Airbnb Affiliate Program
As an alternative to hotels and resorts for vacation planning, Airbnb has made a splash in the market by creating a platform for homeowners to list their residences for short-term rentals.
For those who want space for their whole family or an entire home to enjoy during their trip, Airbnb has made it all possible.
Moreover, it used to offer an Airbnb affiliate program, which unfortunately was terminated in March 2021.
Brett Helling is a digital marketing expert with over 10 years of experience building, managing, and scaling websites.
As a way to introduce the Airbnb service to those who may not be familiar, the company has previously rolled out an incentive for those with a website or social media presence.
The Airbnb affiliate program allowed those who include custom links into their content to earn a commission back when someone successfully reserves a stay.
- Cost Per Action (CPA): Yes
- Commission Rate: 25% to 30% per stay or $40 per host referral
- Cookie Duration: 28 days
- Payment Payout Threshold: $100
- Payment Options: PayPal, ACH, Payoneer
The Airbnb Affiliate Program allowed publishers with a strong online presence to earn passive income by promoting Airbnb listings and recruiting new hosts.
Affiliates received commissions based on completed bookings and stays, with two types of payouts: a flat rate of at least $40 for each new host referral after their first guest’s checkout, and a percentage commission of 25% to 30% of Airbnb’s service fees for bookings.
The program was free to join, making it accessible for publishers to generate income by linking to Airbnb listings and encouraging host sign-ups. However, Airbnb discontinued this program in March 2021.
Products to Promote
As an affiliate for Airbnb, there is no shortage of products that you can promote.
While the program is no longer in operation, when it is open, members can plug anything the site offers to customers through its content.
Hosts
For those affiliates who refer a new host to the Airbnb platform, the company will pay a minimum of $40 in commission upon completion of the first stay at the residence.
The host must sign up and be approved through the members’ affiliate link to qualify for the earnings.
Short-Term Stays
If an individual visits your website or sees your social media profile and decides to book an Airbnb that you are promoting, you will earn a 25% commission for the first 500 stays of any given month.
These stays do not come with limitations in duration.
Therefore, a one or two-night visit will net earnings for the publisher.
Long-Term Stays
While the first 500 stays in a given month are subject to a 25% commission rate, the amount rises to 30% once the affiliate reaches 500 visits in one month.
This commission comes from the Airbnb service fee, which is a more considerable amount the longer a guest stays.
Therefore, a publisher can earn more money with long-term stays that come as a result of their affiliate link.
Virtual Experiences
As a result of Covid, various virtual experiences occurred regarding travel.
Not only can you take unique location-based classes online, but you can also tour top destinations and see famous landmarks from your living room couch.
When you sell a virtual experience through your affiliate link, you will earn 25% of the service fee.
In-Person Experiences
While virtual experiences are a new trend, the preference will forever remain for in-person opportunities.
Individuals can book fun excursions directly through the Airbnb website when planning a vacation.
If a publisher promotes one of these on their content and it is secured, they are subject to a 25% commission.
What Products Are Excluded from the Airbnb Affiliate Program?
Throughout the Airbnb affiliate program, there weren’t available services subject to exclusion.
However, the company made the commission rate calculations based on the service fee that Airbnb charges, not the total reservation amount.
This fact became confusing for many, as the commission was much less than expected in many cases.
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Earnings for Airbnb affiliates vary based on factors like website traffic, content quality, and the number of users who click on their custom link.
Commission rates in the Airbnb Affiliate Program included a minimum $40 payout for each new host referral after their first guest’s checkout, a 25% to 30% commission on completed reservations, and a 25% commission for experiences booked through affiliate links.
The program’s cookie lasted 28 days, allowing affiliates to earn commissions on bookings made within that period, though the cookie was overwritten if a user returned through another affiliate’s link.
How Payments Work
When the program is in operation, several payment methods are available.
While these routes are dependent on the country you reside in, they most commonly revolve around the following:
- PayPal
- ACH Transfer
- Payoneer
If the Airbnb affiliate program returns in the future, the company or its management may replace these payment methods.
With most corporate affiliate programs undergoing operation by third-party affiliate networks, Airbnb will likely go that route as well.
When Does Airbnb Pay Affiliates?
