u/Potential_Force_4136

So even though its summer, some Northern Hemisphere ski resorts are still attracting tourists for stuff like mountain biking, hiking, and even summer skiing. But getting those bookings in the off season has been a challenge.

Ive been trying to figure out the best strategies to bring in tourists when the slopes arent packed with snow.

Maybe promoting the other activities these resorts offer or running special deals for summer travelers? Any tips would be awesome 🙌

I've reached that point where managing tours and activities across different suppliers is getting out of hand.

Too many bookings, confirmations all over the place, last minute changes turning into so much chaos, so i started looking into platforms that could help keep things more organized.

Heres what ive found so far:

1. GetYourGuide – really clean UX, strong for Europe bookings
2. Viator Travel Agent Program – massive inventory, covers pretty much every destination
3. Klook – better for Asia + attractions and ticket-based stuff
4. Headout – more curated experiences, good for quick bookings
5. Peek – more backend focused, also used by operators

Im trying to figure out if its smarter to commit to one of these or keep mixing suppliers depending on the destination.

So, im a travel agent and today i made the kind of mistake that could cost me my job.

I was booking a family trip to Orlando, beach, theme parks, you know the usual family stuff. The parents asked for everything kid friendly, no risks, safe for all ages. I used the travel agent platform to filter kid safe activities, thought i booked a calm harbor boat tour with some history and wildlife for them.

But nope. I somehow clicked the wrong one, ended up booking them on this wild adults only party cruise instead. Open bar, loud music, dancing, the whole nine yards. I sent them the confirmation email hyping it up as perfect family fun.

Cut to today, they show up expecting a calm boat ride and instead, its a drunken rave. Dads freaking out, mom is threatening to leave bad reviews, and their 4yo is terrified. Im now on the phone for two hours, offering a full refund, rebooking them for a real kids tour, and throwing in a free hotel night. Theyre still pissed, talking about lawyers and posting on social media.

How can i fix this and not lose the client for good?

Im still annoyed thinking about this.

Had a few clients in Paris last week. Seine cruise, Louvre tickets, a couple guided tours. Everything was booked through different suppliers depending on availability.

Then plans started changing. One couple canceled the cruise last minute because of weather. Another group didnt feel like doing the Louvre anymore. Someone else just ghosted their tour completely.

Next thing i know, im dealing with refunds across like 5 different suppliers.
One says partial refund, one says no refund, another needs 48 hour notice, another wants emails back and forth.

By the end of it, im down around €2,000 between non refundable stuff and partial refunds i had to cover just to keep clients happy. Now im trying to rethink how i handle bookings so im not stuck in refund hell every time plans change.

How are you guys dealing with cancellations without losing money?

Hey reddit, I run my own small boat tours out of miami beach mostly sunset cruises along the coast, sometimes we go past star island and the skyline hits crazy during golden hour. Groups are tiny max 8 to 10 people, super chill vibe, not those packed party boats blasting music the whole time.

My captain is licensed and I try to keep it more like a local experience rather than a typical tourist thing. People who come love it, reviews are solid, but actually filling the calendar especially weekdays is tough. Feels like everyone just defaults to the big booking apps.

Anyone here running tours in the US or had success getting more direct bookings? Or if you have been to miami and booked experiences, what made you choose one over another? Just trying to make this sustainable for summer. Appreciate any advice!

I work in marketing for a small tour company running city walking tours and boat trips in barcelona, and right now our whole team is in full panic mode. Our bookings had been flat for a while, so we were trying to boost summer sales with some flash promotions and email campaigns. We use booking software that handles promo codes, email sends, and tour availability all in one place.

This week we were setting up a small limited discount for a few select tours, nothing major, just something to test engagement before peak season. Somehow the system pushed out a 90% off promo to our entire email list of 45k subscribers instead of the small test group, and it applied to way more tours than it was supposed to.

Within 30 minutes, over 1000 bookings came in at basically nothing. People grabbed every popular weekend slot for july and august walking tours, boat trips, sunset packages, everything. Our normal capacity is maybe 200 tours a week, and now we’re massively oversold across the busiest part of the season.

Customers were celebrating the crazy deal while our operations team was basically having a breakdown trying to figure out how to handle it. We've already had to cancel hundreds of bookings manually and explain to angry customers why their confirmed spots disappeared. One bachelorette group of 20 is already threatening chargebacks and posting bad reviews everywhere.

We tried partial refunds, free upgrades, and moving people to less busy dates, but we're still oversold by around 40% on our biggest tours. Guides are being reshuffled, boat schedules are a mess, and the owner says projected losses could hit 150k before we even count the damage to our reputation. My boss is furious, but also keeps saying we can still recover by upselling extras and turning some of these guests into repeat customers. Right now it just feels like our busiest season got destroyed by one broken promo.

It feels like this software just set our whole summer on fire.