The United States receives about 160 million international visitors each year, and around 20% of them are millennials who love to travel. While they may not have as much money to spend as older travelers, this group is dedicated to seeing the sites and spending their money on their destination sites.
For many young travelers, staying in hostels is a budget-friendly way to allow them to experience more of the joys of traveling. Affiliate marketers can get in on the action by helping connect them to hostels around the world.
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The best hostel affiliate programs include booking resources, directories, individual hostels, and even hostel management software. If you’re interested, read through this list of the top ten hostel affiliate programs. I’ll share a section at the end of this article with information about how you can use these types of programs with your affiliate websites.
Hostel Affiliate Programs
- Hostelworld
- Hostel Catrina
- Hostel Traveler
- Agoda
- Hostelman
- Hostel Pro
- STA Travel
- Hostelling Scotland
- YHA
- Booking.com
1. Hostelworld
- URL: Hostelworld Affiliate Program
- Commission: Unlisted
- Cookie: Unknown
Hostelworld provides online reservations for more than 30,000 hostels and other budget-friendly accommodations in over 180 different countries. This company also provides support in 26 different languages. Hostelworld works with well-known travel companies such as TripAdvisor.com, Lonelyplanet.com, and Ryanair.com.
The affiliate sign-up page is hosted by Partnerize. Affiliate marketers can use their affiliate account with more than one website, but they are asked not to promote any other hostel providers. Any type of website can be used with this program. However, in order to find the best success, Hostelworld recommends that the websites have something to do with travel.
Affiliates make a commission for every sale they refer to, but the affiliate rate and cookie length aren’t disclosed. The minimum payout threshold is $200 and is paid by bank transfer.
Why You Should Promote Hostelworld: Hostelworld has a large network, works with other global travel companies, and provides support in several languages.
2. Hostel Catrina
- URL: Hostel Catrina Affiliate Program
- Commission: 7%
- Cookie: 180 days
Hostel Catrina is an independent hostel located in the traditional Mexican city Valladolid. Prices start at $130 per night in the dormitory and go up to $500 per night for a house with three single beds and a double bed. The website supports English, French, and Spanish languages.
Affiliates are paid through PayPal. The affiliate program is run in-house. Affiliates can register on the blog to apply for this program. They are provided with banner ads, text links, and creative marketing materials. Affiliates who don’t have a website can also promote Hostel Catrina on social media platforms.
Why You Should Promote Hostel Catrina: Hostel Catrina provides several options for hostel travelers, including both dormitories and small houses to rent. The commission rate and cookie length are decent and there are a variety of ways to promote this company.
3. Hostel Traveler
- URL: Hostel Traveler Affiliate Program
- Commission: 25%
- Cookie: 30 days
Hostel Traveler is a hostel booking service that offers reservations in several different countries. Popular countries and regions to book hostels include Italy, Trinidad and Tobago, Nova Scotia, Peru, Portugal, and Brazil.
The affiliate program, which works with Instant World Booking, can be set up in around ten minutes. There are several different ways affiliates can make money with this program.
With the basic affiliate program, affiliates are provided with banner ads, text links, and buttons. Affiliates can also add a quick search bar or a white-label search bar. There is a separate option for hostel websites and a white label option with limited personalization, too.
Why You Should Promote Hostel Traveler Affiliate Program: The commission rate and cookie length are great. The affiliate program is easy to set up and has a lot of marketing options, too.
4. Agoda
- URL: Agoda Affiliate Program
- Commission: 5%
- Cookie: Unknown
Agoda is a travel booking company specifically for finding accommodations. This company lists more than 2 million properties worldwide, ranging from hostels and hotels to apartments and private homes.
At a 5% commission rate, a $200 booking brings in affiliate earnings of $10. Affiliates earn commissions when referrals complete their stays. The affiliate program is run in-house, and affiliates can sign up right on the affiliate landing page. Affiliate marketing tools include a data file of hotels, text links, banner ads, and a search box.
Why You Should Promote Agoda: Agoda specializes in accommodations and offers a wide range of options, including hostels and private homes. The commission rate is decent.
5. Hostelman
- URL: Hostelman Affiliate Program
- Commission: 72%
- Cookie: 90 days
Hostelman is a hostel directory with more than 1,000 hostels listed, as well as hotels, apartments, bed-and-breakfasts, and other budget-friendly travel accommodations. The directory allows customers to book their own reservations directly.
Affiliates make money when they refer new accommodations to the directory service. Hostels can join the directory for around $70 per year.
Hostelman runs its own affiliate program and pays affiliates $50 from every referred sale. Payments are made weekly for accounts with more than $100 accumulated.
Why You Should Promote Hostelman: the cookie length and commission rate are great. The directory program also gives hostels and other accommodations an alternative to paying more money to be listed with booking programs.
6. Hostel Pro
- URL: Hostel Pro Affiliate Program
- Commission: 35%
- Cookie: Unknown
Hostel Pro is a WordPress plugin for hostels to allow them to manage their own online bookings. Features include room descriptions, bookings, room management, seasonal prices, payment options, calendars, the ability to sync with other booking systems such as Booking.com, and reports that can help hostel owners see where to tweak their marketing strategies.
