How Orchao measures itself.
Not bookings volume. Not app downloads. The three numbers we said we'd hold ourselves to — published in full, with every number we were tempted to round.
REPORTING PERIOD · APRIL 2025 – MARCH 2026
Supplier income retention.
The single biggest reason Orchao exists. How much of the price the traveler pays actually reaches the Lao person doing the work.
On the big global OTAs, this number sits at 70–75% — sometimes lower once payment splits, currency conversions, and reseller fees are layered on. Our target was 85%. We hit 82% in year one. The 3% gap is what we'll close next.
- To the host82%
- Platform fee12%
- Payment processing4%
- Refund reserve2%
Calculated as the weighted average host payout share across all completed bookings April 2025–March 2026 (n = 4,287). Excludes refunded bookings.
Provider geographic reach.
How many of Laos' 18 provinces have verified providers earning real income through the platform.
A tourism platform that only sends money to Luang Prabang and Vientiane is part of the problem, not the solution. The remaining 4 provinces (Attapeu, Sekong, Sayabouly, Xaisomboun) are our priority recruitment targets for 2027.
- Luang Prabang
- Vientiane Capital
- Vang Vieng (Vientiane Province)
- Champasak
- Savannakhet
- Bolikhamxai
- Khammuan
- Houaphan
- Phongsali
- Luang Namtha
- Oudomxay
- Bokeo
- Xiengkhuang
- Salavan
- Attapeu
- Sekong
- Sayabouly
- Xaisomboun
A province counts as "covered" if at least one verified host completed a paid booking through the platform in the reporting period.
Repeat traveler rate.
The single strongest indicator that the experience was worth what travelers paid — and worth recommending to others.
We count a "repeat" as any traveler who books a second experience within 18 months of their first. The vast majority come back for a different region of Laos, not the same tour twice.
- 18%Travelers who returned for a second regionMost common: Luang Prabang → Bolaven Plateau
- 6%Travelers who re-booked the same hostUsually for a longer, multi-day version
- 3%Travelers who came back with friends or familyBrought 2–6 additional travelers on average
Cohort: 3,124 unique first-time travelers who completed at least one booking April 2024–September 2025. Repeat rate measured at the 18-month mark.
Methodology, in plain English.
All numbers above come from the Orchao production database. No estimates, no extrapolations from a sample. Every booking, every payout, every refund counted at the row level.
Supplier income retention is calculated per-booking (host payout ÷ traveler total) and weighted by booking value so a $400 multi-day tour counts more than a $30 half-day. Refunds and platform-funded promotions are excluded from both the numerator and the denominator.
Geographic reach uses host home-province as recorded in the host's verification documents — not the location of the tour, which can vary. A province counts as covered if at least one host living there earned a payout in the reporting window.
Repeat rate uses a fixed 18-month observation window so the denominator is stable across cohorts. We don't count travelers whose first booking was inside that window (they couldn't have repeated yet) — only those with at least 18 months of observation time.
The full anonymized dataset will be made available to academic researchers on request. Email impact@orchao.com.
We publish this every July.
Same three metrics. Same methodology. Same place on this site. That way the numbers can be compared year over year — and so can we.