I’m sick of platforms taking 25-30% from us, so I built a 0% commission Open Source alternative. Should I keep going?

Hi everyone,

I’ve been following this community for a while and the one thing that always kills me is hearing how much Viator, Airbnb, and GetYourGuide take from local guides. In some cases, it’s 25%, 30%, or even more. They own the traffic, so they own your margin.

I’m a developer, and I decided to stop complaining and start coding.

The Project: I’m building a minimalist marketplace for Free Tours (and paid activities) where the commission is 0%.

How it works:

• For Guides: You list your tour, description, and city. 100% of the booking/tips stay with you.
• The Tech: It’s fully Open Source. I want this to belong to the community, not a corporation.
• Sustainability: To cover server costs, I’m thinking of just placing a tiny, non-intrusive ad or a small "support the dev" button. No hidden fees.

The Prototype: I currently have a functional MVP where you can already create a profile and list tours. It’s simple, fast, and does exactly what it says on the tin.

I need your honest feedback: Is this something you would actually use? Do you think a 0% commission platform can actually break the monopoly of the big players if we build it together?

I’m at a crossroads. If there’s real interest, I’ll pour my heart into this. If not, I’ll move on to other projects.

What do you think? Is it time for a "Guide Rebellion"?

If you want to check the code, give feedback, or just chat about how to make this better for your specific city, write in coments, thanks

Let’s take the industry back.