The affiliate program is run through ClickBank. Clicking through the ClickBank button will bring you to a HopLink generator. Other than the commission rate, there isn’t much information on the affiliate program itself.
Why You Should Promote Hostel Pro: The commission rate is great, but there isn’t much information on the affiliate program. The WordPress plugin is unique and could save hostel owners both time and money.
7. STA Travel
- URL: STA Travel Affiliate Program
- Commission: $4 per flight, 10% on tours
- Cookie: Unknown
STA Travel is a travel company designed with students in mind. This company is a general booking company, with a search tab that includes both hostels and hotels. Airlines, rail companies, and tours can also be booked with this company, and the website has a tab for customers who need travel insurance.
STA Travel has more than 350 stores in 75 different countries. Students and travelers under 30 get exclusive airfare rates.
The affiliate program is administered by CJ Affiliate. The average order value is $700, and there are monthly promos and codes that affiliates can use to promote the service. This company is actively seeking affiliates who cater to customers in India, China, and Korea.
Why You Should Promote STA Travel: STA Travel is designed for students and travelers under 30, so it could be a good fit with some niche websites. The average order value is great, and the 10% discount on tours and other items is nice, too.
8. Hostelling Scotland
- URL: Hostelling Scotland Affiliate Program
- Commission: Unlisted
- Cookie: Unknown
Hostelling Scotland is a non-for-profit charity that includes more than 60 hostels in its directory. Many of them are youth hostels. This organization has been running since 1931 and takes pride in providing welcoming, off-the-beaten-path locations for people who want to see what Scotland is really like.
The affiliate program is run by Hostelling Scotland, and it appears to be centered on affiliates who also own hostels. A commission rate is mentioned but not listed. Perks of joining the program include the ability for the hostel website to be listed in the main directory, including a link back to the independent hostel’s website, as well as inclusion in a growing newsletter and social media conversations.
Beyond hostels, Hostelling Scotland is looking for affiliates with websites that cater to students and universities, as well as key tourism destination websites.
Why You Should Promote Hostelling Scotland: Hostelling Scotland is a nonprofit organization. The cookie length and commission rate aren’t listed, and the affiliate program appears to be fairly specialized.
9. YHA
- URL: YHA Affiliate Program
- Commission: 1-4%
- Cookie: 30 days
YHA is a nonprofit organization that promotes youth hostels across England and Wales. The directory includes more than 150 hostels, as well as campgrounds, cabins, and other budget-friendly accommodations for families and individual travelers.
This company is looking for affiliates with websites geared toward families, university students, holiday destinations, and general travel. The affiliate program is administered through Affiliate Future, and the most common linking method is with banner ads. Affiliate marketers can also request a written copy and images to help promote the service.
This company doesn’t pay commissions on cancellations.
Why You Should Promote YHA: This company offers a nice selection of budget-friendly accommodations specifically in England and Wales.
10. Booking.com
- URL: Booking.com Affiliate Program
- Commission: Unlisted
- Cookie: Unknown
Booking.com is a travel booking company that lists several types of accommodations, including more than 25,000 hostels. Hotels, motels, vacation homes, B&Bs, campsites, cabins, and resorts are also listed. Customers can book flights, vacation packages, car rentals, airport taxis, and more, as well.
In total, this company offers more than 2.5 million rooms and books 1.550,000 rooms every day.
Booking.com runs its own affiliate program, and affiliates can sign up right on the affiliate website page. Approval is quick and easy. Although the commission rate and cookie length aren’t listed, this program has some great perks. This includes the ability to customize what you market by choosing the properties you want to bring attention to.
Why You Should Promote Booking.com: The cookie length and commission rate aren’t listed, so it’s difficult to tell how much you could make with this company. However, a large number of hostels and other accommodations are incredible. The ability to show only the properties you want on your website could be nice, too.
Affiliate Website Ideas
Now that you’ve read through this list of the top ten hostel affiliate programs, do you know how you can use them with your affiliate websites? I have some ideas to share to help get you started.
First, if you have a website for millennials, you’ve already got a great fit. Millennials love to travel and they stay in hostels more than any other demographic, so any of the directories or booking resources could be promoted here. You could also feature hiking shoes, backpacks, bicycles, and photography equipment.
A second idea is a website for families who want to travel on a budget. Links to individual hostels that offer small houses as well as dorm rooms could be helpful here. You could also promote bicycle trailers, duffle bags, SIM cards, and on-the-go organic snacks for families with small children.
One final idea is a website focused on helping hostels compete against larger hotel chains and resorts. A website like this one could feature hostel management software, as well as social media marketing services, small business loans, and interior decorating services.
Boost Your Affiliate Earnings
These 10 affiliate programs are just the beginning of what's possible. There are hundreds of ways to earn affiliate commissions with your website, including product reviews, top 10 lists, how-to guides, and more
But what about traffic and conversions? How do you make sure your affiliate links get clicked?
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Nathaniell
What's up ladies and dudes! Great to finally meet you, and I hope you enjoyed this post. My name is Nathaniell and I'm the owner of One More Cup of Coffee. I started my first online business in 2010 promoting computer software and now I help newbies start their own businesses. Sign up for my #1 recommended training course and learn how to start your business for FREE!
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