In our recent travel to South Korea, we went to Nami Island for a daytime tour. We booked online via Ktours, an independent touring agency. When we arrived in South Korea and checked into the hotel, we chanced upon a brochure of the same tour to Nami Island. Oh, oh, the cost of the tour is more than double of our online booking. The only advantage is the bus will pick us up in the hotel while the independent tour package that we got needed us to go to the meeting place a kilometer away. Obviously, the hotel has a commission in the tour so it is more expensive.
I never book any sightseeing trip through the hotel I stay but always prefer either the Government tour department trips which are not only convenient but at cost at least 50% less. I have a vast experience of booking traveling facilities through different agencies and found out that most online sites provide better rates but their facilities are sub-par. I think if you book through local government tourist agencies they are more economical and provide better facilities.
I think such options are designed for the family. And that way the hassle of finding the hotels and the taxi is taken care of. You can see that some of the time such management is a bit harder to handle. And people can make use of their connection. It'd be reasonable to make use of such expensive services if all the hassle is being taken care of. That's what I have learned so far.