Do you love to travel? And do you enjoy telling other people about your travels and tips? Perhaps, you have some kind of blog, YouTube-channel, or a huge support on social media and discuss interesting places, nice hotels, or interesting activities. And in case that sounds like you, you are likely always considering how you can make a few dollars out of your passion.
Imagine I told you that you could make money whenever someone makes a trip by your recommendation? Imagine that you have written a fantastic post about a sunny beach in Florida and a person reads it. They open a link which you have posted and reserve a hotel to visit themselves. Guess what? You have an opportunity to make a small share of that reservation.
This is where you find the Expedia Affiliate Program. This super easy guide will handle it all about the Expedia Affiliate Program. We will discuss the way it works, the amount of money you can earn, how to join and whether it is the option you want or not. You will not find a single confusing word or complex explanation as we will ensure you know all steps. At the finish, you will be confident in having the right knowhow on how to make your love of traveling a money earning project.
Expedia Group Affiliate Program?
Let’s start with the basics. You must have heard of Expedia, eh? It is that massive site where you get to book hotels, flights, rental cars and even vacation packages. But Expedia is not a single site, it is a massive family of travel brands known as the Expedia Group. Imagine that it is a large house and the rooms are different travelling websites.
The Expedia Group Affiliate Program is an exclusive club to online content creators. Once you become a member, you are an affiliate. This implies that you will receive special links that are applicable to your site, blog or social media. When a user clicks on your link and then buys travel via one of the numerous sites run by Expedia, you get a commission; a little payment.
The thing is to understand that you do not work at Expedia. You are working with them. You refer customers to us and we remunerate you. It is a win-win situation; on one hand you assist your audience to get terrific travel offers and on the other hand you get income as a result of your work.
More Than Expedia.com: A Large Family of Brands.
By Expedia Group, we are referring to a group of popular travel websites. This is good to you as an affiliate since you have numerous opportunities to present to your audience. It is that you have a giant toy box rather than a toy.
The brands of the Expedia Group include:
- Expedia.com – the basic site, useful with references to any kind of booking.
- Hotels.com – focused on hotels. Well, when your audience seeks places to stay, good.
- Vrbo: the vacation rentals, i.e. renting a house or apartment.
- Travelocity: known as a flight, hotel and package provider.
- Orbitz- provides numerous travel opportunities.
- CheapTickets – excellent to search deals, particularly in flights and hotels.
As such, whenever you become an Expedia affiliate network you will be in a position to market all these various brands. This allows you a fair deal of flexibility. In case you are blogging on family holidays, post on Vrbo. Hotels.com should be used in case you are writing about luxury hotels. There are a lot of tools you can use to make your readers reach the necessary thing.
Who is the Expedia Group Affiliate Program For?
This program is ideal among various kinds of persons who are enthusiastic about travel over the internet:
- Travel bloggers– When you write about travel places, hotel reviews or destination guides, you can add links automatically to your posts.
- Content creators – exactly the same with YouTube, you can leave links in videos or Instagram photos.
- Review sites– in case you have a site that reviews hotels or offers, you may utilize Expedia links.
- Everyone who has an audience – when people listen to your travel tips and refer to you when making decisions, then this program can be effective with you.
The point is that you have your readers who are interested in traveling. You assist them to get options and Expedia gives you payment. It’s a simple and fair deal!
Expedia Affiliate Program vs. Expedia TAAP: What’s the Difference?
The next section is really crucial though since it may be a bit confusing at the beginning. Expedia has two very similar sounding programs that are of vastly different people. We had better clear this up by a straightforward example.
Consider that you are a movie expert.
1. Reviewing your blog is one way of helping people:
You spread the word to everybody as to why a movie is good and place a link where they can purchase a ticket. Individuals read your review, follow your link and purchase their ticket. This is similar to the Expedia Affiliate Program.
2. The other method of helping is that your friend calls you and tells you:
Hey, can you buy me a ticket to that new movie? You then log in online, with your special account, and reserve them the ticket. This is like the Expedia TAAP.
Let’s break them down.
The Expedia Affiliate Program (EAP) – Content Creator.
This is the one we have been discussing up to now. It is in the case of people who have an online audience.
- Who to target: Bloggers, YouTubers and social media influencers as well as website owners.
- How it works: You insert special links (so-called affiliate links) in your web or social media. These links make your audience visit an Expedia Group site (such as Hotels.com or Vrbo). They then book their own trip. You get commission as you refer them there. You are a recommender.
Expedia TAAP (Travel Agent Affiliate Program)- For Travel Agents.
TAAP is the abbreviation of Travel Agent Affiliate Program. This program as the name goes is aimed at professional travel agents.
