Best Alternative to The Flybook: TicketingHub

Keep the extra 1% — and your freedom to leave

The Flybook charges 4% on online bookings and asks you to sign a 12-month agreement that auto-renews unless you give 90 days' notice — forfeit prepaid fees if you leave early. TicketingHub charges 3% per online booking with no contract, no setup fee, and no monthly fee: you keep the extra point on every sale, and you stay because it works, not because you signed. It's free to get started, first product live in minutes, rated 5.0 on Capterra; integration fees apply for payment providers and OTA channels.

The Flybook is built for a specific kind of operator: larger, multi-service outdoor businesses signing a year-long agreement for deep guide and equipment scheduling tools. If that depth doesn't match how you run tours — or the lock-in doesn't — here's how the two compare.

What is The Flybook?

The Flybook is a reservation platform based in Bend, Oregon, founded by Craig Langer; the company says over 70% of its team has guided for or managed recreational outfits. Third-party listings date it to 2006. It targets businesses with more moving parts than a single tour: equipment and lodging rentals, ticketing, adventure parks and ziplines, rafting outfitters, dude ranches, and resort lodges.

The platform bundles online booking, guide and equipment scheduling, a retail POS, marketing and CRM tools, and reporting. Case studies name Wanderlust Tours, the Adventure Park at Sandy Spring, and Refreshing Mountain as customers, and it integrates with Viator, GetYourGuide, TripAdvisor, the Rezdy channel manager, and lodging OTAs like Airbnb, VRBO, Expedia, and Booking.com.

What The Flybook's pricing costs you

The Flybook's published pricing offers two options: 4% on online bookings, or 2% on all transactions — walk-ins, phone, and POS sales included, not just online ones. Negotiated plans (fixed monthly/annual, or monthly plus usage) exist but aren't publicly priced. Signing up also means a 12-month initial term that auto-renews annually unless you give 90 days' notice — terminate early and forfeit prepaid fees.

On real numbers: an operator doing $10,000 a month in online bookings pays The Flybook $400 a month on the 4% plan — $4,800 a year. TicketingHub's 3% costs $300 a month, $3,600 a year. That $1,200 difference is a new set of gear, a month of fuel, or a chunk of next season's marketing — and it repeats every year. The 2%-on-everything option covers a wider base including walk-ins and phone sales, so whether it beats 3% online-only depends on your channel mix: run your own numbers with confidence, because TicketingHub's side of the equation never changes.

The Flybook vs TicketingHub, side by side

• Pricing — The Flybook: 4% on online bookings, or 2% on all transactions (negotiated plans available, rates not published). TicketingHub: 3% per online booking.
• Contract — The Flybook: 12-month term, auto-renews annually, 90 days' notice to cancel, prepaid fees forfeited on early exit. TicketingHub: no contract, cancel anytime.
• Setup and monthly fee — The Flybook: not disclosed on standard plans. TicketingHub: no setup fee, no monthly fee.
• Booking widget — The Flybook: booking flows per business type; branding/multi-language support not published. TicketingHub: one line of code, brand-matched, multiple languages and currencies.
• OTA channel manager — The Flybook: Viator, GetYourGuide, TripAdvisor, Rezdy channel manager. TicketingHub: real-time sync with Viator, GetYourGuide, and other resellers; operators' OTA sales +401% 2022-2025.
• Magic Link (self-serve reschedule/cancel) — The Flybook: not described on its public feature pages. TicketingHub: guests reschedule, cancel, or convert bookings to vouchers themselves.
• Point of sale — The Flybook: retail POS with barcode scanners and inventory alerts. TicketingHub: iOS & Android POS, works offline, printers/cash registers/PDQ machines.
• Waivers — The Flybook: integrates with waiver systems (no specific provider named). TicketingHub: digital waivers via Smartwaiver integration.
• Reviews — The Flybook: 4.6/5 on Capterra, 64 reviews. TicketingHub: 5.0 on Capterra.

Why operators switch to TicketingHub

Keep more per booking, owe nothing per year

3% beats 4% on every online booking, and there's no paperwork attached: no 12-month term, no auto-renewal to remember, no 90-day notice window to hit, no prepaid fees at risk. Your software supplier has to re-earn your business every month — which is exactly the pressure that keeps a platform good.

