TravelPod FAQ

A TravelPod is your own regional travel and adventure website, running on its own subdomain under the What The Gravel! name, with its own logo and colour scheme. Every TravelPod uses the same tested system, so you're part of a group of sites that share methods, templates and support. You earn by selling services to businesses in your region.

The name comes from the way whales and dolphins travel: separate animals, moving together.

A TravelPod is a licensed business opportunity, not a traditional franchise. Unlike a typical franchise, you set your own prices, choose your own logo and colour scheme, and there is no central purchasing. You also pay no management or marketing fees based on your turnover.

What you do get is the What The Gravel! name, a tested system, exclusive rights to your region, and support. The only ongoing fee is a percentage on contracts we source for you or that come from other TravelPods or this website. The full terms are in the Commercial Agreement and Disclosure Documents, which you can review before you sign.

Most business opportunities give you a brand or a product and leave you to work out the rest. A TravelPod gives you a ready-made set of tools for one specific business: selling services to travel and adventure businesses in your region.

You get exclusive rights to your region, the What The Gravel! name on your own regional site, a campsite qualification survey, listing and onboarding templates, outreach and follow-up email sequences, and ongoing support. You still set your own prices and run your own business.

Not to start. You can begin as a sole proprietor, which costs nothing to set up. Once you're earning, you'll need to declare your income to SARS (and register for provisional tax if applicable).

We recommend you register a company later, once your income is steady. A company gives you limited liability, but it also brings annual filing and admin duties (SARS and CIPC), even in years with little or no income, so it makes sense to wait until it's worth the cost.

Speak to an accountant about what suits your situation.

Your TravelPod is your business, and your work falls into three parts:

1. Create content for your regional site: blogs, photos, videos and AI-assisted content about travel and adventure in your region.
2. Sell services to businesses in your region, using the templates and outreach sequences we provide.
3. Follow our publication guidelines, including clearly labelling sponsored content and keeping all claims accurate.

No more than 35% of your content may be sponsored (paid), roughly one paid piece for every two unpaid pieces. This keeps your site useful to readers, which is what makes it valuable to advertisers.

Creating content may mean visiting the places you write about. Travel costs are for your own account. Your other obligations are set out in the Commercial Agreement.

Not automatically. A TravelPod gives you the system, brand, templates and support, but income comes from the work you do: selling services to businesses in your region and creating content for your site.

There is no guaranteed income, and results depend on how much time you put in, how well you sell, and your region.

You earn by selling promotional services to travel and outdoor businesses in your region, such as dedicated showcase listings from R500 per month, advertorial content, video production etc.

Clients pay either a once-off fee or a monthly contract fee.  Our current services and prices are on the Services page, which we update annually.

To qualify for a listing, businesses need a direct booking function.

Your break-even is the number of contract clients it takes to earn back your initial payment (R5,500 to R7,500, depending on your region).

Example: a dedicated showcase listing at R499 per month on a 12-month contract. You keep 100% of the first three months, then our fee steps up by 10% every three months to a maximum of 30%, averaging 15% over the year. That's R5,089.80 to you per contract.

Two clients signed at the same time earn back your initial payment in about 6 months (R5,500 region) or 9 months (R7,500 region), before your own costs. Higher-value services pay back faster: a single R1,966-per-month contract earns back even the higher price by month 4.

Break-even is not the same as a full income. To bring in R60,000 a month in client billing, you would need about 31 clients on R1,966 contracts, or about 121 on R499 contracts. How quickly you get there depends on how much time you spend selling and on your region.

Every business carries some risk, and a TravelPod is no different. The system works for us, but results depend on your effort, your region and your market, so we can't promise it will work for you.

Our guarantee: if you follow the system for 6 months and it hasn't worked, ask us to review your case. If we find that we didn't give you the support, advice and assistance you needed, we'll refund your purchase price in full within 30 days.

No. You don't need to recruit anyone, and you earn nothing from other people buying a TravelPod. Your income comes from selling services to travel and outdoor businesses in your region.

You'll be selling a set of standard services (such as showcase listings, advertorial content and video) to many different businesses. That's deliberate: the templates and processes we give you are built to be repeated, so you don't have to design an offer for each client.

If your business grows, you may choose to bring in help, for example freelancers or staff. That is your decision, and you pay for it out of your own income.

Yes. Video is a big part of what TravelPod owners create, but you don't need to appear on camera or have any film experience.

We provide training and templates for filming and editing via Zoom. You'll work with tools that have free versions, such as CapCut for editing, ChatGPT for scripts, and text-to-speech for voiceovers. Some features may require a paid plan, and you're responsible for using music and footage that is licensed for commercial use.

A smartphone is enough to get started. Where video is created with AI, it should be labelled as such under our publication guidelines.

You need three things to get started:

• A laptop that can handle video editing and web browsing.
• A smartphone with a good camera and GPS for photos, video and location tagging.
• A vehicle you can use on gravel roads. Preferably a high clearance SUV or LDV. 4x4's are even better.

If you already have these, you don't need to buy anything else to start. A tripod, microphone or gimbal can help, but none is required.

Running costs such as fuel, data and any paid software plans are yours to cover.  If you don't have a suitable vehicle, a TravelPod may not be right for you. Consider this option instead.

A vehicle is needed to visit the places you write about, so a TravelPod is probably not the right fit yet. However, renting a suitable vehicle for site visits is acceptable. But that is an extra cost on you.

If you'd still like to be part of What The Gravel!, look at our Destination Marketing Plug-In. Our current Klerksdorp Plugin is already operational. It works without the field travel.

Yes, there is one ongoing fee, called "Origination Fees" which is charged as a percentage on client contracts we source for you, or that come to you from other TravelPods or this website. You pay nothing on contracts you win yourself or on any one-off services.

The fee starts at 0% for the first three months of a contract, then rises by 10% every three months to a maximum of 30%, averaging 15% over a 12-month contract. After 12 months, if the client renews, the same cycle starts again.

There are no royalties or fees based on your turnover.

The fee is set out in the Commercial Agreement and doesn't change during your agreement without your consent.

Here is what happens after you place your order:

1. Order and onboarding. Once we receive your order, you can download the Commercial Agreement and Disclosure Documents straight away, and we start setting up your TravelPod and send you the information you need to get started.
2. Review period. You have 2 weeks from the day you can download the Agreement and Disclosure Documents to read them. If you decide not to sign, we will refund your purchase price in full within 3 days. Your TravelPod will be ready within the review period but not publicly visible. Your order status will remain "processing" and it will not be available for sale during this time.
3. Signing. Once you sign, you have 10 business days to cancel, for any reason, by giving us written notice. We will refund your payment in full within 30 days of receiving your notice. No costs or penalties will apply. If you have not signed the Agreement or asked for a refund,  by the end of the 10 business days your purchase is regarded as final and your payment is non-refundable unless the failure clause applies.
4. Once the 10 business days have lapsed, your TravelPod will go live and ready to operate.