How do I become a hotel affiliate?

Hotel and vacation rental owners often struggle with finding ways to make money online in addition to their day job. They can earn some extra cash by becoming affiliates for other companies or organizations like airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, and hotels. But what if you're not sure where to start? What's involved in becoming an affiliate? How much will it cost me? And how do I find out about all these different opportunities that seem to pop up every week?

In this article, we'll take a look at the various types of accommodations and see exactly what they offer so you know whether or not you should try your hand at becoming an affiliate. We also discuss the costs associated with each type of affiliation deal, as well as give you some ideas on how to maximize your earnings potential. If you work in the hospitality industry yourself, then you already have a great idea of where to go when looking for a new side business opportunity. If you don't, keep reading!

Is Hyatt part of Marriott Bonvoy?

Marriott offers many different kinds of affiliations -- including both luxury and budget hotels -- but one thing most people agree on is that there isn't just one "Hyatt" brand. Instead, there are multiple brands under the umbrella of Marriott International (which itself is owned by Starwood). These include Hyatt Regency, Park Plaza, Renaissance, Sheraton, Westin, St. Regis, The Luxe Collection, W Hotels, Aloft, Element, and others. Each has its own unique set of amenities, services, and perks. Some are more luxurious than others while others cater to families and business travelers who want a quieter stay. So before jumping into any kind of affiliation agreement, be sure to check out the specific offerings each hotel chain provides.

What company owns Hyatt?

The parent company behind Hyatt is actually Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., which was founded in 1981. In 2013, Starwood acquired Accor Hotels & Resorts for $13 billion. At the time, the merger created the largest hotel operator in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, and India.

So after the acquisition, did Hyatt change hands too? Not really. While the name changed slightly, the branding stayed the same. As far as the actual ownership goes, everything else remained the same. That means you're still getting the same quality rooms and service offered by Hyatt, even though it may now be known as something entirely different.

Is Hyatt a Hilton Honors?

Not quite. Though the two companies share similar names, they aren't related at all. In fact, Hilton Honors operates independently from Hyatt. It's simply another loyalty program affiliated with Hilton. Unlike its sister brand, however, Hyatt does provide free Wi-Fi throughout its properties worldwide.

What is the Hyatt rewards program called?

You might notice that I haven't mentioned anything about the Hyatt rewards program yet. This is because it doesn't exist anymore. When the hotel chain merged with Starwood, the Hyatt Rewards system was shut down completely. Now you only need to join Hyatt Gold Passport to access special benefits like airport lounge passes and room upgrades.

As long as you use the right keywords in your search engine results, chances are good you'll land on a page offering information about joining the Hyatt Gold Passport program. You'll receive 10% off your first purchase when you sign up through our link, plus 1% back on subsequent purchases. There's no minimum spend required either.

Once you've joined the program, you'll receive points based on your spending habits within the app. After redeeming enough points toward free nights, flights, and other benefits, you'll accrue enough to book a trip anywhere. All you have to do is pay once and then enjoy the rest of your travels without worrying about making reservations again.

If you'd rather stick with the old Hyatt rewards program, you can still log onto the site using your existing account credentials. Just click here. Once logged in, select the "My Account" tab located near the top left corner of the screen. From there, you can view your past transactions, add additional credit cards, edit billing info, and more.

While there used to be a separate Hyatt rewards website, the entire program has been integrated into the main Starwood website. However, you'll still be able to track your progress towards earning free trips via the MyStarwood app.

What kind of commissions do I stand to earn as an affiliate?

There are three basic categories of hotel affiliate deals available today. The first includes direct partnerships between the hotel owner/operator and a third party. For example, a property could partner directly with an airline, car rental agency, or cruise line to help promote its products. In return, the hotel gets paid a portion of the sale price charged by those partners.

Another option is to sell branded merchandise such as towels, keychains, mugs, etc. Many times these items come packaged together with a promotion code or coupon allowing guests to save money during checkout.

Finally, you can market other people's websites or blogs. By signing up as an affiliate and linking to relevant pages on someone else's site, you'll earn a percentage cut of any sales made by visitors clicking through to those links.

When shopping around for the best affiliate deals, always ask questions like:

Are there any restrictions placed upon my ability to advertise other sites?

Can I choose which ads appear on my site?

Do I have full control over pricing?

Will I ever reach the point where I won't be able to profitably promote any other sites?

In general, the better you understand the terms of the partnership, the easier it will be to decide whether or not you want to pursue it further. Remember, the goal is to create passive revenue streams that allow you to continue working away at your primary career while enjoying a few side hustles. With that in mind, take advantage of tools like Google AdSense whenever possible.

How much money can I expect to bring home annually?

