Sometimes the best thing you can do is get away. Whether this takes the form of a bed and breakfast in the mountains, a weekend on the beach, a shopping excursion in a foreign city, or lounging on the deck of a cruise ship, everyone needs to relax and unwind.
Providing vacations can also be a lucrative business whether it's local or global outbound travel. According to Travel Agent Central, Americans spend around $101.1 billion on summer vacations alone. Information from Solo Traveler indicates that many people spend $500-1500 for one week of travel.
For affiliate marketers, this is good news. Even at relatively low commission rates, the high-ticket prices for vacation packages can translate to decent affiliate earnings.
If you’re interested in pursuing this option, read through this list of our top 10 vacation affiliate programs and see what fits your niche websites best.
Vacation affiliate programs
- TripAdvisor
- Booking.com
- Agoda
- Skyscanner
- CruiseDirect
- Sandals
- Eating Europe
- Be Live Hotels
- World Nomads
- Palace Resorts
1. TripAdvisor
- URL: TripAdvisor Affiliate Program
- Commission: 50%
- Cookies: Unknown
Every month, 490 million people use TripAdvisor. This company links to more than 500,000 city and hotel pages. It’s one of the most well-known travel sites, with a presence in 49 different markets.
With TripAdvisor, would-be travelers can check prices on flights and hotels, make reservations, and plan sight-seeing tours. They have access to 760 million reviews to help them make their travel choices.
Why You Should Promote TripAdvisor: The 50% commission is one of the best rates for vacation affiliate programs. There are additional incentive programs and constant updates to promotional materials.
2. Booking.com
- URL: Booking.com Affiliate Program
- Commission: Unlisted
- Cookies: Unknown
Booking.com is another very well-known company for travel accommodations. With this company, travelers book their stays in hotels, bed-and-breakfast establishments, and even trains, igloos, and treehouses. There are more than 2.4 million properties listed on Booking.com, and every day, around 1,550,000 rooms are booked.
This company has a volunteer component that encourages its 16,000 employees to volunteer locally. There’s also a Booking.com Booster program to help tourism or travel-related companies to expand. Booking.com supports the idea of sustainable tourism, which conserves nature, focuses on the local culture and communities, and works to reduce overcrowding and bottlenecks at popular destinations.
Why You Should Promote Booking.com: Besides the feel-good factor, partnering with a socially responsible company can help convert travelers who care about the planet and its people.
3. Agoda
- URL: Agoda Affiliate Program
- Commission: 5%
- Cookies: Unknown
Agoda is another website where travelers can book their nightly accommodations. There are more than 2 million places listed on Agoda, ranging from hostels and hotels to resorts and even local homes.
Travelers enter their destinations and the days they’ll be in that area in a search box on the website, and then they can browse through the results to choose their ideal stay.
Agoda works to get the best prices on accommodations for its customers. There’s a tab for deals to specific world destinations. Customers can also book flights and flight transfers from Agoda.
Why You Should Promote Agoda: The lower prices can be a conversion factor for many travelers.
4. Skyscanner
- URL: Skyscanner Affiliate Program
- Commission: 50%
- Cookies: Unknown
With Skyscanner, travelers can compare prices for flights, hotels, and car rentals before they make a reservation or buy tickets.
In order to become an affiliate, the website has to be relevant to travel. Travel blogs, social media sites, forums, and content websites can all be considered for an affiliate partnership, but the website has to be active. Affiliates can increase their conversions by using Skyscanner’s search engine.
Skyscanner uses a variety of different affiliate programs. In the United States, affiliates sign up through CJ.
Why You Should Promote Skyscanner: The biggest reason to partner with Skyscanner is the 50% commission.
5. CruiseDirect
- URL: CruiseDirect Affiliate Program
- Commission: 3%
- Cookies: 45 days
CruiseDirect has been in business for more than 15 years. It has ten different cruise lines, including Carnival Cruise Line, Costa Cruises, and Disney Cruise Line. There are last-minute cruises available.
Discount or last-minute cruises start at around $200. Customers have the ability to search for cruises that meet their needs, such as three-night cruises or 7-night cruises. They can also choose whether they want an interior room, an ocean view room, a balcony room, or a suite and compare prices for each.
Why You Should Promote CruiseDirect: Cruises are high-ticket items, so even one or two sales could mean a decent bump in income for an affiliate marketer.
