Introduction
Over the years, I’ve seen travel companies try every kind of payment structure for booking systems, annual fees, setup fees, monthly subscriptions, commission-based models.
What I’ve found works best, both for operators and for the technology provider, is something simple: only charging a fee when there’s a confirmed booking. It’s fair, it keeps priorities aligned, and it creates a natural drive for everyone to perform better.
Shared success builds better partnerships
When your booking platform only earns when you do, you both have the same goal: more successful bookings. That means every training session, every software improvement, every update to product data is designed with one outcome in mind, to help you close more sales.
It encourages better sales training
I’ve worked with teams who’ve doubled their booking value just by improving how they upsell. When your platform partner’s revenue depends on your results, they have every reason to help train your staff on these techniques.
It’s not about pushing harder, it’s about giving your team the tools to confidently recommend extras, upgrades, and experiences that genuinely enhance the trip.
It drives faster, smarter setup
The sooner you’re up and running, the sooner you can make bookings. A success-based fee naturally encourages a streamlined onboarding process, everything from loading your rates to integrating live availability should be built to get you selling quickly.
It keeps the software evolving
When performance is tied to confirmed bookings, software providers have a reason to constantly improve speed, reliability, and ease of use. Every second saved in a search, every smarter filter, every better data feed translates directly into more opportunities for sales.
It promotes accurate, up-to-date data
Out-of-date pricing or missing availability slows everything down. A success-based model pushes everyone to keep data fresh and accurate because it’s directly linked to revenue. The better the information, the smoother the booking process, the happier the client.
Even Small Gains Matter
One of the interesting things I’ve noticed is that in a success-based environment, even tiny changes can have an impact, whether it’s a faster load time on search results or a better layout for the booking page. Incremental improvements add up to more confirmed bookings over time.
Bringing It Together with EasyOTA
At EasyOTA, we’ve built our model entirely on this principle: no upfront costs, just a fee on confirmed bookings, refunded if cancelled. It’s a simple arrangement that keeps our priorities completely in step with yours.
But beyond EasyOTA, my advice is this: choose partners whose success depends on your success. When you both have the same target, it’s amazing how quickly you find ways to hit it together.
👉 Book a demo to see how we support success in our partners.
