PlanRez vs Bókun
Bókun is a Tripadvisor-owned booking and channel manager built to sell day tours and activities through OTAs. PlanRez is a flat-priced back-office for African tour, safari and lodge operators who sell through enquiries, WhatsApp and partners. They solve different problems — here is where each one wins.
The short verdict
Choose Bókun if most of your revenue comes from Viator, GetYourGuide and other OTAs and you need live availability sync across channels. Choose PlanRez if you run multi-day safaris, quote and invoice by hand today, collect payment by bank transfer, M-Pesa or cash, and want a flat monthly price with no per-booking fee.
PlanRez vs Bókun at a glance
| Area | PlanRez | Bókun | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting paid price | $15/month flat | $49/month + 1.5% fee on applicable bookings | PlanRez |
| Free plan | Starter: free while you keep 5+ live Plan My Experiences listings | FREE plan: 1 user, booking management, focused on Viator bookings | Even |
| Per-booking fees | None | 1%–1.5% depending on plan (0% on Viator and offline bookings) | PlanRez |
| OTA / reseller distribution | Not included — listings via Plan My Experiences only | Marketplace with 2,600+ resellers incl. 70+ OTAs (per Bókun) | Bókun |
| Real-time channel availability sync | No | Yes, on paid plans | Bókun |
| Multi-day safaris & nights | Yes — duration in days/nights, multi-day dispatch board | Verify with provider | Depends |
| Vehicles & guides allocation | Yes — resources, clash warnings, driver sheets | Resource management on START and above | Even |
| Itinerary / quote PDFs | Yes — day-by-day branded proposals | Verify with provider | Depends |
| Invoicing & manual payment recording | Yes — invoices, deposits, balances, public invoice links | Payment links on START and above; invoicing: Verify with provider | Depends |
| Online card payments | Not processed — payments recorded manually | Payment links and point of sale | Bókun |
| WhatsApp messaging | Built-in click-to-chat with templates and logging | Verify with provider | Depends |
| Mobile app | Mobile-friendly web app + QR check-in scanner | Bókun Mobile App (bookings, check-ins, pick-up lists) | Bókun |
| Users | Team roles included | 1 / 5 / 10 / unlimited by plan | Depends |
Items marked “Verify with provider” could not be confirmed from Bókun's public pages.
Pricing comparison
PlanRez
- Starter — free, as long as you keep at least 5 approved listings live on Plan My Experiences
- Independent — $15/month flat, all features, no listing requirement
- No booking commission on any plan; 14-day trial
Bókun
- FREE — 1 user, booking management, zero fees on Viator
- START — $49/month + 1.5% fee on applicable bookings, up to 5 users
- PLUS — $149/month + 1.25%, up to 10 users
- PREMIUM — $499/month + 1%, unlimited users
Bókun prices taken from bokun.io/pricing in October 2026. Bókun states there are no Bókun fees on Viator and offline bookings, and that paid plans can pass the booking fee to guests. Prices change — verify with provider before deciding.
Feature-by-feature
Booking and reservation management
PlanRez
Bookings, booking requests, statuses, internal notes and atomic slot inventory so a departure is never oversold. Built for operators who confirm by email or WhatsApp first.
Bókun
Central booking management on every plan, including manual bookings, with automatic availability updates across sales channels on paid plans.
Online booking
PlanRez
Embeddable booking and availability widgets plus a branded storefront. Travellers browsing PlanRez are sent to Plan My Experiences listings rather than paying on PlanRez.
Bókun
Booking widgets for your own site and a no-code website builder, plus online selling through OTAs and the Bókun Marketplace.
Availability management
PlanRez
Schedules, time slots and capacity per product, with live capacity counts.
Bókun
Availability synced automatically across connected channels — Bókun's core strength.
Customer management
PlanRez
Customer list built from bookings, communication log (email and WhatsApp), CSV export.
Bókun
Customer and booking records; automated guest emails. Depth of CRM: Verify with provider.
Supplier management
PlanRez
Resources (vehicles, guides, rooms, equipment) and reseller/agent codes. No dedicated supplier contracting module.
