Nowadays there are affiliate travel programs for almost any product, service, or membership!
Finding the best affiliate travel programs can be difficult because what works for one blogger, might not work for the next.
To make it as a travel blogger in 2022, you have to do things very differently than you would of 5 years ago.
It’s not enough to have an inspirational travel blog, there already millions of those, with more being created every single day.
If you haven’t started a blog, but are thinking about it, make sure to check out these 8 important questions to ask yourself before starting a blog.
What Are Affiliate Travel Programs?
If the term ‘affiliate’ isn’t something you’d know off the top of your head, that’s okay. I don’t think most people would use it in their day-to-day lives!
You might have heard that a sports star is ‘affiliated’ with Nike, which might help you to know that it just means there is a connection.
Being an ‘affiliate’ for a company is similar. If a blogger applies to an affiliate travel program, you are not an employee, but you do enter into an agreement with the company.
It means that you will recommend their product or service to your audience through a trackable link.
This means the company will get traffic from your blog, where some readers might even end up making a purchase.
They will know the purchase came from your blog because of the unique link. The company will then give you a commission based on the sale that was made.
Best Affiliate Programs For Travel Bloggers Just Starting Out
Since global tourism made 2.9 trillion U.S. dollars in 2019, it’s safe to say it’s one of the biggest industries in the world.
The plethora of travel affiliate programs to choose from can actually be overwhelming, especially as a travel blogger just starting out!
As a new travel blogger myself, I’ve tried out quite a few of what some big bloggers consider as the ‘best affiliate programs for travel’.
The problem with these programs is that they don’t work very well with new blogs anymore.
I’ve found that people are tired of reading the same old travel guides with generic information and recommendations that you can find almost anywhere online.
Those might have cut it back in the day, but not in 2022.
Many are looking for out-of-the-box travel ideas like hidden places to go and different ways to travel!
This is what I try to focus on, so I can bring new and relevant suggestions to my audience.
I don’t claim that the list below has the best affiliate travel programs for every single blogger, because that would be impossible.
These affiliate travel programs are just the ones that work well for me!
Need some tips on how to choose between programs?
Scroll down to 3 tips on how to pick the best affiliate travel programs as a new travel blogger.
Disclaimer: This site contains affiliate links that will cost you nothing extra but offer me a little commission for any purchases made. These commissions help me continue to offer helpful tips. Thank you so much for your support.
Travel Accommodation
One of the most important parts of traveling is where you are going to stay. Your travel accommodation can make or break your trip!
Since it’s one of the biggest travel expenses too, it’s a huge aspect when planning a trip or getaway.
My audience on maptrekking loves to hear about alternatives to hotels, so that is a large part of my content.
Here are my best affiliate travel programs for accommodation.
1. Trustedhousesitters
Trustedhousesitters is the world’s largest platform for housesitting. It has more house sits than all other housesitting sites in the world.
I recommend Trustedhousesitters because it’s a way to stay in local neighborhoods, save money when traveling, and gives the opportunity to have a unique, slow travel experience.
This is one of the best affiliate travel programs I’ve tried!
Not only does my audience respond well to learning about an alternative travel accommodation, but the program gives a commission, starting at $3 per signup, for every free account that is made.
This is an amazing aspect because I’ve never seen any other affiliate travel programs give anything for people making free accounts.
Of course, you get a better commission (starting at 20%) if someone purchases a 1-year membership, prices starting at €119.
Since it’s a bigger purchase, fewer people tend to upgrade their free account.
If you’re interested in joining the Trustedhousesitters affiliate travel program, read more about.
2. Worldpackers
Worldpackers is a work exchange site that enables you to volunteer around the world in exchange for free accommodation (and sometimes other perks like food, free tours, etc).
A 1-year membership fee is $49 and if your readers sign up through your affiliate link, they get $10 (USD) off and you get a $10 commission. That’s a 20% commission rate!
If you are interested in trying it out, sign up for Worldpackers with my link or use my Worldpackers promo code, MAPTREKKING.
I was invited into the Worldpackers affiliate program, so if you are wanting to join, I’d recommend emailing [email protected] to inquire.
3. Workaway
Workaway is another work exchange site that is similar to Worldpackers. The main difference is that Workaway has 50,000+ hosts around the world, while Worldpackers has almost 10,000.
A Workaway affiliate program has been recently started, but I think it is by invite only. I received an invitation to join, so now I receive $4 for every sign-up.
If you’d like to inquire, I’d recommend emailing [email protected].
If you’re not able to join, you can sign up for Workaway and then get a ‘refer a friend’ link. This means you can invite people to become a Workawayer or Workaway host.
The Workawayer will get 1 month of free membership (Workaway hosts don’t pay a fee so they don’t get anything) and you get 3 months of free membership added to your account as well!
