” he says.
A local customer might recommend BeerWalks to friends, return with another group, or suggest the experience for a company event. Christoffer sees value in getting more people through the door and allowing those recommendations to spread.
“I’d rather have a lower margin but then a wider group of people on tour that will help spread the word,” he says.
That doesn’t mean every operator should lower prices. Instead, consider the lifetime value of your local customers. Pricing, resident promotions, repeat experiences, and group options can all help turn one booking into a longer relationship with your business.
Design moments people will talk about
A BeerWalk isn’t simply a walking tour with a few beer samples along the way, the experience is intentionally designed to get people talking.
Guests split cans of beer using custom mini glasses, which sometimes means they’re sharing with someone they just met.
“Now you two are best beer buddies,” Christoffer tells them.
That small interaction helps break down barriers between guests. Soon, people are comparing beers, discussing what they like, and getting to know the people walking alongside them.
“Beer is a very, very social thing,” Christoffer says. “You get to know the ones you’re walking with better through the taste of beer.”
Those are often the moments customers remember when someone later asks, “What should we do this weekend?”
Let passionate guides become part of the experience
BeerWalks now has more than 40 guides across eight cities. Rather than only hiring professional guides, he looks for people who love beer, love their city, and enjoy sharing both with other people.
“Passionate people are always fun to be around,” he says.
Many BeerWalks guides come through referrals and networking. Some were guests before asking to become guides themselves.
New guides experience an existing BeerWalk, shadow other guides, receive routes and talking points, and learn about the beers and breweries. They also get access to the FareHarbor app to help manage the operational side of their tours.
But Christoffer intentionally gives them flexibility. Guides can incorporate stories that matter to them and put their own personality into the experience.
His final advice before someone leads a tour is simple: “If you have a good time, I know the guests are having a good time.”
Build relationships that create new paths to booking
BeerWalks schedules approximately 700 public tours annually, while also offering private tours and corporate events. BeerWalks works with hotels, affiliates, cruise groups, destination management companies, breweries, and cultural institutions.
FareHarbor helps BeerWalks manage these different booking paths, from public and private tours to direct bookings and affiliate connections, while giving the business room to continue growing.
BeerWalks partners with 16 Danish craft breweries and prioritizes working with breweries near the cities where its tours take place.
That network has even expanded beyond breweries. BeerWalks has also developed relationships with major Danish cultural institutions, including Tivoli and the National Museum of Denmark.
Christoffer describes BeerWalks as a small piece of a much larger tourism industry, but one that can “punch above its weight” through strong partnerships and a distinctive experience.
Don’t wait for local demand. Create it.
Christoffer believes that awareness remains one of BeerWalks’ biggest challenges, even after five years of growth.
“The biggest challenge is people knowing we’re here,” he says.
His advice to other operators is to create opportunities for residents to discover their experiences actively.
“Make some special tours for locals,” he suggests.
That could mean testing resident pricing, creating locally themed events, running a giveaway, partnering with community organizations, or inviting residents to experience your tour and share honest feedback.
BeerWalks shows that local demand doesn’t have to come from a massive advertising campaign. It can start with an experience people genuinely enjoy talking about.
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