How to Sell Your Tours on GetYourGuide

GetYourGuide is the other platform most operators list on, and it is not simply a European version of Viator. It asks for more before it lets you in, it usually opens at a higher commission, and — unusually for a marketplace of its size — that commission is negotiable and there is often a person on the other end to negotiate with.

This guide covers what those differences mean in practice: what you need before applying, how the content bar works, how commission and payouts are structured, what drives visibility, and how to handle availability, cancellations and reviews. If you are working through both platforms, read it alongside our guide to selling on Viator — the mechanics genuinely differ.

How GetYourGuide differs from Viator

Worth setting out before you start, because the two platforms reward different things:

• A harder entry gate. Valid public liability insurance and matching business documentation are checked before approval, not after.
• A higher opening commission. New operators commonly start near the top of the published range rather than the bottom.
• Rates that move. Commission varies by country and is negotiable as volume grows — most operators have someone to actually talk to.
• A choice on payout timing. Monthly by default, with faster options available in some markets at a slightly higher rate.
• A stricter content bar. Listings are held to a higher editorial standard, which is why GetYourGuide pages tend to look more consistent.

Net effect: GetYourGuide takes longer to get onto and usually costs more per booking at the start, but rewards operators who invest in doing it properly and who come back to renegotiate once they have the numbers to justify it.

What you need before applying

Insurance is the hard gate

This is the single most common reason a good application stalls. Public liability insurance is a requirement, not a recommendation, and cover has to be valid for the activities and destinations you are applying with. Minimums vary by market and activity type, so confirm what applies to yours before you start rather than discovering it mid-application. If you do not currently hold cover, arrange it first — everything else waits on it.

Documentation that matches reality

You will need your registered company name and registration number, tax or VAT identification, a physical business address, and the destinations you operate in. GetYourGuide checks that your registration lines up with where you actually run tours, so an operator registered in one country and running tours in another should be ready to explain the structure.

You will also be asked to describe your operation honestly — what you run, how often, and typical capacity. Scale is not a barrier here. A solo guide running three tours a week is approvable; a description that does not match what you can actually deliver is what causes problems later.

The application and approval

Applications are submitted through the supplier portal and reviewed manually. The timeline depends far more on your paperwork than on the platform: complete documentation and valid insurance move quickly, while missing or mismatched documents cause the long waits operators complain about. Your specific commission rate is normally confirmed after approval rather than shown upfront — which is worth knowing, because it means you cannot fully model the economics until you are through the door. Once approved, enable two-factor authentication on the portal and review who on your team has access, particularly after anyone leaves.

Building listings to the content bar

GetYourGuide holds listings to a noticeably higher editorial standard than most marketplaces, which is both a hurdle and an advantage: it takes more work, and it means a well-built listing is not competing against a wall of sloppy ones.

• Photography carries the listing. Real images of your own experience, well lit, showing guests and guides rather than generic destination shots.
• Descriptions must be specific. The itinerary stop by stop, what is included and excluded, meeting point, duration and languages — vagueness reads as risk.
• Set expectations precisely. Fitness level, accessibility, what to bring, and anything a traveller could be surprised by on the day.
• Keep one product with options. Departure times, languages and private-versus-shared belong as options under a single product, so reviews accumulate in one place instead of splitting across near-duplicate listings.

The copy principles are the same ones that make your own website convert — our guide to writing tour descriptions that sell applies directly here.

Commission, negotiation and payouts

Where your rate starts

GetYourGuide publishes a range of roughly 20–30% of the ticket price, varying by the country the activity runs in. In practice new operators commonly start near the top of that range, and the exact figure is confirmed after approval. Treat any number you read — including this one — as indicative, and work from the rate in your own agreement.

It is genuinely negotiable

This is the part most operators leave on the table. Unlike platforms where the rate is simply issued to you, GetYourGuide rates move with volume and performance, and most operators have a named contact to raise it with. The realistic outcome is a few percentage points rather than a transformation — but on meaningful annual volume, three points is real money for one conversation.

Go in prepared: your booking volume and trajectory, your review scores, your cancellation rate, and what you are offering in exchange — more availability released to the platform, new products, better content. A competing rate from another platform is legitimate information to bring, not an aggressive move. Rates have also been revised upward for some operators in recent years, and some of those increases were reversed after operators pushed back, which tells you the conversation is worth having.

Payout timing is a decision

Monthly payouts are the default. More frequent settlement is available in some markets in exchange for a slightly higher commission — a real trade rather than an obvious win. Model it against your own working capital: if you are funding guides and vehicles weeks before the money lands, faster payouts may be worth a small margin; if cash flow is comfortable, keep the lower rate.

