Looking for a Bokun Alternative? Why Sailia is the Best Choice

Every tour and activity operator runs the same balancing act. OTAs like Viator and GetYourGuide bring you reach and new customers, but they take a cut of every booking. Your own direct bookings keep the margin, but only if your site actually converts. Bokun, owned by Tripadvisor, is built around the distribution side of that equation, and it does it well, with broad reseller reach and no booking fee on Viator.

Sailia focuses on the side that tends to be most profitable: winning more direct bookings and keeping the guest. It connects to the OTA channels that matter, so you keep your reach, and gives you a direct checkout built to convert, your guests in your own CRM, and the whole operation in one place. Reach where you need it, margin where it counts, on a platform you own.

At a Glance: Why Sailia is the Leading Alternative to Bokun

Win more direct bookings

Every direct booking is a booking you did not pay commission on, which makes your own checkout the most profitable channel you have. The problem with most setups is that the direct booking page leaks customers at payment, so you end up leaning on OTAs by default and giving away margin you could have kept.

Sailia's checkout is built to convert. More of the visitors who reach your booking page complete the purchase, which means more bookings at full margin from the traffic you already drive. Over a season, shifting even a slice of your volume from OTA to direct is one of the biggest levers on your profit, and a high-converting checkout is how you pull it.

Keep your reach, on the channels that matter

Going direct does not mean going dark on the OTAs. Sailia connects to TripAdvisor, GetYourGuide and Google Things to Do, with availability synced automatically, so you stay discoverable on the channels that actually drive bookings for tour operators, and every booking, wherever it comes from, flows into one calendar and one set of reporting.

Bokun's reseller network is wider, and its Viator terms are a real perk if Viator is the bulk of your sales. The honest question is whether maximum distribution or maximum margin is the goal. If you want to grow the high-margin direct side while keeping solid OTA reach, Sailia is built for that.

Own your guests, depend less on OTAs over time

This is the long game, and it is where an OTA-owned platform works against you. When the relationship lives with the marketplace, every booking is a one-off and you are renting access to your own customers. With Sailia, every guest lands in your own CRM. You can follow up after the tour, ask for the review, offer the next experience, and bring them back directly next time, with email and marketing built in rather than bought separately. Each season your direct, repeat audience grows, and your reliance on commission shrinks.

One platform, no steep climb

Operators often describe a learning curve with Bokun and a setup that takes work before it pays off. Sailia starts simple and stays simple. Adding a tour, a departure or an add-on takes a couple of clicks, most operators are live within days with a real person guiding them, and the whole operation, bookings, waivers, payments, guest data and marketing, sits in one platform with a proper modern API underneath. As Tracey Boyne puts it:

"All of the features are so well thought out. It really is amazing. Just get it."

Pricing and support that make sense

Sailia runs on transparent, usage-based pricing you can review at sailia.com/pricing, and support is fast, human and available via in-app chat and phone during your working day, which matters when a booking issue lands in the middle of a busy season. Freddie Cardew-Smith puts it simply:

"Unlike other software companies, they always find a way to help."

The bottom line

Bokun is strong at distribution. Sailia keeps your reach on the channels that matter and then helps you grow the bookings worth the most, the direct ones, while keeping the guest and running everything in one place. If margin and repeat business matter to you as much as volume, Sailia is worth a look.

Frequently asked questions

Does Sailia connect to the OTAs like Bokun does? Yes. Sailia keeps availability synced across TripAdvisor, GetYourGuide and Google Things to Do, the channels that drive the most bookings for tour operators, with everything flowing into one calendar and report.

Can I keep selling on Viator and still use Sailia? Yes. You can keep your OTA reach and use Sailia to grow your higher-margin direct bookings and own the guest relationship, so you depend less on commission over time.

How does Sailia help me make more money on the same tours? A higher-converting direct checkout shifts more of your volume away from commission-paying channels, and built-in follow-up brings guests back directly, both of which lift margin without needing more traffic.

Is Sailia easier to set up than Bokun? Yes. Sailia is self-serve and most operators are live within days, with a real person guiding the process and no steep learning curve.

Do I keep my guest data? Yes. Every booking lands in your own CRM, so you can request reviews, offer repeat experiences and market to your guests directly.

Customer Testimonials

"It's an amazing system that streamlines our whole business into one place, and the possibilities seem endless" - Duncan Freshwater, Managing Director

"Switching to Sailia has made all the difference for us. We've had our best year ever, bookings are up by around a third and our customers love how simple the booking flow is" - Rosie Clark, Owner

"We haven't found another booking system that lives up to what Sailia has done" - Hatty Morsley, Events and Pathway Officer

"This booking software is revolutionary. Just get it! All the features are so well thought out, the support is great, and it's so user-friendly for customers." - Tracey Boyne, Director