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Wayward
Prepared for Downeast Acadia Regional Tourism
What's next for Downeast Acadia.
A renewal proposal and a look at what is possible in year three of our partnership. From new visitor tools to brand partnerships, here is where we think the region can go.
01
02

Your current package.

A snapshot of your current Wayward plan before we get into what's next.
Platform
Wayward Custom License
$350 / month
$4,200 per year  •  Total rate begins Jul 1, 2026
  • Unlimited experiences
  • Embeddable Tourism / POI Map
  • Up to 3 team members
  • Unlimited Trips
  • Content Repository
  • Brand and Experience Embeds
  • Free waiver access for all regional operators
Advertising
Wayward Managed Advertising
$750 / month
$9,000 per year
  • $500+/month in dollar-for-dollar paid ads
  • $250/month management: reporting, creative, monthly meeting
  • 1 ad/month designed and published
  • Channels: Meta, LinkedIn, Tripadvisor, TikTok, Reddit, Google Performance Max
  • Traffic goals and conversion tracking
Current total investment
$1,100 / month  •  $13,200 / year
03

A destination website used to be a brochure. Today it's the operating system for visitor experience.

The platform era (2010 to 2022)

Static listings. Rigid CMS. A support ticket for every change. One primary channel, the website.

Visitors accepted it because there was little else available. Teams accepted it because most vendors looked remarkably similar.

The intelligence era (2024 onward)

Dynamic experiences. A flexible stack. Live updates across every channel. Intelligence quietly working in the background.

Visitors expect their trip to feel personal, and teams expect their tools to carry more of the load. The destinations investing in this shift now are setting themselves up well for what comes next.

Downeast Acadia is already on the right side of that shift. Year three is about building on it.
04

The foundation for everything DART does.

Every piece of content, every listing, and every experience flows through the Wayward Intelligence Layer — a connected platform we are building to unify every output, from visitor-facing discovery to market intelligence. DART will be among the first destinations to have full access.
Core asset
Maps & Experiences
Dynamic trip planning, curated discovery.
Core asset
Website & Content
Destination pages, guides, traveler-facing content.
Core asset
Digital Footprint
All owned and syndicated channels and listings.
Output
Visitor Chat & Email
Real-time assistant answering visitor questions.
Output
Press & Brand Content
On-brand press, editorial, and campaign copy.
Output
Market Intelligence
Trend surfacing and strategy recommendations.
Coming
More outputs
New capabilities as the platform grows.
Foundation

Wayward Intelligence Layer

The connected core that links every piece of destination content, powering every visitor-facing output across the platform.

Destination Knowledge
Traveler Personalization
Content Intelligence
Engagement Signals
Market Awareness
Brand Voice
This is not a bolt-on. It is intelligence built into the foundation — and it will transform how destinations market themselves and how their teams operate.
05

Your dedicated team, built for a team like yours.

Wayward is purpose-built for lean DMOs doing meaningful work with the budget and team you actually have.
JakeJake
KeeganKeegan
MaxMax
KateKate
PetePete
AllisonAllison

Small and attentive

A focused team that moves quickly. Good ideas find their way into the product without waiting on a release calendar.

Human support, no tickets

Reach out by text, call, or Slack whenever you need us. You work directly with the people who build and run the platform.

Budget friendly

Pay for what you use. Pricing is scaled to the size of your team, not to a feature list designed for an enterprise of a hundred.

Purpose-built for DMOs

Every feature exists because a destination team asked for it. Built cleanly from the ground up, with nothing inherited from a larger platform.

Real-time everything

Publish a change in seconds. Fix a pin, add an event, swap a hero. Nothing waits in a queue.

A roadmap shaped by partners

You are a close partner, not an account number. What you need next quarter shapes what we ship next quarter.

06

228 points of interest. 700 trails. The digital backbone of Downeast Acadia.

Your Downeast Acadia map is already a regional standout. Here's what it runs on, and where it goes from here.
Downeast Acadia interactive map
What's live today
  • 228+ verified points of interest
  • 700+ mapped trails
  • 11 documented itineraries including scenic byways
  • 4 content creator campaigns
  • SEO and AEO infrastructure
Map capabilities
  • Sponsored POI placements
  • Backend access for quick edits
  • Custom filters and layers
  • Event-driven map content
  • Embeddable across any web page
Downeast Acadia Regional Tourism View live map
07
What's next

Six new opportunities.

