Tarn vs. The Flybook
A modern, transparently priced alternative to The Flybook — one published rate, your own Stripe account, and software built for the trip itself.
The Flybook has been around since 2006 and knows the adventure industry well — rafting companies, ziplines, ranches, and lodges all run on it, and its lodging-plus-activities breadth is real. But its standard pricing is a percentage of your bookings (a 4% online booking fee or 2% of all transactions), final terms are negotiated on a sales call, and payments run inside its platform. Tarn takes a different shape: one published usage rate, your own Stripe account, and a fast modern app where a quote doesn't freeze your inventory and the whole booking lives on one screen.
Comparison based on publicly available information about each vendor's standard offering as of 2026. Vendors change their terms — confirm current pricing and features directly with each provider.
What you get by switching.
Quotes that don't freeze your inventory
Send a quote and the spots stay on sale. Tarn only commits capacity when payment lands — so a group that takes three days to decide can't block the guests ready to book today. When they do pay, the booking confirms itself.
The whole picture, one screen
Open a booking and everything is right there — guests, payments, balance, waivers, emails, notes — no tab-hopping. Open a contact and their entire history with you is in one place: every trip they've run, every payment, every waiver signed.
Transparent, published pricing
One published rate — 3% per booking stepping down to 2% with volume, no monthly fee, and no contract. You decide how the fee is handled — absorb it in your prices or pass it on at checkout.
You own your data, your site, and your Stripe
Tarn embeds on the website you already own, runs on your own Stripe account with payouts straight to your bank, and lets you export every booking, contact, and waiver anytime. Nothing is held hostage.
If lodging is half your business — a ranch or resort bundling rooms with activities — The Flybook's breadth may serve you well. Tarn is built for the outfitter whose business is the trip itself: faster to set up, transparent about price, and running on your own Stripe account.
Your next season starts at the desk. Make it a short visit.
Set up your trips, take your first booking, and get back to the river — with no monthly fee.