Since I am an official affiliate, when you sign up with my link, you receive 3 months of free Workaway, instead of only 1!
4. Homestay.com
Homestay is basically an Airbnb alternative that focuses on staying in a local’s home with locals.
Airbnb used to be like this but has turned into a site to simply rent accommodation, whereas Homestay offers more of a cultural immersion experience.
I use the ‘refer a friend’ link on my personal Homestay account so my readers can get €20 off their first booking, and I also get €20 of free credit!
Also, if someone signs up to be a host with my link, I get €80 of free credit after they have their first guest!
I am a part of the Homestay.com affiliate program too so I can get a 30% commission when people book a homestay through my affiliate link.
You can sign up for their program directly on Homestay.com.
5. Booking.com
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, Booking.com doesn’t need an introduction!
Though it doesn’t fit that well with my slow travel niche, sometimes do need to use Booking links here and there.
Honestly, my audience responds a lot better to Trustedhousesitters and work exchange sites!
The affiliate program isn’t too revolutionary. It has a 4% commission that you receive after the stay has been completed. You can join the program on Awin (it is pretty difficult to be accepted as an affiliate directly with Booking).
Travel Gear
With whatever travel niche you decide to do, you should be able to do guides on what travel gear to purchase. If your blog is all about hiking, you make winter hiking gear, summer hiking gear, etc.
As an example, a lot of my content involves traveling slowly, so I put together an amazing packing list for long-term travel.
Here are some of the best affiliate travel programs for travel gear.
6. SafetyWing
Now if you are creating a travel blog around being a digital nomad and long-term travel, SafetyWing is the perfect insurance provider.
They have travel medical insurance coverage that works well for general traveling but also those that are location-independent.
SafetyWing was created by people who are nomads themselves. They wanted to create reliable and flexible insurance that covers online freelancers, entrepreneurs, remote companies, etc.
They have also expanded to be able to offer comprehensive health insurance!
Besides all of the amazing innovations I spoke about above, SafetyWing also has a very sleek affiliate program portal. It’s easy and functional, which makes a world of difference.
They offer a 10% commission too. If you become a SafetyWing affiliate with my referral link, you will get a $100 bonus when you make your first sale and $500 bonus after 5 sales!
7. Etsy
As a travel blog that tries to promote sustainability and responsible travel, it can be difficult to create travel gear or gift guides.
I try to encourage people to buy local souvenirs (ones that are actually made locally) to support the local economy.
Of course, I do still need to suggest items available online.
Not only is it the most accessible way for people to find the right gear, but it helps us out with a little bit of extra income.
If you don’t know already, Etsy is an online store where people can list everything under the sun. It is most known for having homemade/handmade products!
This is great because it allows you to support small businesses all over the world, and you get really unique products.
They also offer a 5% commission. You can join the Etsy affiliate program on Awin here!
8. Amazon Associates
Even though recommending travel gear through a company like Amazon isn’t my favorite thing to do, the hard reality is that a majority of people prefer it.
Amazon commission rates can vary depending on what category it’s in, like shoes or electronics.
The nice thing is that if someone purchases one item that you recommend, you get a commission from everything else that they purchase with it!
Check out the Amazon affiliate program here.
Travel Experiences
There as so many different travel affiliate programs for finding unique experiences. Here are some of the best affiliate travel programs for immersive travel experiences.
9. Eatwith
Eatwith is an online platform that has unique food experiences.
Usually, the food experiences go along the lines of visiting a local market for fresh ingredients before being taught how to make traditional food in a local’s home.
These are great for me to promote since the experiences give direct business to the locals rather than huge international tour companies!
You can join their affiliate program on the Awin network.
10. Viator
Another massive travel platform is Viator. They have good name recognition which makes sense because they have thousands of travel experiences all over the world.
My favorite part of being in the Viator affiliate travel program is that I can put a customizable widget in my articles.
This means I can choose what I want to show to my audience, which is perfect because I like to pick out experiences that are run by locals!
Their commission is 8% through the Viator affiliate program. If you aren’t accepted, try joining on Awin network or ShareASale (it’s a 4% commission though).
Travel Affiliate Networks
Signing up for affiliate travel programs isn’t always as simple as going onto a company’s general website.
Many companies will have their separate affiliate portal or even go through affiliate networks. Affiliate networks act as the ‘middle man’ between you (the affiliate) and the company.
Though it might seem ridiculous to have a middle man, it can actually make things a lot easier for you.
Affiliate networks can have hundreds and sometimes thousands of companies on their network.
If you are planning to apply to multiple affiliate travel programs, then you can do it all in one place.
Some travel affiliates will make you jump through a bunch of hoops to apply, so the perks of being on a network are that you only have to do that once when you apply for a network account.
