Viator and GetYourGuide Commission for NZ Tour Operators (2026)

Last checked: 10 October 2026. Commission terms are negotiated and change. Every figure below carries its source and date.

Search for what Viator charges a New Zealand operator and you get affiliate programme pages, a 2019 PDF, and spam. That is not an accident: none of the big booking platforms publishes its supplier commission. This guide sets out what each platform's own pages actually say, what operators and trade press report, what that costs on a typical New Zealand tour in NZ dollars, and the practical ways small operators move bookings back to their own website.

The short answer. Viator, GetYourGuide, Klook and Expedia all decline to publish a commission rate; each says the rate depends on your location and is shared after you sign up. Reported rates for tours and activities sit between 15 and 35 percent, with 20 to 30 percent the common band, and GetYourGuide moved some operators from 20 to 30 percent in July 2025. On a NZ$180 kayak trip, that is NZ$36 to NZ$54 per booking. Platforms are now the single largest booking channel for experiences in Australia and New Zealand, so the goal is not to leave them but to stop paying commission on customers who would have booked you directly.

What each platform says on its own pages

• Viator (Tripadvisor): a one time, non refundable US$29 submission fee per experience, and commission "only on completed bookings", with "rates vary by location". No percentage is published on the supplier sign up page.
• GetYourGuide: "Rates may vary depending on your country of operation; the exact amount will be shared after you sign up." No percentage published.
• Klook: the partner page publishes no rate. Bókun, a booking software company, reported in March 2026 that Klook's rates are negotiated individually and "generally land in the 15% to 35% range". That is a third party figure, not Klook's.
• Expedia Group (formerly Local Expert): the activities partner page says its sales team "will discuss compensation with you". No rate published.
• Booking.com: has no direct contracts with activity operators. It sources experiences through partners, including Viator, Klook, Musement, and since October 2025 a FareHarbor integration, so the commission you pay is the partner's.

What operators and the trade press report

In June 2025 Arival, the experiences industry body, reported that GetYourGuide was raising commission for some operators from 20 to 30 percent from 3 July 2025. GetYourGuide called it a "targeted commission adjustment" affecting "a small number of supply partners", and some increases were reversed after operators pushed back. An operator quoted in the same article cited Viator's basic commission at 27 percent; we could not confirm that figure on Viator's own pages, so treat it as one operator's experience.

Paid visibility costs more. Viator's optional Accelerate programme lets operators bid a higher commission for better placement, and reported effective rates there run well above the base rate.

How dependent New Zealand operators are on platforms

Arival's 2026 report on Australia and New Zealand, covering more than 500 operators across two waves, found that online travel agencies have become the single largest distribution channel for tours and activities in the region. Arival's Bruce Rosard called it "one of the most important developments we've seen." The same coverage notes that one in three tour operators serves fewer than 10,000 guests a year, which is to say most of the market is small businesses paying platform commission on a meaningful share of a modest number of bookings.

Globally the trend is the same. Arival's 5,664 response survey, reported in February 2026, put the platform share of operator bookings at 37 percent in 2025, up from 33 percent in 2024, while the share booked on operators' own websites fell from 29 to 25 percent. That is a global figure, not a New Zealand one, but it is the clearest measure of the direction.

The maths in NZ dollars

Commission is easy to underestimate because it never appears as a bill. It is simply money you never receive. Here is what it looks like on three typical New Zealand experiences, using the reported 20 to 30 percent band.

Now the direct alternative. A booking taken on your own website through Rezdy costs a 3 percent online booking fee on Rezdy's published plans, which you can absorb or pass on, plus a monthly plan from $49. Checkfront publishes the same 3 percent plus $99 a month. On a NZ$180 trip, 3 percent is NZ$5.40. The difference against a 25 percent platform booking is about NZ$39 per guest.

If an operator moves 100 bookings a season from a platform to their own site, the difference is several thousand dollars, every year, for customers who were already looking for them.