When visitors click an affiliate link to view a property that Airbnb offers, the visit triggers the payment process.
If the guest books the lodging and completes the reservation, the affiliate will receive their earnings after check-out takes place.
As is the case with all affiliate programs, there is a period (typically around 30-60 days) that accounts for processing.
Once those steps finalize, you will see your commission available for withdrawal.
Is the Program Worth It?
When the Airbnb affiliate program was in operation, the number of perks strongly outweighed any disadvantages to the plan.
Below we outline some of the most famous attributes offered.
Pros of the Airbnb Affiliate Program
When publishers were part of the program, they had many positive reviews from the partnership created between themselves and the company.
Some of those perks include:
- Lengthy Cookies: A cookie can last for a wide range of time, each of which depends on the specific affiliate program. The Airbnb affiliate program offered 28 days for its publishers.
- High Commissions: While the amount for reservations was lower than average, the commission for host referrals was above average.
- Marketing Tools: To help those in the program, Airbnb offered an extensive amount of marketing aids and resources.
- Routine Payments: The system that Airbnb had in place gave publishers access to on-time payments that were consistent and routine.
- Payment Methods: Affiliates participating in the Airbnb program appreciated the choices available for payment, including PayPal, ACH, and Payoneer.
Cons of the Airbnb Affiliate Program
While we wish it could have been, not everything about the Airbnb affiliate program was perfect.
There were a few disadvantages that publishers didn’t enjoy. We outline some of those below for your review.
- Low Reservation Commission: While the referral commission for new hosts was a minimum of $40, the earnings for standard reservations were up to 30% of the Airbnb service fee.
- Lack of Bonuses: Many high-paying affiliate programs offer sporadic incentives to boost sales, but the Airbnb plan didn’t account for any extra earnings.
- No Dedicated Manager: Some of the more prominent companies will offer the use of a dedicated marketing manager to affiliates to help establish themselves in the program. However, Airbnb did not provide this option.
- Direct Items: When affiliates input links to specific Airbnbs, they only earn a commission if a reader reserved that particular lodging. The affiliate didn’t make a commission if the visitor clicked on the link but then reserved a different Airbnb.
- Minimal Operation Time: Unfortunately, the Airbnb affiliate program didn’t last long and was dissolved by the company in 2021.
Conclusion: Is the Airbnb Affiliate Program Worth It?
While in operation, many publishers found the Airbnb affiliate program to be worthwhile and found that they steadily earned passive income from the inclusion of their custom links in online content.
Overall, with there being a multitude of blog ideas for travel bloggers, the ability to insert Airbnb properties into content is relatively easy.
With that being said, some members felt the commission percentage was too low and the 500 stays per month required to earn an extra 5% pay were too hefty a feat to manage.
Therefore, they opted to join other programs where they could enjoy a more lucrative payout.
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How to Join
While the Airbnb affiliate program is no longer in operation, it was once a popular and lucrative option for those who had a significant online presence and were looking to earn passive income through affiliate marketing.
Additionally, the process of joining was easy to manage and straightforward.
Requirements To Join the Airbnb Affiliate Program
Those who wanted a place in the Airbnb affiliate program had to have a solid online presence that could drive traffic to the Airbnb website.
Additionally, all prospective members had to agree to the terms and conditions for participation in the program.
How To Apply [Step-by-Step Tutorial]
When visiting the Airbnb website to apply for the affiliate program, there were only a few steps that needed to undergo completion for your application.
- View the Application – On the affiliate program portion of the Airbnb website, there was an application with a series of questions.
- Enter Information – Once you reviewed the questions, you needed to fill them out truthfully and completely
- Double-Check – Reviewing the information you put in the questionnaire was vital, as simple mistakes would have your application reflected poorly upon for approval.
- Submit – Once everything is perfect, you will submit your application to the Airbnb program and await notification of approval or denial.
How Long Does It Take To Get Approved for the Airbnb Affiliate Program?
When the Airbnb affiliate program was in operation, those managing the company would often give a notification to prospective applicants within a few days.
During heavy application times, this duration may extend to a few weeks.
If you did not include the correct information in your application, you could stand to be instantly rejected by the company.
Additionally, if you falsified information and the company later uncovered it, you would be ejected from the program and may have had to forfeit your commissions.
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