Plus, if you are trying to generate affiliate links from different companies to insert into a blog post, it is extremely helpful to only have to login into one account to get them!
11. Awin
Since Awin has many companies that I love on its network, it makes it incredibly convenient to generate links. In just their travel category alone, they have 745 companies!
Many of the affiliate travel programs I talked about earlier are on Awin like Trustedhousesitters, Booking.com, Etsy, and Tripadvisor.
12. ShareASale
This is a smaller affiliate network that was acquired by Awin. ShareASale has a lot of great companies that you can be a part of, with over a hundred in the travel category.
How To Pick The Best Affiliate Travel Programs As A New Travel Blogger
Many blogging articles on affiliate marketing claim that it’s the key to becoming a big-time blogger.
They talk about how they made thousands in income through people clicking on their links to purchase a product or service.
Most of the time what they fail to mention is that it doesn’t happen overnight.
They’ve probably been blogging for years so they will have grown a large audience and a website with high authority.
The reality for new bloggers (like you and me), is that I don’t have those things (yet).
Plus, growing a faithful blog audience and building a high authority website in 2022 is very different from when the now big bloggers started out like 5 to 10 years ago.
Learn how to build your website’s authority through SEO!
Here are some essential tips for new bloggers to remember as they are searching for affiliate travel programs to join.
Stay True To Your Niche
Like I’ve mentioned before, having a general travel blog won’t cut it in today’s world. It is imperative that you choose to have a niche within the travel industry.
On Maptrekking, I focus on helping travelers slow down to be immersed in local culture.
I talk about different ways to do this, like finding alternative travel accommodation or volunteering with work exchanges.
My goal is to become an authority in slow travel so if someone wants to learn how to have deeper travel experiences, they think of my site!
Of course, when you have a specific niche, it limits what affiliate travel programs you can use.
As an example, I promote slow travel because it is a way to limit your negative tourism footprint – while still getting to see the world and have unique experiences.
Slow traveling means things like taking transport that’s better for the environment and supporting the local economy by eating at local restaurants and staying in local accommodation.
Hopefully, it makes sense why it would be quite backward of me to then be a part of huge hotel travel affiliate programs.
I can’t say that you should slow travel but then promote stays at massive hotels and resorts (these don’t support the local economy at all).
Start Small To Avoid Being Overwhelmed
Even if you have a ton of different affiliate travel programs to choose from that also fit in your niche, it’s important to start small!
Think about the very best travel affiliate programs that would fit with your niche, that you are passionate about, and that you’ve (preferably) used in the past.
Only apply for like 3 of these at first so you don’t get overwhelmed. Applying for programs can take work to set up initially, so setting up 20 different affiliate travel programs would be a lot of effort.
By only having a few of the best affiliate travel programs that suit your niche and passions, you get the hang of affiliate marketing without being overwhelmed by being involved in 20 programs.
Having only a few programs can also be helpful to plan your content around whether a post will be more of an affiliate post or informational post.
What I mean, is that before you start writing, you should know the goal of your post.
Is it to simply inform your reader about a topic? This would probably have only a few affiliate links if any at all.
Or is it to help the reader make a hard decision to purchase something? This would be like comparing two different types of travel insurance.
Whereas if you are a part of tons of different programs, it can be hard to choose what to focus on.
Plus, putting affiliate links into your content can take time to get used to since you want to learn to do it as naturally as possible.
It’s better to have fewer links/fewer programs since you don’t know how your audience will respond yet. In the beginning, less is more!
Focus On Unique, Informative Content
The reality of making money from travel affiliate programs is that it’s based on how many people read your articles.
I don’t think I understood this when I first started out. For some reason, I thought if I put affiliate links into my article, many people would click on them.
Now that I’ve been around the block a time or two, I realize that a very small percentage of readers will click on a link – and then an even smaller percentage of those people will actually make a purchase.
So it just makes sense that the more readers you have, the more chance that you could make something.
This is why it’s important to not get caught up in the fact that you aren’t making ‘thousands’ like the big bloggers claim to be making.
Instead, focus on helping your readers by answering questions in your niche – ones that no one else is answering!
Making unique and informative posts will help your blog stand out and build trust with your audience.
Then as you place affiliate links within the article naturally, you’ll have a higher success rate of people taking your advice to buy or purchase. Remember, people buy from those they trust!
Final Thoughts
Finding the best affiliate travel programs that fit your blog specifically is so important.
I hope my suggestions and tips can help any new bloggers that are struggling to find unique affiliates to be a part of.
So what do you think – did I cover all of the best affiliate programs for travel bloggers just starting out?
Let me know if you have any other suggestions in the comments.
Love This Post? Pin It For Later!
