Affiliate booking means letting other businesses book your tours on behalf of their customers, usually in exchange for a commission or referral fee. This might include hotels booking activities for their guests, local tour companies reselling your specialized experiences, or online travel agencies promoting your tours to their customer base. It's a way to expand your reach through established businesses that already have customer relationships.
Why Affiliate Partnerships Make Sense for Adventure Operators ↗
Think about it from a customer's perspective: they're staying at a mountain resort and ask the concierge about local hiking options. Instead of the concierge just giving them your phone number, wouldn't it be better if they could book the hike right there at the front desk? The guest gets convenience, the hotel provides better service, and you get a booking you might not have captured otherwise.
Affiliate booking arrangements help you reach customers who might never have found you directly, tap into established trust relationships, and often provide higher-value bookings since someone else is doing the selling and recommending for you.
Quick Win: Start With Your Natural Partners ↗
Look at where your customers are already staying, eating, or getting other services during their visit to your area. Hotels, bed & breakfasts, restaurants, gear shops, and visitor centers are all natural partners who might be interested in booking your tours for their customers.
Start simple – maybe just let a few hotels know they can call you directly to make bookings for their guests, and offer them a small commission for each booking they send your way.
Types of Affiliate Booking Arrangements ↗
Hotel partnerships – Concierges and front desk staff book activities for guests, often as part of a broader hospitality service.
Tour company partnerships – Larger tour operators might resell your specialized activities as add-ons to their main offerings.
Retail partnerships – Gear shops, visitor centers, or local businesses might book tours for customers who are already planning outdoor activities.
Online travel agencies (OTAs) – Platforms like Expedia or GetYourGuide that promote your tours to their customer base in exchange for commission.
Corporate partnerships – Companies that book team-building activities or client entertainment experiences through you.
Setting Up Successful Affiliate Relationships ↗
Clear commission structure – Be upfront about what commission you'll pay (typically 10-25% for adventure tours) and when partners get paid.
Simple booking process – Make it easy for partners to check availability and make reservations, whether through phone calls, online portals, or booking system integration.
Marketing support – Provide partners with photos, descriptions, and key selling points they can use to promote your tours effectively.
Reliable communication – Partners need to know immediately if tours are canceled, rescheduled, or if there are any issues affecting their customers.
Training and education – Help partners understand your tours well enough to match customers with appropriate experiences and set proper expectations.
Managing Affiliate Relationships ↗
Track performance – Know which partners are sending you valuable bookings vs. those who just take up administrative time.
Maintain service standards – Customers booked through partners still reflect on your business, so ensure they receive the same quality experience as direct bookings.
Handle issues gracefully – When problems arise with affiliate bookings, you often need to manage relationships with both the end customer and the partner who made the booking.
Protect direct business – Structure commission rates so partners aren't incentivized to undercut your direct pricing or steal customers from your own marketing efforts.
Affiliate booking works best when integrated with your channel management system to prevent overbooking and your booking system to streamline the reservation process.
For detailed strategies on building profitable partner relationships, check out our guide on affiliate booking programs for adventure operators ↗.
Keep Learning ↗
Affiliate booking is part of your broader distribution strategy. You might want to explore channel management to understand how to coordinate inventory across multiple booking sources, or learn about revenue management to optimize pricing across different sales channels.