How it works

What it costs

Listing is free. There is no subscription and no fee to be on the site. Commission is a percentage of the price you list, taken only when a rider books. The one optional extra is Boost, paid placement at the top of your country, explained in Common questions.

Founding rates go to the first 50 operators to claim their page, and last for 12 months from the day you claim. Your studio shows the rates that apply to you and the date they run to.

We are not VAT registered, so no VAT is added to our commission. Stripe’s card processing fee is charged in your own Stripe account, as it would be on your own website.

How you get paid

• Riders pay you, not us. Their payment goes into your own Stripe account. Our commission comes off automatically at that moment, and the rest is yours. We never hold your money.
• You set the deposit. Riders pay it when they book. If a trip is close enough that the balance is already due, they pay in full instead.
• The balance is collected for you. We charge it to the rider’s card 60 days before departure, or whenever you choose, from 0 to 180 days. If a card fails, the rider is asked to pay, and you are told if it still isn’t paid.
• Bike hire. You can hold a damage deposit on the rider’s card, and release it or charge for damage when the bike comes back.
• Setting up takes about five minutes in your studio. Stripe asks for your business and bank details. Until it is finished, riders can still send you booking requests.
• If Stripe can’t pay out in your country yet, riders send booking requests and you arrange payment with them directly.

Approving bookings

Before you switch on card payments, every booking is a request. You get an email with the dates and the number of riders, you check availability, and you confirm or decline it. Reply to the email to talk to the rider directly.

Once card payments are on, riders pay the deposit straight away for a listed place. You control availability through the number of places on each departure: set it to what you really have, and mark a departure Full when it is. Bookings you take elsewhere can be added to your studio, so the places left stay right.

Many operators start with requests only, and switch card payments on once they are happy with their listings.

Cancellations and refunds

Your tours, your cancellation policy. Put it in the tour description so riders see it before they book.

Refunds are made by you, from your Stripe dashboard. A full refund cancels the booking and frees the place for another rider. You can also cancel a booking from your studio.

A booking refunded in full pays no commission. When you refund a card booking in full, our commission on it is refunded to you automatically. On a request booking you took payment for yourself, cancel it in your studio before the month's invoice and it isn't charged.

Who the rider books with

The rider books with you. You are the organiser of your tours and the business the rider contracts with, and every tour page and checkout says “Booked with” your business name. The Dirt House is the marketplace that puts your tours in front of riders.

Flights and places to stay appear only as links in our group Trip Planner. We never sell them bundled with your tour.

Common questions

What counts as a booking I take myself?

Three things never cost you commission: a rider who clicks through from your page to your own website and books there, a booking you take yourself and add to your studio so your places stay right, and, in your first year as a founding operator, a booking through your own booking link or website widget. After that first year, bookings through your own link or widget are 2%. Commission applies when a rider finds your tour on The Dirt House and books it here.

Who receives a rider’s message or booking request?

You do, directly, by email. It has the dates and the number of riders, and replying to it puts you in touch with the rider. For date enquiries we keep a copy, so we can see they are reaching you. We do not stand between you and the rider.

What if someone enquires but never books?

It costs you nothing. Commission is taken only on a booking that is made, never on an enquiry or a request you decline.

How is commission collected?

With card payments on, automatically: it comes off at the moment the rider pays and the rest goes to your Stripe account. If you confirm a booking as a request and take payment from the rider yourself, we invoice the commission on those confirmed bookings once a month.

Can my business appear under more than one country?

Yes. You are listed under your home country and under every country where you have a published tour. Each tour also shows its own country.

I only offer bike hire, or only tours. Is that fine?

Yes. List what you do. Optional extras, such as a night at your own accommodation, can be added to a tour or a hire as an extra the rider can tick. They are never part of a mandatory package.

Do I have to add a widget to my website?

No. The booking widget is optional. Your page on The Dirt House works without anything on your own site.

Why do I see other businesses listed that have not published tours?

The directory started from public listings so riders have somewhere to look. Those pages are free for the business to claim and are taken down on request. Businesses that have claimed their page show a “✓ On The Dirt House” badge and how many tours with dates they have, so riders can tell who is active.

What is Boost?

Optional paid placement. Boost puts your business first in your country on the tours directory and on your country page, in the Featured row at the top of the tours front page, and first in Rider Deals. Your cards and pages carry a “Featured” badge, always marked as paid placement, so riders know it is an advert. You switch it on from your studio, where you also see how many riders viewed your page and sent a request in the last 7 days.

How much is Boost?

£29 a month, or £249 a year (two months free). Stripe shows the price in your own currency at checkout. Founding operators may be offered a lower price for their first year with a code; the price you see at checkout is the one you pay.

Can I cancel Boost?

Yes, any time, in two taps from your studio (Manage, then Cancel). There is no contract. Boost stays on until the end of the month or year you paid for, then ends by itself. If a renewal payment fails, Boost ends when the paid period ends.

Does Boost change my free listing or my commission?

No. Your listing, your tours, booking requests and enquiries stay free whether or not you Boost, and your commission rates are exactly the same. Boost only changes where you appear.

Can I be removed?

At any time. Email hello@thedirthouse.co.uk and the page comes down.

Operator terms in plain English

1. Listing is free. There is no subscription and no listing fee.
2. Commission is the percentage in the table above, taken from the price you list, only when a booking is made. A rate agreed with you in writing replaces the table for your business.
3. Founding rates apply for 12 months from the day you claim your page.
4. The rider contracts with you. You run your tours and set your own cancellation policy. We are the marketplace that introduces the rider.
5. Payments and refunds go through your own Stripe account when card payments are on. Refunds are made by you, and a booking refunded in full pays no commission: ours is refunded to you.
6. Your content. You are responsible for what your tour pages say. If something on your page is wrong, tell us and we will correct it, or edit it yourself in your studio.
7. You can leave at any time and your page will be taken down.

Getting started

1. Claim your page. If your business is already in the directory, find it and tap Claim. Sign in with an address on your own website’s domain and it verifies instantly. Not listed? Create a listing.
2. Add your tours with prices. If you would rather not type them in, send us your price list and we will draft them for you to check.
3. Add your dates, so riders can pick one. Hires work off a date picker, so they need no dates.
4. Publish, and switch on card payments when you are ready.

Rather not be listed at all? Email hello@thedirthouse.co.uk and we will take your page down.