6. Sandals
- URL: Sandals Affiliate Program
- Commission: 4%
- Cookies: 60 days
Sandals and its sister brand, Beaches, are focused on tropical getaways in the Caribbean. Beaches cater more to families, while Sandals focuses on romantic getaways and honeymoon vacations.
Sandals Resorts are five-star luxury stays. There are Sandals resorts in Santa Lucia, Jamaica, Antigua, the Bahamas, Grenada, and Barbados.
Sandals also has a foundation dedicated to improving the lives of people living in the Caribbean. This includes investing in the local communities, the environment, and education.
The Sandals affiliate program is run through CJ.
Why You Should Promote Sandals: The commission covers all travel products, from dinners to resort stays. Highly productive affiliates can also earn free trips and other performance bonuses.
7. Eating Europe
- URL: Eating Europe Affiliate Program
- Commission: 6%
- Cookies: 30 days
Eating Europe is focused on providing travelers the best food experience possible in a non-touristy way. There are 20 different food tours and cooking classes in five destinations, including Rome, Florence, Prague, Amsterdam, and London.
Since its beginning in 2011, more than 50,000 people have enjoyed Eating Europe food tours. This company can accommodate both individual travelers and corporate groups.
The affiliate program for Eating Europe is administered through ShareASale.
Why You Should Promote Eating Europe: Food tours like those provided by Eating Europe can reach a unique category of customers. There are also promotions and contests for affiliate marketers.
8. Be Live Hotels
- URL: Be Live Hotels Affiliate Program
- Commission: 6.5%
- Cookies: 30 days
Be Live Hotels is the hotel division of Globalia. The chain has a network of accommodation in prime locations within the 4 and 5-star range. They create unique experiences for individuals, couples, and families. They have 34 hotels distributed around the World’s main tourist destinations.
Be Live Hotels uses ShareASale to manage their affiliate program. Affiliates will receive a 6.5% commission on sales. Their average order value is $926. Affiliates have access to marketing creatives, tracking tools, and their data feed to help them promote. Sales are also offered throughout the year.
Why You Should Promote Be Live Hotels: Accommodation in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean area are highly sought after, they offer different kinds of hotels adapted to a wide range of market segments, and are run by Spain's leading tourism group.
9. World Nomads
- URL: World Nomads Affiliate Program
- Commission: 10%
- Cookies: 60 days
Rather than providing booking opportunities or the ability to compare travel values, World Nomads is all about travel insurance. The company addresses topics such as medical issues, travel accidents, terrorism, missing baggage, trip cancellations, stolen credit cards or passports, and even death.
The website also offers advice such as how to travel safely, safety alerts, and information on various destinations.
Why You Should Promote World Nomads: The idea of staying safe on out-of-country travels could be a conversion factor for reluctant travelers. The commission rate is decent, too.
10. Palace Resorts
- URL: Palace Resorts Affiliate Program
- Commission: 4%
- Cookies: Unknown
Palace Resorts is a collection of around ten luxury resorts located in several Mexican and Jamaican destinations, including Cancun, Cozumel, Ocho Rios, Isla Mujeres, Playa del Carmen, and Los Cabos. The resorts include activities such as spas, golf, playrooms, water sports, and nightly entertainment.
Why You Should Promote Palace Resorts: These are high-ticket items with add-ons, so even one sale could make a significant impact on an affiliate marketer’s income.
Affiliate Website Ideas
Now that you’ve got a feel for the top 10 vacation affiliate programs, do you know how you’ll put them to use? Will you focus on corporate travel, romantic getaways, or something even more unique? I’ve got some ideas to share with you.
Have you considered creating a niche website for people who work in certain industries, such as garden centers or nurseries? Greenhouse owners might love travel packages that include landscaping experiments, forestry practices, hydroponics, and garden tours in a foreign destination. This type of website could also promote yard and gardening equipment, trailers and bins for hauling and storing supplies, and even office management software for small business owners.
Likewise, folks who are interested in homesteading might like secluded areas that include do-it-yourself courses such as boat-building, herbal identification, and carving with hand tools. A vacation-oriented website like this one could also promote online courses, hobbyist supplies, and books. AirBnB is a great company to work with for unique travel destinations “off the grid”.
What about a website that focuses solely on historical travel? This could promote vacation packages covering everything from ancient castles to ethnic farming practices all over the world. Foreign language programs, online history or archeology courses, family history research programs, and specialized textiles, such as Scottish tartans or hand-made Native American moccasins could be promoted on a website like this one.
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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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