It depends on several factors, such as how large your following is, how popular the affiliate product is, and the amount of traffic the site receives daily. To estimate how much money you'll eventually generate, divide your monthly income figure by 12 months. Then multiply that number by 365 days per year. Finally, double it since you probably plan on reinvesting your profits into marketing efforts sooner rather than later.

For example, let's say you signed up last month to participate in Hyatt's Affiliate Program and earned $10 per referral. Your monthly income would therefore equal $100 ($10 x 30) divided by 12 months equals $8.33 per month. Multiplying that by 52 weeks yields $41.56 per year. Double that, and you arrive at $82.32 per year. Of course, you can increase your rate depending on how active you want to be.

But remember, you must commit to doing whatever it takes to build a successful blog or website. Without consistent effort, you'll never reap the financial rewards that so many other bloggers have enjoyed.

What expenses am I responsible for?

One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding affiliate marketing is that you're solely responsible for creating content and driving traffic to your site. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Sure, you have to put in plenty of hard work upfront, but once you establish a solid foundation, the real fun begins.

That said, certain aspects of running a profitable blogging venture require ongoing maintenance. If you fail to monitor comments sections, update posts regularly, respond quickly to customer inquiries, and perform other necessary tasks, you risk losing readership and ultimately hurting your bottom line.

On the flipside, some things you absolutely shouldn't worry about are hosting fees, domain registration fees, web design projects, graphic designs, and software applications. Even if you were to hire freelancers to handle these tasks, you wouldn't incur any significant costs.

To learn more about the ins and outs of affiliate marketing, read our guide to affiliate marketing basics. Also, check out our list of the best affiliate tracking platforms.

Hotel affiliates make money by recommending and selling accommodations on behalf of the brands they work with. You earn commissions when someone books through your link instead of directly contacting that property's reservation system. The more people you refer to a particular brand, the higher your earnings will be.

Affiliates can also earn referral fees for referring guests to certain properties like airlines (as we'll see below) and car rental companies. Affiliate programs typically pay between 1% - 3%, depending on the company. But some offer even better rewards than this -- check our list of best hotel affiliate programs for more details.

There are two main ways to join a hotel affiliate program. One way is to sign up with one yourself, but there are other options too. We're going to look at both methods here.

To begin with, let's start off by defining what exactly it means to "affiliate" something. As far back as 1885, Thomas Edison was using his patents to sell advertising space on lightbulbs. In fact, he invented the first electric incandescent lamp. So, technically speaking, he was an affiliate marketer before anyone else!

Since then, many different industries have adopted the concept of affiliate marketing. It works similarly across all sectors: if a business wants to promote its own products or services, it has to partner with another party who does so on its behalf. This could be done via paid ads, free offers, social media posts, or any other kind of relationship.

The beauty of such partnerships is that both parties gain benefits from them. If a person signs up to use a service, they don't need to spend time researching and comparing each option themselves. Instead, they can just click around and find what suits them best without having to think about cost or quality. There are no strings attached either, unlike most sales pages where users end up signing away their rights to privacy and data ownership forever.

Many businesses opt to take advantage of these kinds of relationships because they know that consumers love finding deals and discounts. And since those deals often come courtesy of affiliates, it makes sense to give them credit for bringing customers into stores.

That said, not every partnership comes together easily. Some businesses simply don't want to deal with third-party partners at all. Others may prefer to stay independent and keep their prices competitive. Still others might require some extra effort to establish a good working relationship. That's why it's important to learn what qualities a potential partner should possess before choosing one over another.

What is a hotel affiliate?

Before getting started, it's worth understanding the difference between a hotel affiliate and a general affiliate. A hotel affiliate operates within the hospitality sector while a generic affiliate goes after non-hotel related items. They're distinct types of relationships, though both involve sharing revenue earned by a third party.

In order to better understand the differences between the two, let's take a look at an example. When you search for flights online, you're probably seeing results from several different providers. However, only a handful of websites actually receive payment from each airline when you book. These sites act as middlemen between travelers and the various airlines and travel agencies that operate them.

So, while you were searching for cheap airfare, Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc., were sending requests to multiple suppliers. Each supplier would send you a quote based on the information provided by Google/Bing/Yahoo. Because you didn't contact the airline directly, you weren't eligible to earn affiliate payments.

However, once you booked your ticket, the airline sent you a confirmation email telling you to visit a specific website to complete your transaction. Once you did that, you became eligible to earn commissions from the airline. Your site acted as the intermediary between the airline and you.

This is similar to how hotels work. Most major players in the hotel industry already have their own reservations systems. These include companies like Booking.com and TripAdvisor. By making sure their clients' transactions go through these channels, they ensure that they get paid whenever someone books accommodations through their links instead of direct communication with the hotel itself.

