5 Best Xola Alternatives for Tour & Activity Operators (2026)

Jarod LaFalce

Co-Founder / COO of BookingTerminal

Published on: July 10, 2026 | Estimated Read Time: 8 minutes

Introduction

If you're running tours, activities, or rentals on Xola and the platform has started to feel like more than you signed up for — you're not the only one.

Let's be fair to Xola up front: it's a strong platform. The checkout is clean, the marketing tools are good, and their 24/7 chat support earns real praise from operators. For some operators, though, a lot of Xola is front-loaded with marketing and distribution tooling — and if that's not what you came for, it can start to feel like running a whole marketing platform just to take bookings. That doesn't mean Xola is doing anything wrong; it usually just means the fit might be better somewhere else.

Below are five of the best Xola alternatives for 2026 — platforms worth a look whether you want a real human on your account, better resource control for your operations, something simpler to run day to day, or lower guest-facing fees.

1. BookingTerminal

If you're leaving Xola, you're probably after software that's fully capable but still easy to run. That's the idea behind BookingTerminal: the booking tools you use every day are right up front, while the deeper, less-used features sit in the background, ready the moment you need them. The core job gets done cleanly, pricing stays straightforward, and there's a real person behind you when something needs attention.

Why Operators Switch from Xola to BookingTerminal

A Real Person on Your Account

Xola's 24/7 chat is good — the difference is that it's a shared queue, so you get whoever's available that day. With BookingTerminal you get a dedicated account manager who sets you up during onboarding and stays your point of contact after. When you'd like to make a change, you know exactly who to contact, and they already know how your business is built.

Simple by Design

You're not clicking through a full marketing suite just to handle the basics. Just a clean backend and a fast, high-converting checkout for your guests. The things you do every day — checking today's bookings, adjusting availability, handling a walk-in, pulling a quick report — are obvious. If your booking software is in your way, something's wrong with your booking software. And the more advanced features are there the moment you need them — they just aren't crowding your screen the rest of the time.

Scheduling That Fits How You Actually Operate

Most booking tools just manage a calendar. BookingTerminal understands what's behind it — your boats, your guides, your gear — so it won't let you sell something you can't actually deliver. If two cruise offerings share the same boat, it won't book both at the same time. If a guide is already out, they won't get handed a second group. You set it up once, and the software quietly keeps you clear of the overlaps that turn into a rough morning.

More for a Little Less

Here's the part that's easy to like: everything above — the dedicated account manager, the clean day-to-day, the deeper tools when you need them — comes at a flat 5% online booking fee, a little under Xola's 6%. It's not the reason to switch on its own, but it's a nice place to land: the better fit for how you operate also happens to cost you a bit less.

2. FareHarbor

FareHarbor is one of the biggest names in the space and has been at it a long time. If a deep integration ecosystem is what your operation needs, it's one of the strongest options out there.

Pros: A large, mature feature set, a wide range of integrations, and the backing of a major parent company (Booking.com).

Cons: A 6% online booking fee — and a 6% fee on offline bookings too if you don't clear their volume threshold. It's also a lot of platform to learn, and support skews generalized rather than personal — both common reasons smaller operators go looking elsewhere.

If you're weighing the two directly, we wrote an honest BookingTerminal vs FareHarbor comparison — and a fuller FareHarbor alternatives roundup if you want the wider view.

3. Peek Pro

Peek Pro is another polished, consumer-friendly platform with a marketplace behind it — a natural name to look at if you're comparing options in Xola's tier.

Pros: A slick guest checkout, marketplace distribution through Peek, and a broad feature set aimed at growing online bookings.

Cons: Booking fees that can run up to 6%, and — much like Xola — it can feel heavy to set up and manage once you're past the demo.

We go deeper on where Peek fits and who tends to move off it in our Peek Pro alternatives guide.

4. The Flybook

A lot of Xola's base is rental and multi-activity operations — and if that's you, The Flybook is worth a look. It does a strong job combining tours and rentals in one system.

Pros: Strong resource and equipment management for tracking gear, and it handles guided tours and self-guided or rental experiences side by side in one system.

Cons: Setup can take time, and it's clearly built for multi-sport or rental-heavy operations — which is great if that's you and overkill if it isn't.

5. Bókun

Part of Tripadvisor and Viator, Bókun leans hard into marketplace distribution at a low booking fee — with a monthly subscription attached.

Pros: Deep Viator integration, a low per-booking fee (roughly 1–1.5%), and access to a large B2B reseller network.

Cons: That low fee comes with a monthly subscription on top, and it's largely a self-serve platform — operators often mention a busy interface and support that's more do-it-yourself than hands-on.

Conclusion

Leaving Xola usually isn't about chasing more features — Xola has plenty. It's about fit: a platform that runs the way you actually operate, puts a real person behind you, and stays out of your way instead of adding to your day. Whichever of those matters most to you, the right one is somewhere on this list.

Honest advice? Demo a couple of these, ask hard questions about fees and support, and pay attention to how each conversation feels — not just what's on the screen. You'll learn more about which one fits your business in a half-hour demo than in any roundup, including this one. And if you're already leaning toward making a move, here's what switching actually looks like.

If you want a booking system that's powerful but stays simple — with a real person behind it and a platform that doesn't fight you — BookingTerminal is worth a closer look.

Pricing and fee details in this post were gathered through independent research as of July 2026 and are subject to change. BookingTerminal does not guarantee the completeness or accuracy of third-party pricing — confirm current rates directly with each provider.