White-label and NETT rates with an East Africa DMC

01

NETT is not a quieter word for commission

Commission assumes a rack rate the guest might also find, and a percentage the trade is allowed to keep. That model still exists in parts of this region; it is not how Sail's advisor desk is built. NETT assumes you are the retailer: we tell you what the journey costs to operate, and you decide what your client is charged.

The file should show lodge and camp, private vehicle and guide, park-authority permits named as such, and transfers that are part of the design — plus exclusions: drinks at some properties, spa, porters if not pre-bought, tips, visa fees, insurance. Where a specific supplier insists on commission treatment, we say so. Your compliance team should not have to reverse-engineer the page.

02

Proposals in your name

White-label proposal support means client-ready itinerary language, stay guidance, imagery direction and practical notes you can put on your letterhead. The route is still designed here, against real permit stock, real road time and a lodge that matches the gorilla sector. The default for trade is that the client sees you — and the details are agreed before confirmation, in writing, because ambiguity is how a well-meant host becomes a second advisor.

03

Guides do not sell Sail to the guest

Private guides, hosts and operations coordinators run the day you sold. They do not offer a next-time card in the vehicle, and they do not correct your lodge choice in front of the client. If something on the ground needs a professional challenge — a sector mismatch, a fitness concern, a park rule — that conversation comes to you.

Twenty-four-hour in-destination care still applies. The guest should feel looked after, not recruited. If a client later asks who the ground operator was, telling them is your choice.

04

Payment milestones, and the permit that will not wait

Sail's published booking rhythm is a 50 per cent deposit within seven days of written acceptance, with the balance due no later than 60 days before departure; a journey confirmed inside that window is payable in full at confirmation. Supplier-specific conditions are identified before you commit.

Gorilla permits do not sit on that lodge clock. UWA's working method is full payment at confirmation, and unpaid holds are gone; a date is locked when it is paid and receipted, in the names as printed on the passports. On a NETT file you may need permit funds from the client earlier than the rest of the safari deposit — say so in the proposal. April, May and November Uganda permits, on the tariff now in force, are date-fixed and not reschedulable.

05

What a network file can show

Networks ask where money went, who was licensed, and whether the guest was shown a second brand. NETT, white-label and a visible park line give you a journey priced by you, a DMC invoice and park receipt that match the passport names, and guest-facing paper that stayed in your name.

Write the permit as the authority's charge. Do not rename it as a forest experience fee unless you also show the park permit, and do not bury it inside a lodge line. Permit revenue funds ranger and tracker teams, veterinary programmes and neighbouring communities — a true sentence, not a slogan.