Online travel agencies (OTAs) and booking platforms are a big part of how travellers find safaris and tours. They bring reach that a small operator would struggle to buy on their own. But that reach has a price: a commission on every booking, typically between 15% and 25% depending on the platform and your agreement.
The goal for most tour operators isn't to leave the platforms. It's to stop depending on them for every sale.
What Commission Really Costs
Take a simple example: a safari package that sells for $2,000.
- At a 15% commission, $300 of that goes to the platform.
- At 20%, it's $400.
- At 25%, it's $500.
Multiply that by every booking in a season and the number becomes large enough to pay for marketing, training or a new vehicle. And the platform, not you, usually holds the relationship with the traveller.
What OTAs Do Well
To be fair to the platforms, they are good at:
- Discovery. Travellers who have never heard of you can find you.
- Trust. Reviews and a familiar checkout reassure first-time customers.
- Payments. They handle international cards and currencies for you.
So the smart move is to use them for what they do well, and to make your own website good enough that returning travellers, referrals and people who already know your name book with you directly.
What a Direct Booking Website Needs
A website that wins direct bookings is more than a brochure:
- Clear itineraries and prices. Day-by-day plans, what's included and a starting price. Vague pages send people back to the platforms to compare.
- An easy way to book or enquire. A short form with dates, group size and contact details, or a full booking engine with availability.
- Payment options your customers use. International cards for overseas travellers, and MTN Mobile Money and Airtel Money for local and regional customers.
- WhatsApp contact. Many travellers want to ask a quick question before committing.
- Proof. Real photos from your own trips and genuine reviews from past guests.
- Speed on mobile. Most visitors will see your site on a phone, often on a slow connection, so it has to load quickly.
A Practical Balance
- Keep your listings on the platforms you rely on, with consistent prices and branding.
- Give past guests and referrals a reason to come straight to you: a direct contact, faster replies and a booking experience as easy as the platform's.
- Make your website the place with the most complete information: full itineraries, the guides, the vehicles, the lodges.
- Track where bookings come from, so you know which channel is actually growing.
Check your platform agreements before running promotions, as some contracts restrict offering different prices elsewhere.
Examples
I've built websites for several safari and travel companies, including Siiru Tours & Travel, Kibona Safaris, Ninoh Wild Safaris and Wie Geht's Africa Safaris. Each case study shows what was built and links to the live site.
The Bottom Line
Booking platforms are a useful channel, not a business plan. A fast website with clear itineraries, simple booking and the payment methods your customers use lets you keep more of every sale and own the relationship with your travellers.
If you run a tour or safari company and want more direct bookings, tell me about your business or see the plans with booking and payment features on the pricing page.
