Viator sells you your own customers.
ʻUpena Strategy moves Hawaiʻi tour operators off 25% commission and onto booking channels they own. Built in Honolulu, by an operator who pays the same commission you do.
You ran the boat. They took 25%.
You paid the crew, the fuel, the insurance, the weather risk. The platform that resold your seats took a quarter of the fare — and then bid on your name so the next guest would book through them too.
Fewer visitors. Spending more.
The state's own visitor data tells one story: arrivals have softened while spending per visitor climbs. Premium experiences win — if the booking lands in your till, not the platform's.
Visitor spending in July 2025 alone — up 4.6% on the prior year while arrivals fell. DBEDT
Of US West visitors are repeat guests. Repeat guests will book direct — if you give them a door. DBEDT 2025
What a $1M operator at a 60% OTA split hands the platforms every year.
One job: bookings you own.
Direct Booking Engine
Booking funnel, conversion, SEO foundation, analytics that separate direct from OTA revenue, Google Business Profile. One-time build, 30–45 days.
Paid Media
Google Ads run against bookings, not clicks — starting with stopping OTAs bidding on your own name. Accounts stay yours. Media never marked up.
Channels & Partnerships
Concierge and activity desks built in person on Oʻahu, plus the analytics to prove which channel actually paid for itself.
Not an agency that discovered tourism last quarter.
Naholowaʻa Gramberg runs Walk Honolulu, his own tour company, and previously ran a Hawaiʻi agency serving tour boat operators. He has paid the commission himself — same platforms, same island.
“ʻUpena means fishing net. The net gets mended by the person who owns it.”
You already paid the commission. Know what it was.
Twelve months of payout statements in. One page back in five business days. Free, no call required.