Bókun
Reseller and supplier relationships through the Marketplace and agent booking areas (PLUS). Supplier contracting: Verify with provider.
Accommodation
PlanRez
Accommodation is a first-class product type with its own details (rooms, check-in/out).
Bókun
Bókun focuses on tours and activities. Accommodation inventory: Verify with provider.
Safari and multi-day operations
PlanRez
Durations in days and nights, a 14-day dispatch board for vehicles and guides that spans multi-day trips, printable driver sheets and guest manifests.
Bókun
Multi-day product support: Verify with provider. Pick-up lists are available in the mobile app.
Airport transfers
PlanRez
Handled as products with pickup points and vehicle allocation; no flight-tracking.
Bókun
Pick-up handling exists; dedicated transfer module: Verify with provider.
Quotes and invoicing
PlanRez
Day-by-day itinerary proposals exported as branded PDFs; invoices with deposits, balances, overdue reminders and public payment-status links.
Bókun
Payment links on paid plans. Quote and invoice tools: Verify with provider.
Payments and currencies
PlanRez
Records payments taken by bank transfer, M-Pesa, cash or card terminal — it does not process traveller payments. Per-workspace currency.
Bókun
Payment links, gift cards and point of sale on paid plans. Supported currencies and gateways: Verify with provider.
OTA and marketplace connectivity
PlanRez
No OTA channel manager. Distribution is via Plan My Experiences.
Bókun
Clear advantage: native Viator link (both are Tripadvisor companies), 70+ OTAs, 2,600+ resellers and Google Things to Do, per Bókun.
Integrations and API
PlanRez
Public REST API with scoped keys, signed webhooks and iCal calendar feeds.
Bókun
Zapier on PLUS and above; wider partner ecosystem. API details: Verify with provider.
Reporting
PlanRez
Dashboard KPIs, revenue and booking analytics, finance overview and CSV exports.
Bókun
Reporting included; depth by plan: Verify with provider.
Mobile usability
PlanRez
Responsive web app, QR check-in scanner and phone-friendly driver sheets. No native app.
Bókun
Native Bókun Mobile App for bookings, closeouts, check-ins and pick-up lists.
Strengths and weaknesses
PlanRez
Strengths
- Flat $15/month with no commission
- Built around multi-day safaris, vehicles and guides
- Itinerary PDFs, invoices and deposit tracking in one place
- WhatsApp templates that match how African operators sell
Weaknesses
- No OTA channel manager
- Does not process online payments
- Younger product with a smaller integration ecosystem
- No native mobile app
Bókun
Strengths
- Deep OTA and reseller distribution
- Real-time availability sync across channels
- Zero Bókun fees on Viator bookings
- Native mobile app and mature ecosystem
Weaknesses
- Per-booking fees add up as online volume grows
- Higher monthly cost for multi-user teams
- Safari-specific tools (itineraries, nights, dispatch) not confirmed — verify with provider
- Optimised for OTA sales rather than enquiry-led selling
Who should choose PlanRez
- You sell mostly through direct enquiries, WhatsApp, email and agents
- You run multi-day safaris or lodge stays and juggle vehicles and guides
- Clients pay by bank transfer, M-Pesa or cash and you need to track deposits
- You want a predictable flat cost with no booking commission
Who should choose Bókun
- Most of your bookings already come from Viator, GetYourGuide or other OTAs
- You need live availability synced across many channels
- You want card payments and payment links handled inside the system
- You sell short day tours at high volume to international travellers
African market analysis
Payments: many African operators collect deposits by bank wire or mobile money. PlanRez is built to record these; Bókun's gateway and mobile-money options should be verified with the provider.
Commission vs flat price: on $20,000 of applicable online bookings a month, a 1.5% fee is $300 on top of the plan price. PlanRez stays at $15. If those bookings come via Viator, Bókun charges no Bókun fee — so the maths depends on your channel mix.
Safari logistics: multi-night trips that tie up a Land Cruiser and guide for days are central in PlanRez's dispatch board.
Distribution: if you need to reach international travellers through OTAs, Bókun's marketplace is the stronger route. Some operators use an OTA-focused tool alongside a back-office tool.