Join our circle of passionate travel & destination experts
We are growing a community of travel businesses that care deeply about guest experience and impact. Along the way we are building a travel ecosystem that will be part of a more ethical, inclusive, and impactful travel industry. Painted Circle does not use sales commissions or business fees. Instead, we connect with high-quality travel businesses who are creating amazing experiences for travelers. Ready to circle up?
Why your business should join Painted Circle
Painted Circle was founded by tour operators. As a result, our platform is built to make sense for you and your businesses, as well as for travelers:
Easy and fast setup
Most businesses create their listing in only 5 minutes using our guided onboarding assistant
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Super low maintenance
After setting up your listing you won’t need to worry about ongoing work - just make updates when you want
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No code
Getting set up requires no coding, APIs, product sheets, CSVs, or any of that. Just a quick application that we guide you through
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Free for your business
We started as tour operators, so we are thinking beyond sales commissions. Share an offer with your guests, not a fee with us
How it works
Create a free listing for your service
Follow our easy signup and create your business listing in about 5 minutes. You will have the opportunity to describe the travel service your business offers, as well as how you work with clients.
Attract guests with a special offer
Painted Circle doesn't charge your business sales commissions. Instead, you share a special offer with our members. Keep it simple with a 10% discount, or get creative with other discounts, upgrades, add-ons... create a win/win and impress your guests!
Win a direct booking
Painted Circle members and site visitors find you here, but are directed to your website or booking funnel to purchase your services. No commissions or tricky fees.
Your costs
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5 minutes to create your business listing
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A discount or offer for your guests
We think sharing a discount or offer with a quest is way better than paying a reseller a commission. We encourage you to craft experience-enhancing offers that help you earn a booking. Your offers are visible to Painted Circle RADIUS members, and you never pay us a fee or commission.
Does your service cover multiple destinations? We can help you to quickly create listings in each of the destinations you serve: Click here to for more info.
Stand out
Painted Circle isn’t for all travel businesses. It’s for those who care about inclusion, impact, and thoughtful guest experiences.
Impact
Transforming travel into a more sustainable industry relies on taking forward-looking steps for environmental management and social contribution.
Your listing on Painted Circle is your opportunity to share with travelers the efforts your company is making to help build a better travel industry. Whether your sustainability journey is just starting, or you are a leader in the field, we want to celebrate your efforts.
Guest Experience
Use your listing on Painted Circle to speak directly to travelers and highlight how you provide them with an amazing guest experience.
Use the special offer you include with your business listing to encourage travelers to check you out and get more from their visit.
Inclusion
All businesses showcased on Painted Circle have signed on to our Inclusivity Commitment. We also encourage you to use your Painted Circle listing to share efforts your business takes to create a welcoming experience for your guests.
We believe there is no place for prejudice in travel, and we feel that by supporting inclusion and equity in travel we have the unmatched potential to form a better world for everyone.
Being inclusive is more than just talk for us
Painted Circle is a proudly LGBT+ founded business. While we all have different journeys in life, we identify with the need we all feel for inclusion, and the power we create when we embrace diversity.
The travel industry, while typically forward-looking, still struggles with delivering true equity. The reality is that not everyone feels welcome when they travel, and many who could benefit from starting travel businesses are not equally supported within the existing tourism ecosystem.
We feel that equity can be built through collaboration. Our decision to work without sales commissions is not just a gimmick - we feel it is how we can welcome a more diverse range of travel providers and unique voices into our platform. It's also how we think we can help more traveler money stay local, stay with hard-working founders, and better benefit communities. There is strength in community, and we are focused on collaboration rather than financial gatekeeping.
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We're traveling to a refreshing new rhythm
Painted Circle is self-funded, allowing us to truly innovate on how our business model works. Rather than working to reward investors, we are driven to make travel better by our love of own travel and our experience as tour providers. We are building our platform to be what we want to see in tourism: an ethical, collaborative approach that encourages exploration and cultivates industry stakeholders.
Ramp up your business with a better approach
Your business can use the special offers you include on Painted Circle to create win/win scenarios for your guests and your business. Provide a discount to encourage a traveler to use your service, or provide a way to connect them to extra experiences - special offers are easy and flexible, and you are in control.
Circle up on additional perks
Painted Circle is built as a resource for everyone connected to travel. We aren’t here to control or curate. Instead, we are here to help support everyone connected to travel. By focusing on our mission and putting purpose before profits we are keeping things simple, and think our impact for your business can be transformative:
Direct sales
With or without a special offer, we direct customers to book directly with you. This means you control the guest experience from the start, exposing guests to everything needed to make sure their experience is great.
Impress with value
Even if your business realizes the same per-transaction revenue compared with a booking through a traditional reseller, you will have done so while offering a better value to your guest.
Reviews and trust
By helping guests get a better value and upgrade their services, you have a better chance of earning great online reviews. You also build trust in your brand as an inclusive and socially-positive business by being found on Painted Circle.
Get your slice of the data pie
Because we direct customers to book directly with you, your business owns the booking and transactional data. So whether you use that data for reporting or for onward marketing, you are in control.
Change it up and keep it fresh
Use a special offer consistently, or have a fresh offer each season. The choice is yours. This helps your business address seasonal challenges, attract potential repeat business, and drive sales for time-specific offerings.
Better over time
As we continue to grow Painted Circle we can bring more people into our commission-free ecosystem. Over time we think this will have a positive impact on your ability to control your customer acquisition in a way that builds a fee-free revenue stream.
How do we keep Painted Circle free?
The simple answer: we collaborate and share rather than extract and control.
Now for the more detailed answer: Rather than charge you a fee or commission to list your business or sell your products, all businesses on Painted Circle provide a special offer or discount that goes to guests. These special offers are usually percentage discounts on your activities but can also be upgrades, extra perks, experience extensions… anything that helps your guest to have a better experience. These special offers are only visible and accessible to Painted Circle members who have purchased our guide to your region.
By setting up our site in this way we let travelers decide if they will get value from our paid membership or not, and let them be in control. For you and your business, you are able to give a discount to your guest rather than pay that (or more) to a reseller. And with each paid membership on Painted Circle, we are able to continue to build our ecosystem and contribute back to communities.
How Painted Circle Works.
Directly from the founder.
In this short video series, founder Charles Odom explains the vision behind Painted Circle and how your business can take part.
Ready to join the community?
Let's get started!
Including your business with Painted Circle not only connects you to a commission-free revenue stream, it sends a message to potential customers that your business delivers a friendly and inclusive atmosphere to all guests, and is part of building stronger communities and a more welcoming world.
Still have questions? Lets chat!