- Who to target: Certified travel agents who reserve trips on behalf of their customers.
- How it works: A customer requests the travel agent to reserve a hotel or a vacation package. The travel agent enters their special Expedia TAAP account and then books the whole travel package on behalf of the client. They receive a commission on making the booking. They are a personal shopper.
The key distinction is then who does the actual booking.
- EAP: You have an audience where the audience books itself.
- TAAP: The travel agent makes the bookings on behalf of his client.
The Expedia Affiliate Program (EAP) that you desire to join is the regular version offered to almost all readers of this guide, and in particular, bloggers or content creators. The rest of this guide will deal with that program.
Unpacking the Expedia Commission rates: How much can you earn?
Good, now on to the most interesting part, the money! When you are becoming an affiliate you want to understand how much you can earn in reality. It is an excellent question, and the answer to it is that it depends on what your audience books.
Your income with Expedia is commissions. By that I mean that you receive a percentage of the sale price. Assuming that commission is 5% and one book in a 200 hotel room, then you would get 10. It’s that simple!
However not all commissions are equivalent. Certain kinds of bookings are better than others. This is critical in order to be able to recommend the things that are going to make you the most.
This is before we get down to it but it is important to remember that the world of travel is very big! The number of the online travel market in the world is more than 800 billion dollars. That demonstrates the fact that individuals waste a lot of money by booking travelling online. Associating with an affiliate program, you have an opportunity to receive a portion of such a large market.
Breakdown Commission Structure Breakdown.
The following is a rough estimate of the commission level that you can expect in the Expedia Group Affiliate Program. These figures are subject to modification but they are a good indicator.
Hotels: (Here is where the real money is!)
The best commissions are normally offered on hotel bookings. You would normally receive 3-6 percent on every reservation. There may even be higher rate on some special hotels or promotions. It is the best category among most travel affiliates.
Examples: 1,000: someone clicks your link and reserves a 5-night stay at a hotel that costs 1,000. Assuming the commission rates are 4, you make $40 on that booking.
Vacation Packages: (Big bookings, good commissions!
Vacation packages: This happens when one makes a reservation in a hotel and a flight, or in a hotel and a rental car. These reservations are usually costly and that is good to you! The commission is typically on the hotel or rental car component of the package, and is generally good, like hotels.
Rentals: (Consistent and stable incomes!
When your reader rents a car you may have a handsome commission. This is often around 2% to 6%. This may not sound much, however, it is cumulative in case people hire a car on a weekly basis.
Things to Do: (Fun for them, great for you!):
This is an awesome category. It consists of tours of the cities, museum tickets, or excursions. Here commissions may be extremely high; to 10 per cent and higher. It is a good way to make money writing about fun activities.
Flights: (There isn’t much to anticipate here either)
Flights will not pay you much or nothing. Affiliate programs, like the one by Expedia, pay no commission on flights, or near none. It can be a tiny amount as a fee, such as 1, but you can not concentrate on selling flights in order to get money. Instead focus on hotels and activities.
What is a “Cookie Duration”?
So, now we can discuss a cookie. Not the chocolate chip kind. Online, a cookie is a memory tag.
Here’s how it works. Once a person clicks on your special link, a cookie is placed on his or her web browser. Expedia receives the message in the cookie that this individual was referred to [Your Website]. This memory tag lasts some period of time. The duration of that is known as the cookie duration. In the case of the Expedia Affiliate Program, the cookie expires within 7 days.
What does this mean for you? When a person clicks your link, he does not necessarily need to make a reservation immediately. They can ponder about it within few days. When they return and make a reservation on an Expedia property within those 7 days you still get the commission.
Suppose, a reader clicks on a Monday on your hotel link. They window shop and do not make a reservation. Then, after four days, Friday, they recollect the hotel and enter the Expedia.com site and book the hotel. You still earn a paycheck since it is in the 7-day window. That’s a cool feature.
Become an Expedia Affiliate: Here is a step-by-step guide.
Consider an affiliate network such as a large mall. Expedia, Nike, or Amazon are some of the stores in the mall. You visit the mall one time and then can apply to work in any of the stores located in it. Everything becomes easier to handle.
Expedia primarily engages few large trust networks. One of their most popular over the years is CJ Affiliate which was originally known as Commission Junction. To make this guide, we will base on the example of a big and common affiliate CJ Affiliate.
It is quite easy to begin with four steps.
Step 1: Ensure that your web site is prepared.
You have to have a place to place your affiliate links before you apply. This is generally a blog or a Web site. The network and Expedia would like to know that you are not just joking about making content.
The following are some of the things you should have:
- A live blog or web site: It does not have to be a popular one, but it must be active.
- Originality of good content: You are supposed to have about 5-10 well-written blog posts or articles.
