Booking system for tours and guided walks: what providers should check

A booking system for tours and guided walks should count free places per date, schedule guides and equipment, take payment in advance and handle cancellations cleanly. Two further questions are where vendors differ most: what the system takes from your revenue and whether it connects to marketplaces such as GetYourGuide. This checklist goes through the points in order.

What fee models are there?

There are four models, often combined: a fixed monthly price, a percentage of the booking value, a fee the guest pays on top at checkout, and a marketplace's commission. The payment provider's fee always comes on top. Examples from vendors' own price pages, accessed on 11 October 2026:

Worked example: you sell 500 places a month at € 60 each, € 30,000 in total. A booking fee of 1.5 % costs € 450 a month on top of the subscription, € 5,400 a year. The payment fee is added with any system: at 1.5 % plus € 0.25 and 200 payments it is € 450 plus € 50. Run every quote against your revenue in high season and in your weakest month.

Ask every vendor: which bookings does the fee apply to, including those you enter yourself over the phone? Is it calculated on the gross or the net amount? Do you get it back when a booking is cancelled? Can you pass it on to the guest, and do you want to?

How are places, groups and guides planned?

• Places per date: the system counts how many places are free and accepts a booking for several people in one step.
• Minimum participants: if a tour is only worthwhile with four or more people, you need a rule or at least an overview so you can cancel in time.
• Private tours: a separate date for one group that blocks the guide for that time.
• Guides: each guide has working hours and absences. The system only offers a date when someone is free who is allowed to lead that tour.
• Equipment per participant: helmets, bikes or boats are counted too, so that two tours do not need the same twelve kayaks.
• Lead time and booking deadline: how long before the start a booking is still possible.
• At the meeting point: participant list on your phone, ticking people off as they arrive, and a message to all participants on a date.

Prepayment or payment on site?

For tours with limited places, payment at booking is the most effective protection against empty places. People who have paid turn up or cancel in time. What matters is where the money goes. With some systems the vendor collects the money and pays it out to you later. With others it goes straight to your own account with the payment provider. Ask about the payout schedule and who bears the fee when you refund.

What applies to cancellations and bad weather?

Austria: for contracts concluded online, consumers normally have a right of withdrawal. § 18 (1) no. 10 FAGG, however, excludes services related to leisure activities if the contract provides for a specific date or period. A city walk on Saturday at 10 am falls under this. Germany: the same exception is in § 312g (2) no. 9 BGB.

That means you decide whether and until when guests can cancel free of charge. Show the terms clearly before booking, for example free until 48 hours before, no refund after that. You need a rule for the opposite case too. If you cancel because the tour cannot take place in a thunderstorm, the guest will as a rule get their money back or a replacement date. State in your terms who decides in what weather and by when you will let people know.

From the system you need three things for this: a message to all participants on a date, moving a booking to another date, and a refund without a separate bank transfer.

This is not legal advice. If you bundle several services, such as a tour with an overnight stay, package travel law may apply. Have that checked by the WKO, the IHK or a lawyer.

Do you need a marketplace connection?

Marketplaces bring guests who do not know you and charge commission per booking in return. If you sell the same places on your website and on a marketplace, both need to know how many places are left. Systems with a channel manager sync this automatically. Regiondo, for instance, names GetYourGuide and Viator as connected channels.

Without a connection, two options remain. You give the marketplace a fixed allotment, say four of twelve places, and maintain it by hand. Or you sell direct only. For providers with regular customers, hotel partners and good visibility on Google, that is often enough. If you sell most of your places through marketplaces, make the connection a condition.

Checklist for talking to the vendor

1. What does it cost in my strongest and my weakest month, all fees included?
2. Does the money go straight to my account, and when?
3. Does the system count places, guides and equipment together?
4. Can I cancel a date, inform all participants and refund them?
5. Can guests cancel and rebook themselves, within my deadlines?
6. Which marketplaces are connected, and what does that cost on top?
7. In which languages do my guests book?
8. How do I get my data out if I switch?

How this works in EachVisit

In EachVisit you set up tours as dates with participant places. Guests see the free places and book for their group. Private tours run as a separate appointment with a maximum group size. Guides have working hours and absences, and you use qualifications to define who may lead what. Equipment is planned per participant. Payment is taken in advance or as a deposit through your own Stripe account. In the calendar you see the participant list, tick off arrivals and message everyone. You can move bookings. Guests cancel and reschedule themselves within your deadlines.

What is missing: there is no connection to marketplaces such as GetYourGuide or Viator and no waiting list for fully booked dates. There is no minimum-participant rule; you see the occupancy and decide yourself. Moving a booking does not change the payment automatically. Booking is available in German and English. The Mittel plan costs from € 129 a month, the Klein plan € 69. Commission is 0 %; Stripe's own fees apply. Closed beta pricing is available on request. Regular plan prices are shown for reference; any later paid use requires your active acceptance.