JunglebeeRunning a tour business, written by people who do.
Guides on selling, getting paid and running the day, from operators in the Caribbean and beyond.
Family Business Succession for Tour and Charter Operators
Family business succession for tour and charter operators: what to move out of the founder's head and phone long before anyone takes over.
Things to Do in St. Croix, and What to Book First
Things to do in St. Croix, from Buck Island and the Salt River bio bay to forts, rum and Cane Bay, plus what to ask before you book a boat.
Caribbean Tourism Statistics: What They Mean for Operators
Caribbean tourism statistics: what the CTO 2025 and 2026 numbers mean for operators, from cruise vs stayover guests to seasonality and your own bookings.
Fishing Charter Marketing: Sell the Captain and the Date
Fishing charter marketing: sell the captain, show your open dates, price half and full days clearly, and turn fish reports and past anglers into bookings.
Stripe vs Square for Tour and Charter Operators
Stripe or Square for a tour business? Compare US rates, payouts, refunds, disputes and holds, and check your island is supported before anything else.
Pre-Purchase Marine Survey for a Charter Boat: What It Actually Costs (and What It Catches Before You're Stuck With It)
What a pre-purchase marine survey costs per foot, what surveyors check, and how findings affect your USCG inspection and insurance underwriting.
Charter boat captain salary: what the job really pays
Charter captain pay isn't the day rate, it's the year. An operator's take on day rates, tips, slow season and keeping good captains.
Things to do in St. Thomas, from a Caribbean boat guy
How I'd spend a St. Thomas day as a Caribbean boat guy: beaches, boat trips, St. John, and when I'd book through the ship.
Interchange Fees, Explained for Tour and Charter Operators
What is an interchange fee? A plain-English breakdown of the three-layer card fee stack, with a worked tour deposit vs. balance payment example.
Tour guide jobs: what operators look for when hiring
What operators look for when they hire tour guides and boat crew, from job types to work permits, and why the trial day beats your CV.
How to start a boat rental business: what I'd check first
I walk through starting a self-drive boat rental: bareboat rules, renter cards, insurance, fleet, and why the checkout briefing matters most.
Why Tour and Charter Operators Keep Getting Flagged as 'High-Risk' Merchants (and What Actually Fixes It)
Tour and charter bookings get coded MCC 4722 — here's why that reads as high-risk, what Visa/Mastercard chargeback rules mean, and what actually fixes it.
GetYourGuide vs Viator: which to list on first
GetYourGuide vs Viator for Caribbean operators: audience, commission, cancellations, payouts and calendars, and why I'd list on one first.
TripAdvisor Instant Booking: It's Really Viator
TripAdvisor Instant Booking for tours runs entirely on Viator. Here's the real commission, fees, eligibility rules, and a yes/no framework for operators.
How to get a captain's license: what I'd tell a new deckhand
Getting a US six-pack or Master license, plus why deck time as a mate matters more than the paper before you run guests.
Things to do in Anguilla
Should you day-trip Anguilla or stay? An operator's take on beaches, the cays, the ferry crossing, local food and boat racing.
Axe Throwing Booking Software: What It Actually Needs
Axe-throwing and escape-room venues need waivers that block check-in, per-lane/room capacity, and reset buffers — not generic tour booking software.
How much to tip a tour guide, from the operator side
How much to tip a tour guide, what I see guests give on Caribbean boats, and how operators should handle crew pools, card tips, and gratuity.
Tour Operator Itinerary Software: What the Crew Actually Needs
A guide to itinerary software: test whether the guest plan and crew's working view stay in sync from booking through departure.
Bike Tour Booking Software: Fleet Tracking & Routes
Generic tour platforms cap bikes by category, not by frame. Here's what bike tour booking software needs for fleet tracking and multi-day routes.
Food Tour Booking Software: What I Would Compare Before I Pick One
A practical way to compare food tour booking software: test the guest booking, host handoff and guide's day-of list before you choose.
Checkfront Pricing: What You Actually Pay (2026)
Checkfront costs $99/month plus a 3% booking fee — and that's before payment processing. Here's what you actually pay at real booking volumes.
How to Start a Tour Guide Business: What I Would Get Right First
My operator's take on what to get right before launching a tour guide business: the trip, real costs and booking handoff.
Things to Do in Bonaire: What I Would Build Around as a Tour Operator
My operator's take on Bonaire day trips worth building around: reef, wind, mangroves, land outings and what to tell guests before they book.
Charter Boat Crew: 1099 Contractor or W-2 Employee? A Plain-English Guide
Captain, mate, or dockhand — 1099 or W2? A plain-English test for charter crew, plus the seaman exemption and what misclassification actually costs.