- A specific theme: Your web site must be travel or a travel-related topic.
- A business appearance: Remember to ensure that your site is easy to navigate and read.
Consider your web site as your program. You would like to impress in the first impression!
Step 2: Become a part of an Affiliate Network such as CJ Affiliate.
The first thing is to open an account with the network.
- Visit the CJ Affiliate site (www.cj.com) and become a Publisher. Or Directly Click Here.
- Complete all your details. You will be required to give information regarding yourself and your website. Be honest and accurate.
- Fill in your profile, with payment details to know where to send you money, and a brief description of your web site.
Approval onto the network is normally expeditious. Once you are in, you can move on.
Step 3: Apply to the Expedia Program.
You are now in CJ Affiliate and you have to locate the Expedia store.
- On your CJ Affiliate dashboard, there should be a tab that is labeled Advertisers.
- Enter the word Expedia in the search box.
- Search the Expedia Group Affiliate Program and hover it.
- Click on the button that reads Apply to Program.
You can be asked to enter into terms and conditions. Read them and confirm. Your request has just been submitted to Expedia.
Step 4: Find Your Links and Approved.
The Expedia team will assess your application and web site. They would like to ensure that you fit their brand. This review may require days or even 2 weeks, thus be patient.
With a good travel website that has good content then you stand a good chance to get the approval.
After the You have been approved email comes, then you can earn. Here’s what to do next:
- Get back to your CJ Affiliate dashboard.
- Add Expedia to your list of trusted advertisers.
- Find a place known as Links or Get Links.
You can find everything here: plain text links, banners and even search boxes. Take the code they present you with and paste it into your site.
That’s it! Any connection you have down here is your special affiliate connection that keep a track of all the bookings.
Pros and Cons of the Expedia Affiliate Network
There are some good parts to every program. A comparison of the two assists you in making your choices whether or not to use Expedia. Let’s keep it simple.
The Really Good Stuff (The Pros)
People have confidence in Expedia as it is a large and well-known brand. It is likely that readers are familiar with it and might have applied it. That trust will increase the chances that they will click your link and book, making you more money.
- Such an enormous inventory: you can sell more than 1 million properties, numerous airlines, and numerous car rentals and activities in the world. Regardless of the traveling subject you are reading about, you will be able to promote something.
- One program allows you to advertise numerous brands: such as Hotels.com, Vrbo, Travelocity and others. This facilitates an easy way of corresponding the appropriate brand to each article or audience.
- Expedia offers easy tools: You can link simple text or sophisticated search engines. A search box is a little box on your site, which allows the visitor to search hotels directly. It has the potential of attracting additional bookings.
The Things to Be Aware Of (The Cons).
- Commissions can be low: Certain ones such as activities are well paying. Hotel rates can be cheaper than those of a hotel program. As an example, the own program could be more compensating.
- The 7 cookies window is limited: Some programs give 30 days. In case it takes a visitor longer than a week to book you might lose the commission.
- Flights pay little: Unless your site specializes in low airfares, you will not make much with Expedia. Instead, concentrate on packages, hotels, cars and activities.
- It can feel overwhelming: Expedia has numerous options and brands, and it can be confusing to novices. Making the decision of which brand to advertise and what links to refer to may be time consuming.
Conclusion
Tourists and bloggers can earn money when they are interested in traveling through the Expedia Affiliate Program ( EAP ). You’ll have a wide and trusted portfolio of travel choice once you become a part of Expedia Group: Hotels.com, Vrbo, Travelocity, and others. This will allow you to make suggestions on the basis of luxurious hotels or entertaining tours around the city.
To sum up, it is a fair and simplified partnership with EAP. You are assisting your readers in selecting the most desirable travel offers of a reputable global brand, and you also make money when they purchase with your link. When you have an interested audience, the program provides you with a clear method of making your passion in traveling profitable in the year 2025 and beyond.
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FAQs
1. How does EAP differ mainly with Expedia TAAP?
Online creators such as bloggers or influencers who refer to Expedia are the target audience of EAP. They allow their audience to make their bookings themselves. TAAP is aimed at professional travel agents making bookings on behalf of clients.
2. What is the amount of commission that I can make on a booking?
Commission varies according to the booking. Hotels typically offer 3-6 percent and activities may offer to 10 percent or more. Flights tend to be very little giving or none giving.
3. What brands of Expedia Group can I advertise?
Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Vrbo, Travelocity, Orbitz, and CheapTickets are some of the big sites you can promote. Choose the brand that suits you.
4. What is the cookie time and why will it be important?
The cookie lasts 7 days. When one of them clicks your link and makes an Expedia trip during those 7 days, then you receive the credit and a commission.