For many tour operators, the decision to work with an online travel agency (OTA) comes down to the commission costs.
It’s a fair consideration. When OTAs charge a percentage on each booking, operators may want to focus solely on direct bookings.
But looking at commission in isolation can make it harder to understand the actual value an OTA can bring to your business. To get the full picture, it’s important to consider the acquisition cost of each channel and whether you could have reached that customer another way.
Why OTA commission feels expensive
Every time an OTA booking comes through, you can check the transaction and see a percentage going elsewhere. It can feel like you’re giving away revenue you’ve already earned.
Direct bookings create a different perception. When a customer books through your website, there’s no line item labeled “commission,” so the booking can appear to cost you nothing.
But the cost is still there.
Every booking has a customer acquisition cost
Every booking has a customer acquisition cost, but that cost looks different depending on the channel.
| Channel | Typical cost structure |
| Google Ads | Pay per click or campaign |
| Social advertising | Pay per campaign or impression |
| SEO | Time and ongoing investment |
| Website | Development, maintenance, and optimization |
| Email marketing | Software, content, and staff time |
| Referral programs | Discounts, commissions, or incentives |
| OTA | Commission when a booking happens |
You should also account for staff time. The hours your team spends creating content, managing campaigns, maintaining your website, or building partnerships are also part of what it costs to acquire customers.
OTA commission is often the most transparent acquisition cost, but not necessarily the most expensive one. Here you can see that direct bookings also have a cost, it just may not be clearly accounted for in your Dashboard.
The real question is incremental demand
Does the OTA help you reach a customer who may not have booked with you otherwise?
Think about a traveler searching for an experience in a destination they’ve never visited. They may know they want to go kayaking, whale watching, or sightseeing, but they don’t know your exact business. An OTA can put your experience in front of that traveler while they’re already searching for something to do.
That’s incremental demand: customers or bookings you may not have captured through your existing channels.
FareHarbor’s 2025 Market Report shows that affiliate bookings have continued to grow in several regions. In the Americas and Caribbean, the affiliate bookings share has steadily increased while direct booking has softened slightly. In Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, online affiliates continue to show particularly strong growth.
Third-party distribution can create access to demand that may be difficult or impossible to reach through direct channels alone.
The most expensive seat is the one that goes unsold
You may have a guide scheduled, a boat fueled, a vehicle ready, or equipment reserved. Those costs exist whether you have a full tour or only a few spots filled.
Once the departure leaves, an empty seat or unused spot has no revenue-generating potential, which is where OTA commission can make strategic sense.
Imagine you have a 20-person departure with 15 direct bookings. An OTA sends you three additional customers who wouldn’t otherwise have booked. You’ll pay commission on those three bookings, but you have also generated revenue from inventory that otherwise might have gone unused.
The question becomes less about protecting 100% of the ticket price and more about maximizing the value of the inventory you already have.
When does OTA commission make strategic sense?
OTA distribution can make strategic sense when you need to:
- Fill low-demand departures
- Reach new audiences
- Enter a new market
- Support weaker months
- Build awareness while your brand grows
When might OTA bookings not be helping?
You may want to rethink your strategy if you’re:
- Paying commission on departures that consistently sell out through direct bookings
- Using OTAs for inventory that may not need additional demand
- Becoming overly dependent on a single marketplace
- Allowing third-party bookings to replace strong direct demand
- Distributing inventory without considering your capacity or booking patterns
This is why there’s no universal percentage of bookings that should come from OTAs. Your ideal distribution strategy depends on your products, region, capacity, booking window, customer behavior, and growth goals.
How can you protect your most valuable inventory?
Using OTAs doesn’t mean handing over your entire calendar. For example, you may want to prioritize direct bookings for:
- Departures that consistently sell out
- High-demand holidays or dates
- Limited-capacity experiences
- Premium products where protecting margin is especially important
At the same time, you can make harder-to-fill inventory available to selected partners.
FareHarbor’s Affiliate Rules give operators more control over when affiliates can book. That means your distribution strategy doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You can adjust access based on the inventory, partner, day, or business need.
Stop asking, “Should I use OTAs?”
The better question is: What do I need this channel to do?
Before adding or expanding an OTA relationship, consider:
- What business goal am I trying to achieve?
- Where do I have available capacity?
- Which customers or markets am I struggling to reach?
- What would it cost to reach those customers another way?
These factors can help you determine the role an OTA and other channels should play in your distribution strategy.
The goal isn’t more OTA bookings. It’s smarter distribution.
Distribution isn’t about being everywhere. It’s about using each channel for the job it does best.
FareHarbor gives you the tools to manage availability and bookings across your distribution channels, so you can make more intentional decisions about where and when your inventory is available.
Ready to take a closer look at your distribution strategy? Book a demo with FareHarbor to see how you can manage your bookings and distribution in one place.
Frequently asked questions
Are OTA commissions worth it for tour operators?
OTA commissions can be worthwhile when they help you reach incremental customers or fill inventory that may otherwise go unsold. The value depends on your acquisition costs, demand, capacity, and business goals.
What is incremental demand?
Incremental demand refers to customers or bookings you may not have captured through your existing direct marketing and sales channels. OTAs can be one way to access that additional demand.
Should tour operators sell every departure through an OTA?
Not necessarily. You may want to prioritize direct bookings for high-demand departures while making underbooked inventory available through selected third-party channels.
Are direct bookings really free?
No. Direct bookings still require investments in marketing, SEO, website development, email, advertising, staff time, and other acquisition activities.
How can tour operators manage OTA inventory?
Your approach should depend on your business goals and inventory. FareHarbor tools, including Affiliate Rules, can help you control when and where participating affiliates can access your inventory.