Which bookings to win back, and which to leave

Not every platform booking is a lost direct booking. Platforms do bring travellers who would never have found you, particularly long haul visitors browsing a region they do not know. The bookings worth winning back are the ones where the traveller already knew your name: they saw your sign, read about you, were recommended by their accommodation, or searched for you specifically, and then booked through a platform because it was easier than your own site.

Those are the bookings your website loses. When we read the websites of 76 owner run New Zealand operators in October 2026, 22 offered no way to book online at all. The usual reasons are the same across most small operator sites we look at:

1. Booking is hard to find on a phone. The button sits below a long welcome paragraph, or opens a separate site, or asks the traveller to email for availability.
2. Prices are missing. A traveller who cannot see a price opens the platform listing, where the price is right there.
3. The site looks abandoned. A footer from 2018, an old COVID notice, or a seasonal banner from several summers ago tells a traveller the platform is the safer bet.
4. The platform is cheaper. If your own site charges more than your platform listing, travellers notice. Keep prices matched.

Five ways to move bookings back to your website

1. Put a working booking button at the top of your homepage, on a phone. Use the same booking system you already run (Rezdy, FareHarbor, Bookeo, Checkfront) and keep the traveller on your site.
2. Show prices and availability. If a traveller has to ask, many will not.
3. Turn on Google Things to do. Google lists tours and activities for free when your booking system is a connectivity partner. Rezdy and FareHarbor are approved partners on Google's list; Bookeo and Checkfront were not on the list we checked. This puts an "official site" booking option next to the platform listings in Google.
4. Complete your newzealand.com listing. It is free through Tourism New Zealand's Tourism Business Database, and a booking link adds a "Book Now" button that goes to you, not a platform.
5. Make sure AI assistants can name you. More travellers now ask ChatGPT or Google's AI where to go. The steps are in our guide to how to show up when travellers ask ChatGPT.

The full homepage list is in what a tour operator homepage needs, and if you would rather have someone do it, we publish a fixed price website rebuild for NZ operators.

Frequently asked questions

What commission does Viator charge New Zealand operators?

Viator does not publish a rate. Its supplier page says commission applies only to completed bookings and "rates vary by location", plus a one time US$29 submission fee per experience. Operators and the trade press report rates in the 20 to 30 percent range, with paid visibility costing more.

What commission does GetYourGuide charge?

GetYourGuide says rates vary by country and are shared after sign up. In 2025 it raised some operators from 20 to 30 percent, according to Arival, and reversed some increases after complaints.

Are booking platforms worth it for a small NZ operator?

Usually yes, for travellers who would not otherwise find you. The cost to watch is commission on travellers who already knew your name and booked through a platform because your own site was harder to use.

How much does a direct booking cost through Rezdy or Checkfront?

Both publish a 3 percent online booking fee on top of a monthly plan (Rezdy from $49, Checkfront $99). On a NZ$180 trip, 3 percent is NZ$5.40, against NZ$36 to NZ$54 at platform rates.

Does Google list tours for free?

Yes, through Google Things to do, if your booking system is a Google connectivity partner. Rezdy and FareHarbor are on Google's partner list.

Sources

• Viator, supplier sign up information, checked 10 October 2026.
• GetYourGuide Supply, How much does GetYourGuide charge, checked 10 October 2026.
• Klook partner page; Bókun, Klook supplier guide, 31 March 2026.
• Expedia Group, activities partner page, checked 10 October 2026.
• Arival, GetYourGuide commission increasing for some operators, 10 June 2025, updated 7 July 2025.
• Arival, The State of Experiences in Australia and New Zealand, 2026, as reported by Travel Weekly, 13 May 2026, and ITIJ, 24 May 2026.
• PhocusWire, OTAs increased booking share in experiences, 9 February 2026.
• Rezdy pricing, modified 29 April 2026; Checkfront pricing, checked 10 October 2026.
• Google, Things to do connectivity partners, checked 10 October 2026.
• Tourism New Zealand, Tourism Business Database help centre.