Find out exactly what OTAs
cost you every year.
Enter your booking volume and see your actual annual commission bill — then compare it to what you'd pay going direct. Most operators are surprised by the number.
What each OTA charges operators
These are publicly disclosed or widely reported commission ranges. Actual rates vary by operator tier, booking volume, and negotiation.
World's largest tours and activities OTA. Standard rate is ~25%; new operators often start at the higher end.
Part of the TripAdvisor Group. Strong SEO visibility. Preferred partners can negotiate, but ~25% is standard.
Dominant in Asia-Pacific. Fast-growing globally. Mobile-first platform with a large Gen Z user base.
Last-minute focused with strong urban presence. Rates typically 20–30% depending on category and city.
One of the lower OTA rates in the market. Fixed at 20%. Strong for unique, host-led local experiences.
Via the Expedia Local Expert programme. Rates vary by tier. Benefits from hotel guest upsell traffic.
Acquired by TUI Group. Skews toward museum tickets, cultural tours, and European destinations.
The dominant OTA for Spanish-speaking markets. Higher commission than global average.
Focused on museum and attraction ticketing. Strong in Northern Europe and the US east coast.
Bokun is primarily a booking system (separate subscription fee). The marketplace distribution layer adds ~15–20%.
Direct booking platform. You pay only the payment gateway processing fee (Stripe or Razorpay standard rate). No commission, ever.
The costs that don't show up on the invoice
Commission is the number you can measure. These are the costs that compound silently over time.
The OTA captures the email, name, and booking history — not you. You can't retarget them, can't send a follow-up, and can't identify if they return.
Your most valuable guests — the ones who'd come back — are invisible to you. The OTA can sell them a competitor's tour next season without you knowing.
Rankings, visibility, and reviews are governed by the OTA's algorithm. A single policy change or review dispute can damage your business overnight.
OTAs surface the cheapest result first. You end up discounting to stay visible, which erodes both margin and perceived value simultaneously.
OTAs routinely push operators to discount unsold slots. What starts as 'filling gaps' becomes a pattern that trains guests to wait for markdowns.
Years of reviews and ratings on an OTA create switching costs. If you ever want to go direct, you start from zero credibility on your own channel.