Airbnb Affiliate Program Overview + Best Alternatives in 2024

Are you looking for a new way to find a place to stay when you go on vacation? Well, Airbnb will help you! Instead of just staying in hotels, you have the option to rent someone’s home for a short period. This is great if you need a lot of space for your family or want the whole house for yourself. Moreover, it used to offer an Airbnb affiliate program where people could earn money by referring new hosts.

Although many travel bloggers and influencers like the Airbnb affiliate program. Unfortunately, it ended its operations in March 2021. If you’re looking for other ways to earn money by referring hosts, we’ll tell you about some other affiliate marketing programs you can try.  Let’s check out what happened to the Airbnb affiliate marketing program and some other options you might like.

Let’s get started!

What is the Airbnb Affiliate Program?

Airbnb’s Affiliate Program helps people like Travel influencers and bloggers earn money by promoting Airbnb. There are two parts to it:

1. Guest Affiliate Program: You can show Airbnb listings on your website and earn money when people book through your link. You can choose which listings to promote, and it helps your visitors find good places to stay.

2. Host Affiliate Program: This part helps your visitors earn more with Airbnb. You get paid when new users sign up through your link. However, you only earn if the new host gets verified or the guest makes a booking.

Read Also: Best Affiliate Marketing Websites to Be Aware of

But the big question is:

Does Airbnb Have An Affiliate Program?

The Airbnb Travel affiliate program, known as ‘Airbnb Associates,’ stopped on March 31, 2021. They’re advising all affiliates to take down any links related to it from their websites. You may ask: Why did Airbnb end its affiliate program?

The company decided to end the Associates program because it planned a marketing push to get more people to use its platform. They figured they’d spend more money on sales and marketing, so they couldn’t afford to pay most of their earnings for influencer marketing anymore. Another reason is that they want to focus on getting more people to become hosts. They think this will bring in more money than the affiliate program did.

So, Airbnb suddenly stopped its affiliate program, surprising many marketers. They had only a month to adjust and find new ways to make money. Some turned to Airbnb arbitrage.

By now, you’ve found the Airbnb affiliate program’s ending reasons. Let’s explore how it worked!

How Did the Airbnb Affiliate Program Work?

If you were an Instagram travel influencer with many online followers, you would earn money by promoting places to stay and things to do or hosting on Airbnb. For instance, if you were an Instagram influencer and got people to book stays through your link, you would make 25% of the monthly fee for the first 500 bookings. 

And if you refer someone who lists their place on Airbnb, you could earn at least $40 for each new booking within the first year of their listing.

Read Also: Best Hotels That Work with Influencers

How Airbnb Hosts Use Referrals to Make Money?

If you host your place on Airbnb, you can earn extra money by inviting others to do the same. Just share your referral link with friends, neighbors, and coworkers. When they list their place and get bookings, you get rewarded. You can refer as many people as you like, but you’ll only get paid for the first 25. It’s a way to help Airbnb grow and make some extra cash for yourself. 

Although the Airbnb affiliate marketing program has ended, other alternatives are available. You should join them if you want to make money from your travel blog or social media profiles.

Read Also: How Travel Influencers Make Money?

Airbnb Affiliate Program Alternatives

Some travel affiliate marketing programs are alternatives to Airbnb travel affiliate programs. If your followers often book trips using Airbnb through your blog, we recommend joining the following travel affiliate programs:

Let’s start with the most considerable Airbnb affiliate program alternative. 

1. Expedia Group

By joining Expedia Group’s affiliate program, you can make extra money by sharing their deals and listings. You’ll get access to all their brands, like Vrbo, Hotels.com, and others. They provide tools like special links and banners that you can use to bring people to Expedia from your website or social media. You can earn up to 6% of the booking’s value for each sale through your links.

The amount you earn varies depending on what you’re promoting and where your audience is located. You can find out more about this in the Affiliate Dashboard, but you need to log in to see it.

2. Booking.com

Booking.com is a massive website for booking places to stay in over 220 countries. They have millions of places listed. If you sign up for their affiliate program, you can earn money by promoting them on your website or blog. You get a unique link and earn a percentage of the booking fee whenever someone books through that link. The more bookings you help with, the more money you can make. 

You can join their program directly or through CJ Affiliate, but right now, it’s limited to certain European countries. Moreover, you only earn a percentage of what Booking.com commissions from each booking, which can vary depending on the property: 10%, 15%, 17%, or 20%.

3. Vrbo Affiliate Program

Similar to Airbnb, Vrbo lets people book vacation homes worldwide. When you refer travelers, you can earn 2% of the booking value. On the other hand, if you refer someone who lists their property on Vrbo, you get $20. You can join Vrbo’s affiliate program through CJ Affiliate. Unlike Booking.com, you don’t earn a percentage of the booking fee. Instead, you get a flat rate. For example, if your referral books a $100 stay, you get $2. 

The Vrbo’s tracking cookie lasts for seven days. Vrbo rewards you for bringing in new property listings like Airbnb. If someone you refer lists their property on Vrbo, you get $20. The cookie for this lasts 60 days.

4. Hotels.com

This Affiliate Program mainly involves hotels but also includes vacation rentals like Airbnb. You can sign up for the program through CJ Affiliate. When someone uses your link to book a hotel or rental on Hotels.com, you get a commission. The commission rate is 4%, and the tracking cookie lasts seven days. 

You can find different affiliate programs for Hotels.com on CJ Affiliate. Depending on which program you join, you earn commissions for sales from other regions like the USA, Canada, Latin America, or some European countries.

5. Travala Affiliate Program

It is like Airbnb, but it works differently. You can use cryptocurrencies to book your trips on Travala. They even have their own coin called AVA. If you want to make money by recommending Travala, you can join their affiliate program on Impact. You can earn commissions by promoting accommodations, flights, and activities.

Once someone clicks on your referral link, you’ll earn a commission if they book within 30 days. The commission rate varies, but for accommodations, it’s either 5.5% for new customers or 5% for existing ones.

Read Also: Affiliate Tracking Software

Note: If you want to make a reliable income, there may be better choices than Airbnb and similar platforms. They pay travel influencers to promote them, but it could be a more steady income. But don’t worry, there’s another option called Ainfluencer. It offers a consistent income and lets you negotiate your terms. Keep reading to find out more.

Ainfluencer: The Best Platform to Earn for Travel Influencers

Ainfluencer is like a meeting place for influencers and brand owners. You can team up with them from anywhere in the world without using regular links. Here’s why you might like it:

1. It’s free! There is no need to pay to join, so anyone can use it.
2. Loads of chances to work with brand owners. There are thousands of opportunities in different categories.
3. You can find brands that match your audience’s interests.
4. You can chat with brands easily using our messaging tool.
5. We’ve got a helpful team to guide you along.

Still not convinced? With Ainfluencer, you can directly connect with brands for collaborations. Plus, we make sure you get paid securely. 

Check out this video to learn how to use the app:

Join for free and start earning money in a new way!

Create a Free Account

Wrapping Things Up

Despite being a big name in travel affiliate marketing, Airbnb used to have a program where you could earn money by referring others. Unfortunately, the Airbnb affiliate program ended in March 2021 after just a few years. However, there are other good options out there, like the Expedia group’s program, which includes Vrbo, a competitor of Airbnb. 

Moreover, there’s a platform called Ainfluencer that lets influencers and brands discuss how they get paid, giving them more flexibility. Sign up now and take advantage!

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