Each one builds on what the platform already does for Downeast Acadia — adding new visitor tools, new capabilities, and deeper intelligence to the region's digital presence.

01
Platform Operations
POI & itinerary management, stakeholder intake, reporting & sponsored placement
02
Build Your Trip
Trip planning, sharing, and lead capture built directly into the map
03
AI Search & Trip Planning
Natural-language visitor search and trip planning integrated into the map
04
Automated Seasonal Print & Digital Maps
Reusable template system for automated seasonal print and digital map editions
05
Event Calendar
Dynamic map surfacing for key regional events, timed automatically
06
Brand Partnership Initiative
Identify and activate aligned national brands for the region
08
Managed Service

Platform operations. Handled, every month.

A monthly service that keeps the entire Wayward platform running and growing on DART's behalf. Map content, itineraries, POI management, stakeholder intake, sponsored placement, and regular reporting — all handled by the Wayward team so DART's staff can focus on what only they can do.

  • POI management: new additions, updates, seasonal closures, and corrections handled by Wayward on a rolling basis
  • Itinerary builds: 4 new or refreshed itineraries per year, built and published directly to the platform
  • Stakeholder engagement: dedicated intake for operator requests, partner submissions, and internal DART requests — Wayward fields every inquiry on your behalf
  • Sponsored POI management: coordinate premium and paid placements, ensure accuracy, and handle renewals
  • Monthly reporting: platform health, stakeholder activity, content changes made, and items in queue
  • Tracked action log: every open and resolved item documented and accessible to the DART team at any time
Investment
One-time software
None
One-time service
None
Recurring software
$50 / moIncluded in your package
Recurring service
$3,600 / year
$300 / month. Covers POI and itinerary management, stakeholder intake, sponsored placement coordination, and monthly reporting. No setup fee.
09
New Feature Build

Build Your Trip. Plan it, share it, come back to it.

A trip-planning tool built directly into the DART map. Visitors browse, save their favorite stops, and create a personal itinerary — then share it with travel companions or send it to their inbox. Every saved trip is a captured lead: DART receives the email address and trip details, turning a passive map visit into a direct connection with a real visitor.

  • Visitors save POIs and build a custom day-by-day or stop-by-stop itinerary from the live map
  • One-click sharing — visitors send their trip to friends, family, or travel partners via link or email
  • Lead capture: every saved trip requires an email, which flows into DART's marketing database automatically
  • Branded DART email delivers the saved trip with optional links to events, accommodations, and promotions
  • Turns the map from an informational tool into an active conversion engine for DART
Add stops to your trip... + ADD
Your itinerary
01Acadia National Park
02Seal Harbor Beach
Investment
One-time software
$3,750
One-time service
None
Recurring software
$50 / moIncluded in subscription
Recurring service
None
One-time build cost. All ongoing hosting and functionality included in your existing Custom License subscription after launch.
10
New Feature Build

AI search and trip planning. Built to move visitors, not just impress them.

A search bar and trip planning tool that understands how visitors actually talk about a place. Someone asks where to hike with kids, or what is happening this weekend in Stonington — and gets an answer drawn directly from DART's map, listings, and content. Not a generic AI response. An answer grounded in what is actually in Downeast Acadia. The goal is measurable visitor behavior: more itineraries created, more time spent on the map, more accommodations and businesses discovered.

  • Visitors ask natural-language questions and get answers drawn from your live map, itineraries, and content
  • Surfaces trails, businesses, and points of interest visitors would not have found on their own — search that understands intent, not just keywords
  • Goal: increase itineraries created, time on map, and accommodations viewed
  • No generic results, no hallucinations — only what exists in your destination data
  • Metered token usage billed at cost once live
"Where should I hike with kids near Bar Harbor?"
Try Jordan Pond in Acadia — paved path, stunning views, great for all ages. 3.5 mi loop.
Investment
One-time software
$7,500
One-time service
None
Recurring software
Token usage — metered at cost. TBD once live based on query volume.
Recurring service
None
One-time build to activate AI search on the DART experience. Ongoing token costs are metered at actual usage — we will size an estimate once query volume is known.
11
New Feature Build

Automated seasonal print and digital maps.