What drives ranking and visibility

GetYourGuide ranks on how likely a listing is to convert and be delivered well. No platform publishes its algorithm, but the levers operators can actually pull are consistent:

• Review volume and score — the strongest signal, and the hardest to shortcut
• Conversion rate — strong photography, clear pricing and complete content all feed this
• Availability depth — products bookable months ahead appear in far more searches than ones with a thin calendar
• Instant confirmation — travellers planning a trip want certainty now, and it converts better than on-request
• Cancellation rate — operator-initiated cancellations signal unreliability and cost you placement
• Content completeness — a fully built listing simply outranks a partial one

Note too that inventory listed on major platforms often reaches partner sites beyond the platform itself, so a well-built listing can be working in more places than the one you are looking at.

Availability, cut-offs and connectivity

You can manage availability by hand in the supplier portal, or connect it automatically. The rule is the same as anywhere: manual is fine while GetYourGuide is the only place you sell, and stops being fine the moment you also sell on your own website or a second platform. Two systems holding the same seats will eventually sell one of them twice.

A channel manager holds availability once and syncs it in both directions, which is what lets you offer full capacity on GetYourGuide, Viator and your own site at the same time rather than splitting seats between them. The pillar guide covers the mechanics; the practical points specific to GetYourGuide are these:

• Load availability deep. Thin calendars quietly suppress visibility, and European travellers book well ahead.
• Set cut-offs you can actually meet. Late cut-offs capture spontaneous bookings but only if your team can prepare in time.
• Keep seasonal closures current. Blocking dates you cannot run is far cheaper than cancelling bookings on them.

Cancellations and reviews

Cancellations you initiate are the most expensive mistake available to you here. They cost the booking, damage the review that would have followed, and count against your standing on the platform. Most trace back to availability that was not accurate in the first place — which is why preventing overbookings is a commercial issue rather than an operational one.

On the traveller side, set a cancellation policy you can live with and state it plainly. Flexible policies convert better; strict ones protect your margin on high-cost departures. The wrong move is a policy so unclear that guests discover it only when they need it.

Reviews are worth building deliberately rather than waiting for. Ask at the end of the tour while the experience is fresh — a guide asking in person outperforms any automated message — follow up shortly afterwards with a one-tap link, and reply to every review including the critical ones. Future travellers read the replies as closely as the complaints.

How Travelity helps

If you sell on GetYourGuide alongside anything else, the availability problem is the one worth solving first. Travelity holds your inventory once and keeps it accurate across every channel in real time, so you can release full capacity to GetYourGuide without hedging against a double-booking elsewhere. Reservations from every source — including your own website widget — arrive in one place, with the day's manifest assembled for you.

If the onboarding and listing work is the part you would rather not do, our OTA setup service handles registration and builds the listings for the platforms that suit your business. You can test everything during the free trial first.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need insurance to list on GetYourGuide?

Yes. Public liability insurance is a requirement rather than a recommendation, and applications are commonly held until valid cover is supplied. The minimum varies by destination and activity type, so check what applies to your market before you apply — this is the single most common reason an otherwise good application stalls.

What commission does GetYourGuide charge?

GetYourGuide publishes a range of roughly 20–30% of the ticket price, varying by the country the activity runs in. New operators commonly start near the top of that range, with the exact figure confirmed after approval. It is negotiable as your volume grows, so treat the opening rate as a starting position rather than a fixed cost.

How often does GetYourGuide pay out?

Monthly is the default. More frequent payouts are offered in some markets in exchange for a slightly higher commission, which is a genuine trade to model rather than an obvious win — faster cash costs a little more per booking, and whether that is worth it depends on how tight your working capital is.

Is GetYourGuide better than Viator?

They are different rather than ranked. GetYourGuide is typically stronger in Europe and gives most operators a named contact to negotiate with, while Viator carries Tripadvisor reach and often opens at a lower commission. Most established operators list on both and share one pool of availability across them.

Can I negotiate my GetYourGuide commission?

Yes, and operators regularly do. The realistic outcome is a few percentage points rather than a dramatic cut, and it works best once you have volume, strong reviews and a low cancellation rate to point to. A competing rate from another platform is legitimate information to bring to that conversation.

How long does GetYourGuide approval take?

Applications are reviewed manually and the timeline depends far more on your paperwork than on the platform. Complete documentation, valid insurance and a business registration matching where you actually operate move quickly; missing or mismatched documents are what cause long delays.

Bottom line

GetYourGuide asks for more upfront — insurance, documentation, genuinely good content — and usually opens at a higher commission than its closest rival. In exchange you get a platform with a strong European audience, an editorial bar that keeps weak listings from crowding you out, and a rate that moves once you can demonstrate performance.

Get in properly, build the listings to the standard, keep availability deep and accurate, and revisit your commission once you have a year of numbers behind you. That last step is the one most operators forget.

Related guides

• How to sell your tours on Viator
• Channel management for tour operators: the complete guide
• How to grow your tour business with OTAs
• How to stop overbookings and double-bookings for good
• What is a channel manager and do you need one?