You built the camp, school or retreat.
You hired the coaches. Repainted the house or board storage shack. Got up at 5 am to check the banks and send messages to your team.
Then a guest books through a platform… and up to 30% of what they paid becomes the platform’s, not yours.
That’s actually your money. Your hard-earned dollarydoos (or in this case, euro-y-doos).
It’s the new rental boards you keep putting off.
The chef you can’t afford to keep on through winter.
The marketing you’d finally have a budget for.
Look. Being listed on booking platforms isn’t a mistake. It’s actually a smart move. But most surf biz owners have a leak nobody talks about… and it’s bigger than you think.
How much do booking platforms actually take?
Online travel agencies (OTAs) typically charge tour operators between 15% and 30% per booking. And if you’re a small operator or surf biz, you’ll often sit closer to 30%. That’s because platforms save their best rates for the big dogs. Woof.
So let’s run the maths on a modest surf camp.
Say you charge €700 a week and 300 guests a year book through platforms at 20% commission.
Mate… that’s €42,000 a year out the door! But wait. There’s more.
Commission isn’t the only cost.
When a guest books through an OTA, the platform controls most of the customer data and communication. So it’s also in the best position to win their next booking. Not yours.
So should you quit the platforms?
Noooooo. Please don’t.
OTA platforms can work for you (in a way). Think of them like a billboard. Plenty of first-time guests would never have found you without them. And for those guests, I reckon commission is a fair price for discovery.
The truth is that some bookings will always come through OTAs. The goal isn’t zero.
It’s making sure most of your guests (especially the ones you’ve already won) book through YOUR OWN SITE.
Where’s the commission you shouldn’t be paying?
Picture this. Sarah booked a surf experience with you in the summer of 2025. She loved it. Tells everyone. Raves about surfing. Buys a puka shell necklace and stops wearing closed footwear.
Lo and behold… twelve months later she wants to come back. So she opens the app she used last time and books through it again.
See what happened there?
You just paid 20% to “acquire” a customer you already had. I say boo to that.
Past guests sit at the very top of the 5 stages of customer awareness. They know you, they trust you and they’re ready to book. They’re hot to trot. They don’t need convincing.
They just need a direct path. They need to feel like they know you.
How do you get past guests to book direct?
Email.
It’s the one channel you actually own and one of my favourite ways of marketing a surf camp. Litmus puts the average return at $36 for every $1 spent.
(And no, newsletters aren’t dead in 2026.)
Here’s a simple setup you can run. The keyword here is “simple”. I’m a big fan of doing the fundamentals right and consistently. If you can nail at least 3 of these, you’re already doing OK.
1. Capture the email on arrival
Don’t rely on the platform to pass details on. Collect addresses at check-in with a QR code at reception, a sign-up for the daily surf report or a link to their photo gallery.
2. Send a thank-you after the trip
Photos from their week, a line from their coach and a gentle “you know where to find us”.
3. Send an anniversary email
Eleven months after their stay: “Same week next year? The swell’s usually pumping”. Link straight to your own booking page.
4. Give returning guests a reason to go direct
A free lesson, an airport pickup, a sunset session. Offer a perk rather than a lower price and check your platform agreements first as some require your public rates to match theirs.
5. Stay in touch in between
A regular newsletter with swell stories, new staff and camp news keeps you front of mind. Here’s how to write one in 8 simple steps.
Is your own site ready for them?
There is one catch.
Literally all of this is for nothing if your website sucks. That’s to say, it makes booking harder than the OTA’s app does.
Make sure your booking page loads fast, works on mobile and answers the obvious questions (what’s included, who it suits, how to get there) before guests have to ask. Clear, well-structured pages also help you show up in search… AI included.
What’s all this effort worth?
It’s actually not a whole lot of effort. Setting it up can be a pain. But it’ll pay off in the long run.
So back to that €42,000.
If just 30% of those OTA platform bookings came from people who’d stayed with you before (or were sent by someone who had), having them book again with you directly keeps around €12,600 a year in your business.
Remember… that’s money you’ve already earned.
It just keeps getting spent somewhere else and on someone else.
The bottom line
Use the platforms to get found. Use email and your own site to keep the guests who’ve stayed or booked with you.
The first booking can be the platform’s.
Make sure the second (and hopefully third and fourth) is yours.
Book a chat today if you want to do just that.