Black Tomato Review 2026: Who Owns It, What Get Lost Costs and a Record Score of 62

Black Tomato scores 62/100 as a company record: the London company is still owned by its three founders, sells its flight-inclusive trips as "a managed branch" of a Hays company under ATOL 10531, and publishes a price for one product only, Get Lost, from £20,000 per person. Below: who owns Black Tomato and how the Hays arrangement works, what a trip costs, the booking terms, the support on the ground, the review record and what the company does not publish.

Verified 25 September 2026 · blacktomato.com booking conditions, people and Get Lost pages · Companies House · Trustpilot · Travelstride

How Black Tomato scores: 62 out of 100

Black Tomato scores 62 out of 100: full marks for financial protection and good review evidence, but low on planning detail and pricing, because it publishes no sample itineraries and one price. Its Power Rankings score of 88 was set on an older rubric that gave 15 points to brand authority; the rankings will be recalculated from these records.

Black Tomato's score is a transparency score, not a verdict on its trips. The company sells a design service and publishes accordingly: people, ideas and hotels rather than itineraries and prices. A reader cannot compare what it costs with a rival before making an enquiry, and that is where the points go.

The evidence record

The record holds 18 facts about Black Tomato, each with its source and grade. Grade A means the company's own site or terms; grade B means a registry, review platform, awarding body or major press. Every line was read on 25 September 2026 unless its source says otherwise.

Who owns Black Tomato?

Black Tomato is owned by its three founders, Tom Marchant, James Merrett and Matt Smith, each of whom Companies House lists as holding between 25% and 50% of Black Tomato Ltd, with no corporate owner registered.

The link to Hays is about how trips are sold, not who owns the company. The booking conditions describe Black Tomato as "a managed branch of Hays Tours Operating Limited" and say its flight-inclusive trips are sold under ATOL 10531. That is a licensing arrangement, and it is the reason earlier descriptions, including one on this site, called Hays the parent.

The detail in those conditions does not line up. They give company number 1990682 for "Hays Tours Operating Limited", but at Companies House 01990682 is Hays Travel Limited of Sunderland, while Hays Tour Operating Limited is 03591401. A buyer who wants to know which Hays company holds the licence should ask for the ATOL certificate at booking.

How much does a Black Tomato trip cost?

Black Tomato publishes one price: Get Lost trips start at £20,000 per person for two sharing, with budget bands up to £60,000 and above; every other trip is priced on enquiry.

The Get Lost page lists what that price covers: trip planning and set-up, all in-country logistics, a head guide and a local guiding team, training and technical equipment, domestic travel including any flights needed, accommodation, and most meals and drinks. The client chooses an environment, polar, jungle, desert, mountain or coast, and does not learn the destination in advance.

Destination pages publish ideas rather than itineraries. The Japan page, for example, suggests 10 to 14 days and shows hotels including Palace Hotel Tokyo, Aman Tokyo and Byakudan Hakone, with an enquiry button in place of a price.

Black Tomato booking terms and financial protection

Black Tomato holds ATOL 10531 and ABTA Y6071, asks for the balance 12 weeks before departure, and publishes neither a fixed deposit nor a cancellation scale.

The booking conditions, last updated in December 2025, say the deposit "varies depending on the nature of your trip", that cancelling more than 12 weeks out is likely to cost the deposit, and that later cancellation charges "may well be up to 100% of the total price". Amendments cost £75. The US site shows the UK ATOL number; no US seller-of-travel registration was found.

Support on the ground

Black Tomato promises "24/7 on the ground support" but prints no 24-hour number; the only published lines are London, +44 207 426 9888, and New York, +1 646 558 3644, without opening hours.

Get Lost trips include a head guide who specialises in the chosen environment and a local guiding team. Whether those guides are employed by Black Tomato or contracted is not stated, and no office in a destination is named.

What Black Tomato reviews say

Black Tomato holds 4.6 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 305 reviews, the newest dated 26 August 2026, and 4.8 from 16 on Travelstride.

There is no Feefo profile. The press page lists a Men's Journal award for 2026, a Robb Report Travel Masters listing for 2024 and a Luxury Travel Magazine top 10 for 2025; Tom Marchant's biography cites Condé Nast Traveler's 2026 Top Travel Specialists. None was confirmed at the awarding body for this record.

Who Black Tomato suits, and who it does not

Black Tomato suits travellers who want a private trip designed around an idea or a feeling, including a destination they will not know in advance, and who are content to discover the price in conversation.

It suits less well a buyer who wants to compare prices and itineraries before making contact, anyone looking for a group departure, which it does not run, or someone who wants the cancellation charges in writing before paying a deposit.

Where Black Tomato stands on Uncompromised Travel

Black Tomato appears on four Uncompromised Travel pages, three of them ranked.

Alternatives to Black Tomato to compare

The closest alternatives are Original Travel and Red Savannah for London tailor-made travel with published prices, Scott Dunn for private trips with a 24-hour number, and Steppes Travel for specialist and remote trips.

What this record does not show

Eight things a buyer would want could not be found or verified for Black Tomato. Supplying a verifiable source closes a gap; it changes the evidence, never the rubric.

What changed at Black Tomato in 2025 and 2026

Ownership did not change; the visible changes were updated booking terms, a 2026 travel trends showcase and new award listings.