Travel Affiliate programs

Hey everyone,

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with travel affiliate programs. I am interested in general, things like accommodation, train travel etc. and what peoples experiences are but more specifically in airline tickets; point to point.

I have seen some commissions which are just ridiculous. Is this market too overrun and are commissions just not worth it? I would like to add a flight booking feature to our site anyway, even if it doesn't generate big bucks every month as I think our users will start expecting it soon the way things are going and it wouldn't be a bad idea in any case. When I do add it though, I would like to get the best there is... any ideas?

Thanks guys (and girls )!

I have some travel sites. They are much more difficult to get to the top then other industries. So I don't waste time working those site. The return on the time invested isn't worth it compared to other small unpopular industries. time=$ The commissions are low and the concellation rate is high.

Hi Gail,

Well, I don't disagree it is hard work but the site is already there and allows for combining multiple affiliates within it. It was a hobby when started but became so popular so quickly that there is actually money being made, and more than enough to cover the time issue I would say.

Anyway, what affiliate programs have you used? Are there any that you think could be good if you already have the traffic and interested visitors?

Sam

Sam,

Ian.com has a really great combo travel program that includes TravelNow, Hotels.com, TurboTrip and some others. They have paid out HUGE commission checks. I know the AM and she runs a very honest program. Also add Luggage and other travel related products. I amange Irvs Luggage which is parasite-free and a great converting program. Let me know if I can help your efforts.

I use IAN.COM because it is private label. If you sign up with them, after you put up the links, email the Affiliate Manager with your assigned CID and URL. Ask them to private label the site. This will be a nice addition to your web site so when a visitor goes from your site to IAN, it will flow nicely.

Hey Catalyst and Gail,

Thanks again for the advice; I see both of you are more active in this affiliate area and think I will stick around here some more than in the standard google forum which seems to be being run over with a lot of rehashing. I read the article on affiliates that was last weeks seo article purely out of interest but really appreciate this type of personal touch; how can't I, our site thrives on it

I have noticed ian.com when looking into the different programs but never really went deep; will go check them out now again. hotels.com got in touch with me a while back (same as travelnow.com I believe) but we decided to go with a different hotel program and I have been quite happy so far with their response time and their payout is good. Our site is a soft seller, but with good rankings all over and our bookings continue to go up and up, even though this is traditionally not the best period so we're pretty happy.

I am a big sucker for the private label option too. In fact, I don't think I would bother with an affiliate program if they couldn't offer it.

Catalyst, might be interested in the luggage deal; can you pm me the details?

Thanks gals!

Cheers,

Sam

I found this one year old thread ... as I am solving issue similar to mentioned above.

What is a good airline affiliate program ? The first priority for me is the fact that the visitor will not to have to leave (graphically) our site, so he/she will think that it is us who is offering such service and book it again with us also next time. The second priority are fees and reliability of the affiliation provider.

Anyone with experience in this field ? Actually worth to mention ... our sites are focused on destinations in Central and Eastern Europe.

I am still with IAN but am thinking of moving to wctravel.com

Does anyone have any experience with them or another they feel is good? :

Gail, thanks for the suggestion...

I like that they offer private label solution, I do not wonder with their website name