What Tour Marketplaces Really Cost Operators in 2026 (Commissions Compared)
GetYourGuide, Viator, Airbnb Experiences and Klook commissions compared — and what small independent tour operators can do about the squeeze.
6 September 2026
If you run a small tour business, you already know the deal: the big marketplaces bring you bookings, and in exchange they take a serious cut of every one — often while owning the customer relationship, the reviews and the price you're allowed to charge.
Here's what operators typically report paying across the major platforms. Exact rates vary by contract, region and category — always check your own agreement — but these are the ranges that come up again and again in operator forums and industry reporting:
| Platform | Typical commission | Who owns the guest relationship? |
|---|---|---|
| GetYourGuide | ~20–30% | The platform |
| Viator / TripAdvisor | ~20–25% (+ booking fees) | The platform |
| Airbnb Experiences | ~20% | The platform |
| Klook | ~20–30% | The platform |
| Direct bookings (your site) | Payment fees only (~2–3%) | You |
The real cost isn't the percentage
A 25% commission on a $100 tour is $25. Painful, but survivable. The deeper costs are the ones that compound:
- You're anonymous. On most marketplaces, guests book "Kyoto Food Tour", not you. Your face, your story and your twenty years in the neighbourhood are compressed into a thumbnail among thousands.
- You can't build a repeat business. The guest's email belongs to the platform. Your best marketing asset — a delighted customer — evaporates after the tour.
- Price pressure flows down. When platforms discount to compete with each other, the margin comes out of your side.
- Reviews are locked in. Leave the platform and the social proof you spent years earning stays behind.
What small operators can actually do
1. Treat marketplaces as advertising, not as your business
Use the big platforms for discovery, but make sure every guest knows your business name and website before they leave. The operators who survive platform dependence are the ones who convert marketplace guests into direct, repeat and referral bookings.
2. Get your own direct-booking page in order
Even a one-page site with your story, photos and a contact form outperforms nothing. Guests who google you after seeing your tour on a marketplace should find you, not just your platform listing.
3. List where the person is the product
A newer generation of marketplaces — ours included — is built on the opposite premise: travellers increasingly search for "a local", not "a tour". LedByLocals is a curated marketplace exclusively for independent, locally-owned operators. Your profile leads with your story and your face, group sizes stay small, you keep the guest relationship — and you keep up to 90% of every booking. We're onboarding our founding cohort of operators now, and founding members get lifetime preferential terms.
The bottom line
Commissions aren't going down, and the big platforms aren't going to start marketing you. The operators who thrive in the next five years will be the ones whose guests choose them by name. Every channel decision you make should push in that direction.
Extraordinary experiences, led by locals
Small-group experiences run by independent local guides — not tour companies.