How to use tour add-ons to increase bookings and customer satisfaction

What if you could increase your revenue, improve the guest experience, and make booking with you more convenient — all without raising your base prices? That’s the power of tour add-ons.

Whether it’s a photo package for a zipline tour or lunch on a scenic boat ride, add-ons give customers the option to enhance their experience during checkout. These extras can be meals, upgrades, souvenirs, or anything specific to the tour that isn’t included in the base price. Done right, they add value to the experience, make booking easier, and give customers confidence knowing they will have everything they need before the tour begins.

If your activity has special requirements, such as reef-safe sunscreen for snorkeling, add-ons can help guests get prepared before they arrive. In this guide, you’ll learn why add-ons matter, which products and services work best, and how to offer them without overwhelming customers at checkout.

Types of Add-Ons

Add-ons can be almost anything imaginable, from meals and transportation to rental gear and more. Here are a few of the most common add-ons:

Trip protection: Let customers pay a small fee at booking to cancel or rebook under certain conditions. For example, you might offer a refund up to 24 hours before start time or rebooking up to 30 minutes before departure. This protects your revenue while giving customers peace of mind. Bonus: It is simple to set up in your Dashboard with a tailored custom field.

Combos: Make it easy for guests to buy multiple tours or activities in one checkout. FareHarbor Combos help you cross-sell your other offerings and increase total sales without adding friction to the booking process.

Meals and beverages: Offer lunch on a hiking tour, drinks on a sunset cruise, or a full meal for day-long activities.

Transportation: If you operate near major resorts or hotels, consider providing pick-up and drop-off service for tour guests.

Rental gear: Even if some gear is included in your base price, give guests the option to rent extras like trekking poles, binoculars, or upgraded equipment.

Souvenirs and memorabilia: Sell dockside photos, magnets, or collector pins as part of the booking process.

Photo or video packages: For activities that are hard to photograph, such as snorkeling, ziplining, or ATV tours, offer professional photography or videography so guests can enjoy the experience without worrying about capturing it themselves.

Area-specific products: If regulations require certain items, such as reef-safe sunscreen, offer them at checkout to ensure guests arrive prepared.

Pro tip: If your booking form already has many custom fields, avoid adding low-priority retail items like T-shirts. Overloading the form can confuse customers and lead to abandoned bookings.

Tips for Using Add-Ons

Do: Keep the add-on process simple by including all taxes and fees in the listed price.

Don’t: Include add-ons that reduce the overall price of the activity, such as discounts for bringing your own gear. If you want to encourage this, create a separate lower-priced item instead.

Do: Use conditional logic in your booking form to show add-ons only when they apply to the item being booked. Learn more about conditional custom fields.

Don’t: Overwhelm guests with too many options. Focus on add-ons that provide real value to the experience. Too many choices can create decision fatigue and lead to abandoned bookings.

Do: Offer retail items as suggested purchases in your confirmation email if they might complicate the booking form.

Don’t: Surprise customers with unexpected add-ons in the booking form. Mention them in your tour descriptions so guests know what to expect.

Pro tip: Track how your add-ons are performing with the Custom Field Answers report in your Dashboard. Keep the ones that sell, remove the ones that don’t.

Put your add-ons to work

Start by adding one or two extras to your most popular tours and track how they perform. As you see what resonates with customers, you can refine your offerings, introduce new ideas, or remove the ones that don’t sell. The right add-ons not only boost your revenue but also make booking with you more convenient and enjoyable for your guests.

Remember, the best add-ons solve a problem, meet a need, or create a “wow” moment customers will remember long after the tour. When you position them as part of a seamless booking experience, they feel like an enhancement rather than a sales pitch — which increases the likelihood customers will say yes.

For more ways to strengthen your business, streamline operations, and maximize every booking, explore our Business Essentials blog category.