Online travel agencies (OTAs) usually keep 20 to 30% of every tour booking they sell. Viator's base commission is 20%, GetYourGuide commonly sets 25 to 30% per supplier, and Airbnb typically charges Experience hosts a 20% service fee. A direct booking through your own booking system costs far less: your booking software, plus a card fee when the guest pays online.
This guide puts real numbers on both, shows what a direct booking system needs to do, and explains how to run direct bookings next to your OTA listings without double-selling a place. Commission figures were checked in September 2026. Always confirm your own rate in your supplier contract, because it can differ by country, product and agreement.
What is an OTA commission?
An OTA commission is the share of the booking price that an online travel agency keeps for selling your tour or activity. It is usually a percentage of the retail price the guest pays, deducted before the OTA pays you. In return, the OTA lists your activity, handles marketing and payment, and brings you guests you might not reach yourself.
OTA commission rates for tour operators in 2026
| Channel | Typical commission for operators | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Viator | 20% base | The Accelerate program lets you pay a higher rate for more visibility |
| GetYourGuide | Commonly 25 to 30% | Set per supplier in your contract; varies by country and product |
| Airbnb Experiences | Typically 20% service fee | Deducted from the host payout; guests see the full price at checkout |
| Your own booking system | No commission | A software plan, plus card fees when guests pay online |
What a direct booking costs
A direct booking has up to three costs, and only one of them is fixed:
- Your booking software. Usually a monthly plan. Some systems also take a share of each booking.
- A card fee, only when the guest pays online. Stripe's standard pricing is 1.5% + €0.25 for standard European cards and 2.9% + 30¢ for US cards, with higher rates for international and premium cards.
- Nothing extra when the guest pays on arrival in cash or by card at your desk, apart from your own card terminal fees.
Here is one booking of two adult tickets at €60 each, so €120 in total, through each channel. The direct rows use TicketPa's Standard plan, which adds 1% to bookings paid online and nothing to bookings paid on arrival, and Stripe's standard European card rate.
| Channel | Fees on €120 | You receive |
|---|---|---|
| Viator at 20% | €24.00 | €96.00 |
| GetYourGuide at 30% | €36.00 | €84.00 |
| Airbnb Experiences at 20% | €24.00 | €96.00 |
| Direct, guest pays online by card | €3.25 (€2.05 Stripe, €1.20 TicketPa) | €116.75 |
| Direct, guest pays on arrival | €0.00 | €120.00 |
The Standard plan itself costs €49 a month, whatever the number of bookings.
What the difference adds up to over a season
Say you sell 1,000 of these bookings a year. At 30% commission, the OTA keeps €36,000. If the same guests booked directly and paid online, the fees would be €3,250, plus €588 for a year of the Standard plan.
Few operators move everything, and they shouldn't. But moving a quarter of those bookings, 250 guests who would have found you anyway, saves about €8,200 in fees. After a year of the plan, that is still about €7,600 more in your account. To do the same sums with your own numbers, use the booking software cost calculator.
What OTAs are good for
OTAs are not the enemy. For many operators they are the main source of new guests, especially in the first seasons. They are good at:
- Discovery. Travellers search OTAs when they don't know your name yet.
- Trust. A listing with hundreds of reviews reassures first-time guests.
- International reach. OTAs sell in many languages and currencies.
- Payment and support. They handle payment disputes and some customer service.
The commission is the price of that reach. The goal is not to leave OTAs, but to stop paying commission on guests who would have booked you directly if it were easy.
What a direct booking system gives you
- More of every booking. No commission on the ticket price.
- The guest relationship. You keep the guest's name, email and phone, so you can welcome them back or ask for a review.
- Your own rules. You set the cancellation policy, the booking cut-off and how guests pay, including pay on arrival.
- Faster access to your money. Online payments go to your own payment account, and cash on the day is yours at once, instead of waiting for a monthly OTA payout.
- Your own page. Your photos, your wording and your prices, without an algorithm deciding where you appear.
What your direct booking system needs
A booking page alone is not enough. Guests who book directly expect the same smooth experience they get on an OTA, so check that your booking system can:
- Show live availability for every date and time, and hide times that are full.
- Take payment the way your guests prefer: online by card, on arrival, or their choice.
- Send a ticket and a reminder automatically, with the time and the meeting point.
- Apply your cancellation policy, including refunds, without you doing the sums.
- Let guests cancel or change their booking themselves, within your rules.
- Check guests in on the day, with OTA guests and direct guests on the same list.
- Work on a phone, because most guests book on one and your team runs the day on one.
Our guide to what a booking system does walks through each of these in TicketPa.
How to run direct bookings next to your OTA listings
When you sell the same time slot in two places, the risk is selling the last place twice. Booking systems handle this in one of two ways.
With a channel manager, the booking system and the OTA exchange bookings automatically. This is common in larger systems and usually costs more.
Without one, you keep the two in step yourself. It sounds like more work than it is, because OTA bookings for small operators tend to arrive a few a day:
- Hold back places for your OTAs. On a tour with 16 places, sell 12 directly and leave 4 for OTA guests, then adjust as you learn your mix.
- Add each OTA booking to your guest list. Enter it as a manual booking, so your capacity, guest list and check-in stay complete in one place.
- Close a time slot everywhere when it is full. If a date sells out on one channel, close it on the other the same day.
TicketPa works the first way with Viator and GetYourGuide: it syncs with both, so their bookings land in your calendar and every channel sells from the same places. For other OTAs, use the second way.
How to get more direct bookings
Focus on the places where guests already look for you, and where you own the relationship:
- Your Google Business Profile. Add your booking link to your Google Business Profile, so people who search your name can book you directly.
- Your website. Put a clear Book now button on every activity page, not a contact form.
- Social media. Add your booking link to your Instagram bio and share it in WhatsApp chats and replies.
- Hotels and hosts. Give local hotels, hostels and holiday rental hosts your booking link to pass to their guests.
- Repeat and referred guests. Guests who booked directly once are the easiest to bring back. A thank-you email after the visit with a review link keeps you in mind.
- On the day. Walk-in guests and people who ask at the meeting point can book on the spot.
Our guides to adding a booking button to your website and taking bookings from Instagram, Google and WhatsApp show the steps for each.
Rules to respect when you sell on OTAs
Two things to check in your OTA contract before you change anything:
- Guest solicitation. OTAs generally don't allow you to move guests who booked through them onto your own channel. Keep your direct marketing for guests who come to you through channels you own.
- Rate parity. Some agreements require you to offer the same price everywhere, or restrict selling cheaper elsewhere. Read your terms before you set a lower direct price. Many operators keep one public price and offer direct guests extra value instead, such as more flexible cancellation.
Take direct bookings with TicketPa
TicketPa is a direct booking system for tours, classes and activities. You get your own booking page to share on Google, Instagram, WhatsApp and your website, with live availability and tickets in your currency. Guests pay online with Stripe or PayPal, or on arrival, get a QR ticket and a reminder, and can cancel or move their booking within your policy. On the day, your team checks guests in from a phone.
There is no commission on the ticket price: a monthly plan from €19, plus a small fee only on bookings paid online. See tour booking software for how it fits a tour business, or compare the plans.
