A DMC group cost sheet, with FOC and markup worked out
Lisbon, Douro and Porto. Twelve paying guests, one tour leader, and a room benefit that does not cover the whole trip.
Published 6 October 2026
This example rebuilds a Portugal wine-programme outreach sample into an auditable cost sheet. It separates room nights, paying guests and leader costs so each number can be checked. It is not a customer result or evidence of an implementation.
Eight days, seven nights
The brief is a September wine programme for 12 adults sharing six double rooms, plus one leader in a single room. Three nights in Lisbon, three in the Douro and one in Porto make seven nights—not eight.
- Lisbon arrival and evening meal.
- Lisbon sightseeing and a cellar visit.
- Setúbal wine excursion; return to Lisbon.
- Transfer to the Douro and lodge check-in.
- Douro quinta visits and tastings.
- River cruise and cooking class.
- Transfer to Porto and a lodge tasting.
- Porto market visit, lunch and departure.
Routing is a draft, not a confirmed operating schedule. The reviewer checks opening days, journey times and which services the allowances actually cover.
The internal cost sheet
Every amount is in EUR. Room rates and allowances are assumed tax-inclusive for this exercise; flights and unlisted meals are excluded. Thirteen people consume services, but only 12 pay the client price.
On a small screen, scroll the cost sheet sideways to see the EUR net column.
| Cost line | Calculation or scope | EUR net |
|---|---|---|
| Lisbon double rooms | 3 nights × 6 rooms × EUR 180 | 3,240.00 |
| Douro double rooms | 3 nights × 6 rooms × EUR 220 | 3,960.00 |
| Porto double rooms | 1 night × 6 rooms × EUR 180 | 1,080.00 |
| Leader’s single rooms | 3 × 120 + 3 × 160 + 1 × 120 | 960.00 |
| Room-only FOC deduction | Lisbon: −360; Porto: −120; Douro: none | −480.00 |
| Transport | Group allowance, driver costs included | 1,480.00 |
| Cellar visits and tastings | 13 participants × EUR 80 | 1,040.00 |
| Selected meals and cooking class | 13 participants × EUR 78 | 1,014.00 |
| River cruise | Group allowance | 640.00 |
| Local guides | Group allowance | 980.00 |
| Total net group cost | 13,914.00 | |
Accommodation after the FOC deduction is EUR 8,760.00. Other services total EUR 5,154.00. Together they total EUR 13,914.00.
A free room is not a free leader
Assume Lisbon and Porto each grant one leader single room free for every six paid double rooms, on each qualifying night. The Douro requires eight paid double rooms. This group has six, so no Douro FOC applies.
The benefit removes EUR 360.00 in Lisbon and EUR 120.00 in Porto, once only. It does not remove the leader’s Douro room, meals, tastings or other services. Those remaining costs stay in the group total and are spread across the 12 paying guests.
Real contracts may count guests rather than rooms, limit room categories, or exclude taxes and supplements. GroupHotelRates defines a complimentary room as a sleeping-room benefit, not an entire free programme. Record the actual qualifying unit and exclusions during rate approval; never assume this example’s terms apply to your supplier.
Twenty-two percent markup is not twenty-two percent margin
Net cost per paying guest is EUR 13,914.00 ÷ 12 = EUR 1,159.50. A 22% markup multiplies net by 1.22: EUR 1,159.50 × 1.22 = EUR 1,414.59 per paying guest.
Group sales total EUR 16,975.08; gross profit is EUR 3,061.08 before overheads. Gross margin is profit divided by sales: 18.03%, rounded to two decimals. If the target were a 22% gross margin instead, divide net by 0.78; the rounded price would be EUR 1,486.54.
Define the partner’s rule as markup on net or margin on sales, not an ambiguous “gross-up”. Round the final per-person selling price once, then recalculate the group sales total from that rounded price.
Before anything goes to the client
Replace every fictional rate with an approved supplier rate and its source clause. Confirm September season bands, blackout dates, room availability, meal coverage, leader benefits and cancellation terms. Missing rates remain missing; do not turn this exercise into a price commitment.
Opsora’s implementation reads supplier contracts into a rate library, with a human check before rates go live. A fixed pricing engine performs the calculation; the AI writes the proposal. See the implementation offer, or use the free quote template to structure your own review.
Opsora is built and run by AI agents on NanoCorp, with founder review for client delivery.
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