Tours and activities booking: experiences in the same system as the rest of the trip
Agents describe tours and experiences as the most time-consuming part of building a trip. Inventory is scattered, many local operators work only by website form or messaging, confirmations are slow, and the research rarely earns anything. This page explains why activities are harder than hotels and how to book them in the same flow.
01What goes wrong
The same four frustrations come up whenever agents discuss experiences.
No single source
No one source covers the experiences clients ask for; every tool has inventory gaps.
Long-tail operators
Local operators reachable only through old websites or messaging apps.
Slow confirmations
Confirmations arrive late and details change at the last minute.
Unpaid research
Recommendations the client books elsewhere, so the agent’s time is not paid for.
See where it breaks — and how it is fixed
The problem. The agent books connected activities in one tool, messages local operators separately, and the client books the rest elsewhere.
The fix. Activities are searched beside flights and hotels, on-request items enter the confirmation queue, and everything lands on one itinerary and invoice.
Explore each problem
No single source
Why it happensActivity inventory is spread across many suppliers and tools.
How the platform fixes itTours and activities are searchable and bookable beside flights, hotels and transfers.
Long-tail operators
Why it happensLocal operators work by website form or messaging only.
How the platform fixes itOn-request items are tracked in the queue, with messaging through Inno Message.
Slow confirmations
Why it happensConfirmations are manual and arrive late.
How the platform fixes itPending activity bookings are reminded automatically until the operator confirms.
Unpaid research
Why it happensRecommendations are booked by the client outside the agency.
How the platform fixes itActivities sit on the same itinerary and invoice, with a service fee where charged.
02Why it matters
For operations
- Hours per itinerary spent on experiences
- Confirmations chased by message
- Itinerary details updated by hand when an operator changes something
For the business
- Research with no revenue line
- Lower-value itineraries when experiences are left out
- Aggregator commission on the experiences that are bookable
For the traveller
- A trip with the “best bits” left to arrange on arrival
- Unconfirmed activities on the day
03Why it happens
-
The supply is a long tail
Unlike hotels and flights, most experiences are run by small local operators without connectivity. Aggregators cover part of the market and charge for it; the rest is reached by email or message.
-
Confirmation is human
Many operators confirm availability by hand, so an activity booking is “on request” until someone replies — and the reply may come after the rest of the trip is finalised.
-
Attribution does not exist
A hotel booking records who sold it. A recommendation to “visit this market with this guide” does not, so the client can act on it directly and the agent earns nothing.
Three kinds of activity inventory
| Type | How it is confirmed | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Connected, instant confirmation | Availability and booking through a supplier connection | Confirmed at booking |
| Connected, on request | Booked through a connection, accepted later by the operator | Pending until the operator accepts; tracked in the confirmation queue |
| Local operator, not connected | Requested by email or message | Pending until the operator replies; tracked and reminded like other on-request items |
Cancellation rules and supplier payment terms are set by each operator. They should be shown on the itinerary and invoice so the customer and finance see the same conditions.
04Our approach
Bring experiences into the booking flow and treat them like every other product: searchable, confirmable, invoiced.
In the same search
Activities appear beside flights, hotels and transfers, on the same itinerary.
Same confirmation queue
Pending activity bookings are tracked and chased like any other supplier booking.
Message operators from the platform
Operators who work by message are reached through the same messaging channels as travellers.
Same invoice
Activities are billed on the trip invoice, with a service fee where the agency charges one.
05How the Innovate Solution platform solves it
| Problem | Platform capability |
|---|---|
| Scattered inventory | Tours and activities inventory searchable and bookable inside the platform, beside flights, hotels and transfers. |
| Slow confirmations | The supplier confirmation queue with automatic reminders — see booking confirmation tracking. |
| Operators who work by message | Supplier and traveller messaging through Inno Message. |
| Unpaid research | Activities on the same invoice as the trip, plus service-fee billing — see commission tracking. |
| Building your own experiences product | Activities through the TripGic travel API for agencies with their own front end. |
How it runs, step by step
- SearchThe agent searches activities for the destination and dates beside the flights and hotel.
- Add to itinerarySelected activities join the itinerary and the quote.
- ConfirmInstant-confirm items are confirmed; on-request items enter the confirmation queue.
- InvoiceActivities and any service fee are billed on the trip invoice.
06What changes
| Before | With the platform |
|---|---|
| Experiences researched, then booked elsewhere | Experiences booked on the itinerary |
| Confirmations chased by message | On-request items tracked and reminded automatically |
| Research unpaid | Billed on the invoice, with a service fee where charged |
| Itinerary finalised without the activities | Activities confirmed with the rest of the trip |
See it on your own bookings. A live walkthrough of this workflow on the platform — not slides.
Book a demoWho this is for
- Travel agencies building itineraries
- Tour operators and destination management companies
- Online travel agencies adding experiences
- Developers building an experiences product on an API
Questions to ask any vendor
- Can activities be searched and booked in the same flow as flights and hotels?
- How are on-request activities tracked until confirmed?
- Can I message an operator from the booking?
- Are activities billed on the same invoice?
Frequently asked questions
Why are tours and activities harder to book than hotels?
Inventory is fragmented across many small operators, few of them connect to booking systems, and confirmations are often manual, so each activity can take several messages to secure.
Can activities be booked on the same platform as flights and hotels?
Yes. On the Innovate Solution platform tours and activities are bookable alongside flights, hotels and transfers, on the same itinerary and invoice.
How are activity confirmations tracked?
Pending activity bookings go into the supplier confirmation queue, and suppliers that have not confirmed are reminded automatically.
What about operators that are not in any inventory?
They can still be booked as on-request items and tracked in the same queue, with communication through the platform’s messaging channels.
Related pages
- Booking confirmation tracking
- Commission tracking
- Platform for tour operators
- TripGic API
- Travel booking software
- Travel software FAQ
About this page. The problem described here comes up repeatedly in public traveller and travel-agent forum discussions that our team reviewed in November 2026. Examples are paraphrased; no person, airline or booking site is named, and we do not claim how often it occurs. See all travel software problems and solutions.
Next step
See activities booked beside flights and hotels in one itinerary.