Skip the training hours and start selling

The Flybook's own reviewers — 4.6 stars across 64 Capterra reviews — flag a learning curve: "It was hard to initially learn the software." Those training hours are guiding hours you don't get back. TicketingHub is built to be simple from day one: the widget embeds on any website in one line of code and your first product can be live in minutes. Jodie B., a business manager, knows the feeling of getting out from under a hard system: "It is a huge relief to be with TicketingHub. We are really thrilled after having been with a system that was difficult to use for too long."

When the weather turns, your phone stays quiet

Outdoor operators live with cancellations. Magic Link lets guests reschedule, cancel, or convert bookings to vouchers themselves — you keep the revenue as a new date or a voucher instead of a refund, and nobody spends the evening on the phone. The email validator stops typo'd addresses at checkout so confirmations arrive, and abandoned-cart recovery emails bring back the guests who almost booked: Shannon R. says they "noticeably reduced the number of people that don't book."

Fill midweek departures with OTA demand

Viator and GetYourGuide demand flows into the same live calendar as your direct bookings, with no double-bookings and no separate channel-manager plan to negotiate. Operators on TicketingHub grew OTA sales 401% between 2022 and 2025, and City Tours Belfast grew ticket sales 400% after switching booking systems.

What reviewers say about The Flybook

The Flybook holds a 4.6/5 rating across 64 Capterra reviews. Reviewers praise its support — "the best part of the software," per one — plus a professional booking flow and integrations like Mailchimp and Google Calendar. The recurring complaint is a learning curve: reviewers describe needing many hours of training, and note accounting/tax management "is not always easy." One guide-focused reviewer put it bluntly: "Built for places like zip lines. Guiding not so much." If guiding is your business, that mismatch is paid for in your staff's training hours.

Who is The Flybook right for?

• Established outdoor or adventure operators already running multi-day, lodging, or rental products alongside tours.
• Businesses that want bundled guide scheduling, equipment inventory, and retail POS in one platform, with staff time to learn it.
• Teams comfortable signing a 12-month contract and negotiating custom pricing rather than working off a published rate.

Who is TicketingHub right for?

• ✅ Operators who want to be selling in minutes, not paying for months of setup and training first.
• ✅ Businesses that want to keep their exit open — no 12-month contract, no early-termination penalty.
• ✅ Operators who want Viator and GetYourGuide filling slots without negotiating a separate channel-manager plan.
• ✅ Teams that want weather chaos handled by guests themselves, via Magic Link.
• ✅ Growing operators who want pay-as-you-earn pricing at any size, not just past seven figures.
• ✅ Anyone who wants 24/7 support from day one, without a learning curve first.

Proof it pays off

City Tours Belfast saw ticket sales grow 400% after switching from Checkfront, and Lions Water Adventure Park went from around $50K to $260K in online revenue in a year on TicketingHub. The platform is rated 5.0 on Capterra.

FAQs about switching from The Flybook

How hard is it to switch from The Flybook to TicketingHub?

Switching costs you an afternoon, not a season: setup is free, our team migrates your products and bookings, and your first product can be live in minutes. One tip — check your Flybook contract first. It auto-renews annually and needs 90 days' notice to cancel, so time your switch to avoid paying for both.

Is TicketingHub really cheaper than The Flybook?

On like-for-like online bookings, yes: 3% versus 4%, which is $1,200 a year back on $10,000 of monthly bookings. Against the 2%-on-all-transactions option it depends on your channel mix — that rate covers walk-ins and phone sales too, so run your own numbers rather than assume the lower percentage wins.

Can I try TicketingHub before fully switching from The Flybook?

Yes, with nothing to cancel if you don't move. No setup fee and no contract, so you can get a product live and compare it directly before your Flybook term is up.

Don't let the contract renew itself again

Every year on the 4% plan costs you an extra 1% of your online revenue, and the auto-renewal clock is always running. Trying the alternative costs nothing: no setup fee, no contract, free migration, live in minutes. Put one product on TicketingHub before your notice window closes and see the numbers for yourself.