From hotels and travel platforms like Expedia to airlines and vacation packages, people are buying travel packages online more than ever before – so why not cash in?
Let’s say you’re a travel blogger with an audience of loyal readers.
You can recommend hotels, travel packages, airlines, and travel equipment from travel affiliate companies and get a referral fee from each sale.
There are also a lot of customization options. You can integrate hotel booking sites into your website, choose specific destinations, and showcase properties that interest you. For example, you could start a niche affiliate site about “Denver Family Vacations,” write content about the top things to do in Denver, guides about the local area, and promote specific hotels.
Travel review sites with links to specific vacations and hotels are a fun way to create a unique experience for your readers and offer an endless supply of customizable options. Commissions are either paid at booking or when a visitor checks out of their hotel.
Here are my picks for the best travel affiliate programs:
1. TRIPADVISOR.
TripAdvisor is a popular travel site that’s primarily known for its local reviews of things to do. They also allow you to book hotels, vacation packages, restaurant reservations, and more. They offer an incredible 50% with a decent cookie duration of 14 days. Based on their referral fees, they are my #1 choice for the best in the travel category.
2. TRAVELPAYOUTS.
Travelpayouts calls themselves “The Ideal Travel Program to Monetize Your Travel Website”, and I have to agree. They cover a wide range of services and integrate other travel platforms like Booking.com, Airbnb, rentalcars.com, and more. Their travel affiliate marketing platform offers up to an 80% commission, but the average is 1.6% for flights and 6% for hotel bookings. Their cookie duration is 30 days.
3. EXPEDIA.
Expedia is a major global travel brand that is the parent company of others on this list. They allow their affiliates to promote over 260,000 bookable properties with 150 websites in 70+ countries. Based on their website reach and network of properties, they are #2 on my list.
4. MARRIOTT.
Marriott is another hotel brand offering a large selection of hotels to promote in their program. They offer 3% for vacation packages and 4-6% for hotels. They provide a cookie length of 7 days.
5. TRAVELOCITY.
Travelocity is a travel platform known for its price match guarantee and affordable prices. They offer a 2-4% commission and extend a generous 45-day cookie length.
6. PRICELINE.
Priceline is known for their cheap deals on hotels, flights, and more. They offer a 3-5% commission and a 30-day cookie duration.
7. HOTELS.COM.
Hotels.com is another way to make money with hotels and they offer localized services with 85 websites in 35 languages. They also have over 15 million members in their rewards program. They offer 4% and 7-day cookie duration.
8. HILTON.
Hilton is a global hotel brand that offers luxury hotel stays and a wide range of hotel properties. They offer a 4% commission, and their cookie length is seven days.
9. HOTWIRE.
Hotwire offers last minute travel deals and access to cheap flights and hotels. They provide 2% with a 7-day cookie.
10. BOOKING.COM.
Booking.com offers flights, hotels, car rentals, and airport taxis. By joining, you get access to over 2.2 million properties, and they offer 4%, but there is a downside as the cookie expires when a user closes their browser.
