The Battle Over Tours and Activities Reservation Systems Rages On

One of the toughest decisions facing operators in the sightseeing and experiences sector is which reservation and distribution system to use. So the biggest software providers are competing aggressively on price to woo them. Since early 2018, when TripAdvisor bought one system, Bokun, and Booking Holdings bought another system, FareHarbor, the two brands have ramped up marketing campaigns while also pushing discounts. The systems providers believe that the sector will coalesce around a handful of players. They want to be among the winners who grab the most share. The world has dozens and dozens of reservations systems, which fall into a few buckets. Maybe a hundred or so are essentially mom-and-pop software businesses, with basic functionality often targeted for a specific product, such as, say, heli-sking. Another set of systems have taken venture capital money to grow faster. Peek has taken at least $39 million. BookingKit has raised tens of millions of undisclosed funding, including a Series C announced in May. Rezdy has taken about $6.5 million, while Xola has collected about $6 million, and Checkfront has received about $1 million. Lastly, FareHarbor and Bokun represent companies tied to online travel agency groups, which provide capital and expertise but also, deservedly or not, have a reputation for greediness and shadiness. (FareHarbor had raised about $7.5 million from investors and millions more from friends and family before selling.) Low-cost, niche, and profitable system players like Bookeo and Rezgo could hum along for years. But the venture-backed companies like Peek may have a clock ticking. They need fast growth to be able to justify an initial public offering or to sell at a high price to a potential acquirer. "All the exit opportunities have pretty much dried up," said Max Valverde, CEO at FareHarbor, during a panel talk on Wednesday at