7. Customer acquisition
7.1 OTA commissions — the structural problem
| Channel | Commission | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Viator / Tripadvisor Experiences | 20% base, 25–35% effective with Accelerate bidding; + US$29 per new product listing | Widely reported |
| GetYourGuide | 20–30%; 30% is the default for new operators | PUBLISHED by GYG |
| Klook | 15–25% | Reported |
| Airbnb Experiences | 20% flat host service fee | VERIFIED (airbnb.com.au/help/article/1604) |
| Booking.com Attractions / Expedia | 20–25% | Reported |
| Adrenaline / RedBalloon / Experience Oz (Big Red Group) | 25–40%, mid 30% | ⚠️ ESTIMATED — BRG publishes nothing. Five attempts. Request their operator agreement before modelling |
| ATDW / SATC | FREE listing, $0 commission | VERIFIED (tourism.sa.gov.au/support/atdw) |
| Google Things to Do | 0% | Reported |
⚠️ The structural fact that should drive channel strategy: OTA commission is the only
acquisition channel that scales linearly with heads. 25% Viator on $189 is $47.25
per rider — $141.75 on a group of three. Search, social and host referral cost
$14–53 per rider regardless of party size because they acquire a booking, not a
person. Cap OTA at 20–30% of volume and treat it as discovery/fill inventory, never
the primary channel.
ATDW is free in South Australia and syndicates to southaustralia.com and australia.com.
Combined with Google Things to Do (0%) and Google Business Profile (free), these are the
highest-ROI distribution available and they cost nothing.
7.2 Booking software
| System | Subscription | Per-booking | @1,188 riders (~400 bookings) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rezdy (Australian, AUD ex-GST) | Foundation $49/mo | 3% online | ~$7,300/yr | VERIFIED (rezdy.com/pricing) |
| Bókun (Viator-owned) | Start $49/mo | 1.5%; 0% on Viator bookings | ~$4,000/yr | VERIFIED |
| FareHarbor | $0 (incl. free website) | 6%, designed to be charged to the customer | $0 if passed on; $13,600 if absorbed | Reported |
Model uses Rezdy at 3% — $5.67/rider GST-incl, $5.15 ex-GST, plus $588/yr subscription.
Note the 3% is passable to the guest; absorbing it is a real 3% margin hit that models
routinely omit. The draft omits it entirely.
7.3 Payment processing — the draft was right
| Provider | Domestic | International | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe AU | 1.7% + $0.30 (incl. GST) | 3.5% + $0.30, +2% FX | VERIFIED |
| Square AU | 2.2% online | no international surcharge | VERIFIED |
| Afterpay | 6.0% + $0.30 ex-GST | — | VERIFIED (Square AU) |
Blended at 85% domestic / 5% international / 10% Afterpay = $4.30/rider. The draft's
$4 is within 10%. ⚠️ BNPL above ~15% attach pushes this past $5/rider fast — 6% on a
$567 group booking is $34. Consider offering Afterpay on deposits only.
7.4 Blended CAC
| Channel | Cost/rider | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Viator / GYG @ 25% | $47.25 | VERIFIED rates |
| Airbnb Experiences @ 20% | $37.80 | VERIFIED |
| Google Ads | $53 | ESTIMATED — travel CPC US$2.12 ≈ A$3.25 (WordStream 2025), 2.2% landing conversion, 3 pax/booking |
| Meta | $40 | ESTIMATED — AU median CPM A$14.38 (SuperAds) |
| Host referral (flat $40/booking) | $14 | ESTIMATED — see below |
| Direct / organic / ATDW / repeat | $8 | ESTIMATED |
| Scenario | OTA | Search | Meta | Host | Direct | Blended/rider |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low (host-led) | 15% | 15% | 10% | 30% | 30% | $26 |
| Mid (steady state) | 30% | 20% | 10% | 20% | 20% | $37 |
| High (OTA-dependent) | 45% | 25% | 10% | 10% | 10% | $54 |
| Year 1 (no organic, no repeat, no host network) | — | — | — | — | — | $55–70 |
Cross-check that gives this confidence: published tour-operator benchmarks put direct
customer acquisition at 12–18% of trip revenue — on $189 that is $23–34/rider,
which brackets the low-to-mid end above.
Verdict on the draft's $40/rider: right at steady state, ~50% low for Year 1. Model
uses $60 GST-incl Y1 → $45 Y2 → $37 Y3 (ex-GST $55 / $42 / $35).
Two things the draft misses: the 3% res-system fee ($5.67/rider, §7.2), and fixed
marketing — site build, photography, content and brand at $6,000–12,000/yr — another
$8–16/rider at 750 riders. Photography is not optional for a $189 wine-region experience;
it is the conversion rate that drives every CPC figure above.
On the host channel — the concept correctly identifies short-let hosts as the
highest-intent channel, and the data supports it. Published norms: offline resellers
(concierges, visitor bureaus) take 15–30%
(TrekkSoft, VERIFIED).
No published data exists for short-let hosts specifically. Recommend a flat $40/booking
rather than a percentage — simpler, doesn't scale against you on large groups, trivially
trackable via per-host codes, and hosts read a round $40 as more real than "15%."