GetYourGuide, Viator and Airbnb: what activity marketplaces cost you

Who your customers are

According to the Central Statistics Office, Ireland had about 6.4 million overseas visitors in 2025. Roughly 38% came from Great Britain, about a third from mainland Europe and about a quarter from North America. Many of them find and book activities online, often through a marketplace, and many read more easily in their own language than in English.

GetYourGuide

GetYourGuide says listing an activity is free and that it charges a commission only on successful bookings. It does not publish the rate: “rates may vary depending on your country of operation”, and the exact figure is shared after you sign up. Monthly payouts cost nothing extra; more frequent (bi-monthly) payouts carry a small surcharge.

Your own figure is in your supplier agreement.

Viator

Viator charges a one-time submission fee of 29 US dollars (or the local equivalent) for each experience you list. Commission applies only to completed bookings, and “rates vary by location”. Viator does not publish a standard percentage either.

Airbnb Experiences

Airbnb is the clearest: it says it “automatically deducts a 20% service fee from the payout of every experience booked”, and submitting a listing is free. Check on Airbnb’s hosting page whether experiences can currently be listed in your area.

What one booking costs you

Take a family surf lesson for four at €45 each, €180 in total:

Marketplace	Rate	Cost of that booking
Airbnb Experiences	20%	€36
A marketplace at 25% (example, check your agreement)	25%	€45

Over a summer of group lessons and tours, that adds up quickly.

Booking systems for selling direct

To take bookings on your own website, you need booking software: it shows your times and places left, takes the payment, and usually connects to the marketplaces so the same slot is never sold twice. Prices below are those published on each company’s site on 18 October 2026; some do not say which currency they use.

Software	How it charges	Good to know
Rezdy	$49, $99 or $249 a month, plus 3% per online booking (which you can pass to the customer)	Booking engine and unlimited marketplace connections included
Bókun	Free plan for managing Viator and manual bookings; from $49 a month plus 1.5% per applicable booking	No Bókun fee on Viator bookings; booking widgets from the paid plans
Checkfront	$99 a month plus a 3% online booking fee (which you can pass to the guest)	No Checkfront fee on marketplace bookings; price may vary by region
TrekkSoft	€49, €149 or €249 a month (billed yearly), plus 3%, 2.5% or 2% per direct booking	Payment fees of 2.5% + €0.25 per transaction in Europe; connects to GetYourGuide, Viator and others (check your plan)
FareHarbor	No monthly fee; a booking fee is added to the customer’s price at checkout (rate not published)	Ask for the fee and who pays card processing

How to choose

• A handful of bookings a week, mostly direct? A plan with a low monthly fee and a percentage per booking is usually cheapest.
• Selling through GetYourGuide and Viator too? Make sure the software connects to them, so availability updates everywhere at once.
• Passing the fee to the customer? Several systems let you add their booking fee to the price. Say so clearly on your page.

How to win more direct bookings

1. Put a booking button on every activity page, not just a contact form.
2. Answer the questions people ask before they book: duration, meeting point with a map, ages, what to bring, what happens if the weather turns.
3. Speak your visitors’ languages: with a third of overseas visitors coming from mainland Europe, a French, German or Spanish page answers them first.
4. Tell every customer they can book direct next time, on your confirmation emails and at the end of the session.

For how fast your site loads on a phone, where most activities are booked, see is your website slow on phones?