Price a private tour per group when one party reserves the guide, per hour when the scope varies with duration, and per person when each participant adds meaningful cost or you sell seats on a shared departure. Calculate the minimum viable total first, then choose how to display it. A two-hour walk can require much more than two hours of work.
This worksheet is for independent guides selling city walks, food experiences or tailored visits. The figures below are original hypothetical planning examples, not recommended local rates, earnings promises or tax advice.
Start with all the time the tour consumes
Include preparation, messages, travel to the meeting point, the tour itself and follow-up. Add direct operating costs and the overhead allocated to this booking. If a three-hour booking prevents another booking that afternoon, consider the whole reserved window rather than only the time spent speaking to guests.
Suppose a private walk takes two hours to deliver and one additional hour for preparation, travel and administration. You want €45 for each working hour before personal tax. Allocated overhead is €25, and two guests create €10 of direct cost each.
- Time allowance: 3 × €45 = €135.
- Allocated overhead: €25.
- Guest-related costs: 2 × €10 = €20.
- Cost and compensation allowance before payment costs and contingency: €180.
This €180 does not yet account for every possible payment fee, indirect tax or unexpected expense. An allowance for your labor is also different from profit left in the business.
Choose the price unit that matches the promise
| Pricing model | Good fit | What to make explicit |
|---|---|---|
| Per private group | One guide reserved for one family or party | Included guests, maximum size, total price |
| Per hour | Flexible duration or guide hire | Minimum hours, rounding, preparation and travel |
| Per person | Shared departures or meaningful per-guest costs | Minimum participants, capacity, adult/child rules |
| Base price plus extra guests | Private tour with costs that rise with party size | Included guests and each additional guest charge |
| Custom quote | Special route, transport or several guides | Scope, validity, inclusions and payment schedule |
These models already exist in direct guide businesses. Guide Service Amsterdam publishes €255 for a three-hour walking or bike tour, excluding specified extras. Lex and the City publishes a base price with a supplement per additional participant. They are examples of pricing structures, not comparable market averages.
Work through a €240 group price
Using the same hypothetical costs, consider charging €240 per private group of up to six. Assume every participant adds €10 in costs, while time and allocated overhead remain €160 together.
| Party size | Guest pays in total | Your modeled cost before payment fees | Amount left before fees and other obligations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two | €240 | €180 | €60 |
| Four | €240 | €200 | €40 |
| Six | €240 | €220 | €20 |
The fixed group price is easy to understand, but the amount left narrows as the party grows. If your target additional buffer is €40 before fees, a six-person tour needs at least €260 under these assumptions. You could reduce the included group size, charge for extra guests or revise the total. Do not solve the difference by hiding unavoidable charges until checkout.
An hourly version also needs a minimum. At €80 per tour hour, a two-hour minimum generates €160, which does not cover the modeled €180 for two guests. An appealing hourly number can hide unpaid preparation time.
Add booking and payment costs on the same basis
For a simple percentage fee r and a fixed transaction fee f, the gross amount needed to retain B before other obligations is (B + f) ÷ (1 − r). This simplified formula assumes the percentage applies to the whole charge. Different fee bases, multiple payments, currency conversion and taxes require their own calculation.
For illustration, if B is €180, r is 2% and f is zero, €180 ÷ 0.98 = about €183.67. This models one percentage component only; it is not an all-in processing quote.
PayRequest pricing lists Free with a 2% standard platform payment fee, capped at €25 per transaction, and Premium at €5/month with 0% standard platform payment fees while active. Provider fees and commission-payment exceptions remain separate. On one €240 standard payment, Free's platform component is €4.80. Two such payments in a month total €9.60, compared with Premium's €5 monthly subscription before provider fees. Count your actual payment mix, including deposits and balances, before choosing a plan.
Marketplace costs also buy a different service. Airbnb typically charges experience hosts 20%, including access to its marketplace services. Direct-booking software does not replace that customer acquisition. Compare the full work and cost of getting the guest, not just the checkout fee.
Put the final price on a bookable offer
Publish the total and pricing unit together: for example, “€260 per private group, up to six guests, two hours.” State what is included, what the guest must buy separately and how extra time is agreed. Make the actual tax-inclusive or tax-exclusive presentation appropriate to your market and customer type.
On your PayRequest sales page, organize offers by clear duration and scope. Use booking products for fixed tours and a request for work that needs a custom quote. If you collect €65 toward a €260 tour, the remaining balance is €195; the deposit does not change the tour price.
Use the tour-page template to present the offer and the private-tour deposit guide to define when the date becomes confirmed. Revisit the worksheet when actual preparation time, guest costs or booking mix changes.
Editorial note: AI assisted this article and illustration. Official pricing and operator examples were reviewed on 26 October 2026. All worksheet results are hypothetical arithmetic, not measured margins or a prediction of demand.
