How to switch from Booking.com direct affiliate program to Travelpayouts

Booking.com is one of the most popular hotel aggregators. While they offer their own direct affiliate program, you also have the option to work with Booking.com affiliate tools through the Travelpayouts platform. 

By choosing Travelpayouts, you will continue receiving rewards for all bookings made via your affiliate links to Booking.com, but also you gain additional benefits, like access to all major travel programs all in one place, quick and timely payouts and detailed performance stats.

Travelpayouts offers a LinkSwitcher — a tool that allows you to quickly switch Booking.com direct affiliate links into Travelpayouts affiliate links.

Important! LinkSwitcher only affects affiliate links. Other tools, such as widgets, banners, etc., will not be affected.

What is LinkSwitcher and what are the benefits of using it?

LinkSwitcher is essentially a piece of JavaScript code that you need to add to your site. This tool converts links from Booking.com’s direct affiliate program into Travelpayouts links that include your ID. This enables you to receive rewards via our platform.

Advantages of using LinkSwitcher:

  • Time-saving convenience: LinkSwitcher frees you from the tedious process of link-by-link replacement. You can spend more time on what matters most – traveling, creating, and growing your blog.
  • User-Friendly Setup: No technical hurdles or programming expertise required. LinkSwitcher is designed for simplicity, ensuring that all partners can effortlessly navigate the migration process.
  • Safe and Reversible: LinkSwitcher maintains the safety and integrity of your setup. It can be switched off at any time, reverting all changes back. Additionally, retain control with the ability to exclude individual articles from migration.

What is needed to start using LinkSwitcher?

To use the LinkSwitcher, you should have a website and access to its code editor.

You also need to complete the following steps before starting with the LinkSwitcher:

1. Sign up for Travelpayouts if you have not yet done so. 

2. Next, you need to create a Project in your Travelpayouts account. The Project contains information about the channel where you want to promote the brands’ products. You can follow these instructions in our Help Center to create a Project.

3. Open the Booking.com program profile in your Travelpayouts account and click Connect to program.

Note! Booking.com is one of the programs that require the brand's approval to connect. This means that your Project will be reviewed to ensure that it complies with the program's terms and conditions. Please ensure that your Project:

  • Is a website that functions exclusively as a travel blog. Simply having the "Blog" category among others on the website will not be sufficient to connect to the program. Also, having a blog on a social media or video platform is not enough; it must be a website.
  • Is at least two months old.
  • Contains original travel content that is regularly updated. If the content hasn't been updated for a year, the project is likely to not get approved.
  • Is not a template website (where there is a minimum of content, and the main purpose of the site is to sell a service), the brand prefers projects that share useful experiences with the audience and the information is up-to-date
  • Does not contain offensive content, viruses, or other negative content, and does not call for illegal action.
  • Is not a metasearch or price comparison website.
  • Is not a website of a travel agency.
  • Does not contain the word "Booking" in the domain name.

4. The approval of the request can take up to 2 business days. Once the request is approved, you can install the LinkSwitcher on your website.

How to install LinkSwitcher on your website?

You can install LinkSwitcher on your website using one of the following three options:

Installing via WordPress

  1. Download the Head & Footer Code plugin from the WordPress store. This plugin will help you apply LinkSwitcher to every page of your blog.

  2. Install and activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in your WordPress dashboard using the instructions provided in the official documentation.

  3. Go to the Installed Plugins section in your WordPress dashboard and open Head & Footer plugin Settings.

  4. Replace YOUR_ID in the code below with your Travelpayouts ID and copy it:
<script src="https://tpo.gg/entrypoint.js?marker=YOUR_ID" async="async" data-noptimize="1" data-cfasync="false" data-wpfc-render="false"></script>
  1. Paste the code in the Head & Footer plugin in the section called HEAD code.

  1. Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.

Installing via Google Tag Manager

  1. Open Google Tag Manager and add a new tag. For more instructions check Google documentation.

  2. Select Custom HTML as the tag type in the Tag Configuration menu.

  3. Replace YOUR_ID in the code below with your Travelpayouts ID and copy it:
<script src="https://tpo.gg/entrypoint.js?marker=YOUR_ID" async="async" data-noptimize="1" data-cfasync="false" data-wpfc-render="false"></script>
  1. Paste the code in the HTML field of the New tag form.