A connected map system that produces both a print edition and a digital counterpart from the same content foundation — automatically updated each season. Smaller format than the current guide, easier to produce, and structured to unlock more ad inventory per edition. Run one production cycle, get two outputs.

  • Flexible template system: each edition looks distinct but draws from the same content foundation
  • Smaller, more focused format — less ad dependency per edition
  • Ability to produce multiple editions per year (summer, fall, winter, or event-specific)
  • Unlocks additional co-op and ad opportunities for DART
  • Pair with Wayward Graphic Design service for each printed edition
Investment
One-time software
$5,500 – $7,500
One-time service
None
Recurring software
$50 / moIncluded in subscription
Graphic design / edition
$1,750
Software build is a one-time cost. The $1,750 fee covers Wayward Graphic Design for one seasonal edition — a one-time cost per map. Four editions per year comes to ~$7,000 in annual design fees.
12
New Feature Build

Key events. Surfaced at the right moment.

A dynamic event calendar that surfaces key regional events directly on the DART map at the right time. Events appear strategically — in the weeks leading up to each event and on event days themselves — rather than sitting as a static list. Visitors see what is happening now and what is coming soon, contextually.

  • Unlimited events featured with dynamic map visibility
  • Events surface on the map in the lead-up window and on event days
  • Calendar-driven display — set it once, map handles the timing
  • Drives awareness and attendance for marquee regional events
  • Foundation for a broader event discovery layer over time
🫐
Wild Blueberry Festival
Aug 16–18 · Machias, ME
SOON
Investment
One-time software
$3,750
One-time service
None
Recurring software
$50 / moIncluded in subscription
Recurring service
None
One-time build to enable calendar-driven event display on the map. All ongoing event management and display is included in your existing Custom License subscription.
13
New Offering

Brand Partnership Initiative.

There is real opportunity for a major national brand to sponsor the Downeast Acadia map and the outdoor lifestyle it represents. Wayward leads the work: identifying target brands, managing outreach, structuring the deal, and executing every deliverable once a partner is confirmed. Athletic Brewing is one strong example of the kind of brand that could be a natural fit — but the right partner is the goal, not any one name.

  • Wayward identifies and qualifies target brand partners based on DART's audience and values
  • Map sponsorship, co-branded experiences, and event presence for the confirmed partner
  • Promotion of aligned community groups (e.g. Bold Coast Runners) within the partnership
  • Wayward manages all outreach, logistics, and creative execution
  • Reporting on partnership reach, engagement, and ROI
Investment
One-time software
None
Annual service
$15,000+ / year
Recurring software
None
All service revenue. Price scales with the scope and caliber of the brand partner secured. Wayward leads identification, outreach, and all execution. Final scope confirmed once a partner is selected.
Proposal Summary

All six, at a glance.

01 / Platform Operations
POI management, itinerary builds, stakeholder intake, sponsored placement, and monthly reporting.
Recurring $300 / mo
02 / Build Your Trip
Visitors plan and share trips directly on the map. Every saved trip captures a lead for DART.
One-time $3,750
03 / AI Search & Trip Planning
Visitor-facing natural-language search and trip planning, grounded entirely in DART's own map and content.
One-time + usage $7,500
04 / Print & Digital Maps
Automated seasonal print and digital map editions from a single content foundation.
Build + $1,750/edition design $5,500–7,500
05 / Event Calendar
Dynamic map surfacing for key regional events, timed automatically. Unlimited events supported.
One-time $3,750
06 / Brand Partnership
Wayward identifies and activates aligned brand partners for the region.
Annual service $15,000+
Combined starting investment
One-time builds — excluding recurring service, per-edition design fees, and token costs
$20,500–$22,500
+ $300/mo platform operations + $15k+ brand partnership + $1,750/edition design
Move forward with three or more of proposals 01 through 05, and we will include the Event Calendar build at no additional cost.
16

DART is just getting started.

Year three is about momentum — building on what is working, unlocking what is possible, and making sure Downeast Acadia has the tools and the team to grow the way it deserves. We are genuinely excited about what is ahead, and we are fully in your corner.