Price the departure, not the seat. Add up everything a single trip costs you whether one person books or ten: guide fees, fuel and vehicle, permits, equipment wear, insurance apportioned per trip. Then add the per-person costs on top — safety kit, entry fees, food, the card processing fee. Those two numbers give you a break-even at any group size, and that is the floor you must never price under.
The mistake that sinks small operators is pricing at full capacity. Take your honest average occupancy across a season — including the shoulder months and the wet weekends — and set your price so a departure at that average still clears your target margin. If you need every seat filled to break even, one quiet week wipes out a good one. Track occupancy per tour and per weekday so you can see which departures are actually carrying you.
If a marketplace takes 6% of every booking, one of two things is true: you absorb it out of your margin, or you raise your public price to cover it — including for the guests who found you on your own Instagram. Both are bad deals. Price your trips on your own economics, sell direct where you can, and keep the platform cost out of the number your guests see.
Frequently asked questions
Should I discount to fill empty seats?
Only above your break-even, and ideally not on your public price — a last-minute rate offered quietly to past guests fills seats without teaching the market to wait for a discount.
How often should I review prices?
Once a season is enough for most operators. Review after the season closes, when you can see real occupancy and real costs rather than the ones you assumed in the spring.
More guides
How to take bookings on WhatsAppHow to reduce no-shows for toursHow to take deposits for tour bookingsHow to price your toursHow to get more direct bookingsSetting up WhatsApp Business for bookingsHow to write a tour cancellation policy