  1. Select All Pages in the triggers section.

  1. Save changes.

Manual Code Setup

  1. Replace YOUR_ID in the code below with your Travelpayouts ID and copy it:
<script src="https://tpo.gg/entrypoint.js?marker=YOUR_ID" async="async" data-noptimize="1" data-cfasync="false" data-wpfc-render="false"></script>
  1. Add the code in the tag ‘<head>’ on all your pages. If you have a separate HTML file containing a head tag, just paste the code there.

Next steps after installation

Once you finish installing, please send a request to the support team to turn on LinkSwitcher on your website. To help us set it up faster, please send a few examples of articles where you have Booking.com links.

Please note the following:

  • The links will first appear unchanged on your website. Only after a user clicks on a link for the first time after conversion, the link address will be updated to show the Travelpayouts link.
  • If you want to exclude certain pages from link conversion, please include this information in the request to our support team.
  • You will be able to see all clicks and bookings made using Travelpayouts links in the statistics section of your account. For more details check out our Affiliate program summary article.

FAQ about switching from Booking.com to Travelpayouts

I already joined the Booking.com direct affiliate program on their site. How can I add that one on Travelpayouts without requesting to connect?

To work with Booking.com via Travelpayouts, you need to connect to their program within our platform separately. Please note that it’s important that your website is a travel-related content project updated on a regular basis. You’ll find the full list of requirements provided by Booking.com here.

I joined the Booking.com direct affiliate program before I joined Travelpayouts, do I need to delete my Booking.com account and re-apply through TP to have all my data in one place?

You can use both accounts, as it’s in line with the terms provided by both Booking.com and Travelpayouts. Therefore, there’s no need to delete your Booking.com account to start working with Travelpayouts.

Can I transfer my statistics from the Booking.com direct program to Travelpayouts and have all the history there?

Unfortunately, there's no possibility to transfer and merge statistics from the direct affiliate program into your Travelpayouts account. As long as these accounts can't be connected in any way, the statistics in your Travelpayouts account will be counted separately.

Can I apply for the Booking.com program in Travelpayouts if I was canceled in the direct affiliate program? 

Sure, but you still need to send a request to connect to Booking.com via Travelpayouts. To do this, you need to create a Project in your Travelpayouts account and make sure to specify all the details about your website in it. Please note that Booking.com provides rather strict requirements for our partners’ projects when it comes to approval. It’s important that your website is a travel-related content project updated on a regular basis. You’ll find the full list of recommendations here. 

Please note that if your request to connect to the direct affiliate program was declined, and you received a detailed explanation, you still need to bring your website in compliance with the requirements provided by Booking.com. After doing so, feel free to apply for the program within the Travelpayouts platform.

Benefits of switching from a direct affiliate program to Travelpayouts

We have gathered here the top reasons for connecting to Booking.com via the Travelpayouts partnership platform. Please read our Blog article for more information.

  • Rates

With Travelpayouts you earn a consistent 4% of each booking's total value, regardless of the number of monthly bookings monthly booking count. On average, 4% of the booking value equals the amount offered by Booking.com in its direct program. But within the direct program, this amount is shown as 25% of the commission that Booking.com receives from third parties.

Your initial rate on Travelpayouts matches the minimum from the direct affiliate program. To unlock a higher rate, achieve 50 monthly bookings. If you generate up to 150 bookings, choosing Travelpayouts offers nearly identical earnings and partner-focused benefits.

  • Regular monthly payouts

With Travelpayouts, you will receive payouts automatically from the 11th to the 20th of the subsequent month once you meet the minimum payout amount on your balance. There are no delays in payouts. 

The minimum payout amount can be different for various payout methods available on Travelpayouts. For example, if you are using PayPal, it’s enough to reach 50 USD on your balance to receive the payout.

  • Access to other programs and their tools

Travelpayouts provides access to numerous affiliate programs from key travel brands like Expedia, Viator, and GetYourGuide among many others.  This expands the range of products you can promote via affiliate tools beyond just hotels. You'll have the convenience of efficiently managing all your connections and reviewing statistics through your Travelpayouts account all in one place.

  • Support

The Travelpayouts support team provides quick responses, making sure to resolve problems as thoroughly as possible. You can reach out to the Travelpayouts support team through various channels aside from your personal account, such as Facebook and Instagram.

  1. Travelpayouts Help Center
  2. Affiliate tools
  3. Scripts