You won't earn affiliate payments unless you've partnered with a company that sells rooms somewhere. For instance, you can't buy a room at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HSR), Accor Hotels, Wyndham Hotel Group, Choice Hotels International, Crowne Plaza Hotels Corporation, Ramada Inn, Embassy Suites, Homewood Suites, Super 8 Motels, Days Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn, La Quinta Resort & Club, Quality Inn, Wingate by Wyndham, Staybridge Suites, Sleep Inn, SpringHill Suites, Best Western, Extended Stay America, Super 8, Home2Suite, Courtyard by Marriot, Red Roof Inn, Aloft Hotels, Americap, Hostelling International (HI)-USA, and Hosteling International (SI). However, you can still earn commissions if you represent one of these brands on another platform.

For instance, you wouldn't necessarily have access to HRS booking commission rates on a competing site like Airbnb. However, if you signed up with a HRS affiliate account and made a sale through that page, you'd automatically qualify for a portion of the commission rate. Similarly, if you represented another hotel brand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, or elsewhere, you'd generate a share of that property's affiliate commission.

If you're interested in learning more about affiliating with certain brands, we recommend checking out our article on the best luxury hotel affiliate programs.

What is affiliation in hotel industry?

Most people associate hotels with high prices and low standards. After all, few of us ever consider visiting a five star establishment unless we plan to spend thousands of dollars per night. Yet, this perception couldn't be further from reality.

A quick glance at recent figures reveals that occupancy rates for midscale hotels remain strong throughout much of North America. Meanwhile, the number of new rooms available continues to rise year after year. With competition heating up, hotels must now compete on price rather than amenities alone.

The result is that today's average guest stays longer, spends more money, and demands better experiences. To meet these needs, today's hotels must adopt new technologies and embrace digital transformation initiatives.

But none of that matters if you aren't able to generate enough profit to cover costs. Fortunately, many hotels rely on affiliates to help them grow their businesses.

While you won't always be able to earn much from affiliate programs, you can expect to bring in anywhere from $100 - $500 in monthly recurring revenues. Of course, the amount depends on your skill level, experience, and reputation among your target audience.

Who is Hyatt affiliated with?

It isn't hard to spot a Hyatt branded product nowadays. Their logo appears everywhere -- restaurants, clubs, resorts, spas, airports, hotels, cars...you name it. Even the world's largest amusement parks feature the chain's famous leopard print tiger mascot.

Hotel affiliate marketing can be lucrative on the right sites and at the right time. But, you need to know where to find the best deals and earn commissions that aren’t too low to make it worthwhile. And if you don't have any experience in this industry already, learning about what makes up a good hotel affiliate program might help you decide whether or not it's worth your while.

Hotel affiliate programs differ by brand and type of property they promote. So, when thinking about joining one, consider the following questions before signing up:

Who is Hyatt hotel affiliated with?

Hyatt has its own hotel network, but also partners with other brands like Hilton Worldwide, Wyndham Hotel Group, Best Western International, Choice Hotels International, Crowne Plaza, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Four Points by Sheraton, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Park Inn by Radisson, Ritz Carlton, Renaissance Hotels & Resorts, Rockwood Lodging Trust, St. Regis, Westin, W Hotels, and others. If you're interested in working with multiple brands, then check out these hotel networks that allow members to work within more than one brand.

Hyatt doesn't offer much flexibility in terms of your daily rate. You'll receive between $10-$15 per day depending on the level of membership you choose. There are no bonuses available either. However, there are some perks that come along with each tier - such as free nights, free food and beverages, access to pre-paid rooms, and a variety of benefits.

You will only see the standard rates listed online. If you want to view special offers or promotions specific to a particular location, you must join through the partner site instead. For example, Hyatt offers a number of discounts via its website, including student discounts, military discounts, AAA discounts, senior citizen discounts, and many more. It's important to note that although these discounts may look great, most require a separate application process.

There isn't anything else unique about Hyatt aside from its affiliation with the company. While you won't receive any additional privileges compared to other affiliates, you could easily use Hyatt to build your portfolio without having to worry about building relationships with individual properties.

Is Hyatt part of Marriott Rewards?

No. Hyatt does not belong to the Marriott family of companies. Although some people mistakenly believe that Hyatt is part of Marriott because both brands share similar names, they are actually two distinct entities based off of completely different business models.

However, since both brands operate under the same umbrella, you can still sign up for both. The main difference is that you'd receive rewards points for staying at Hyatt branded locations, whereas you would accrue points toward a Marriott account.

The Hyatt Gold Passport® credit card gives you 10% back on all eligible purchases worldwide after spending $3,000 during the first year of opening a new account. This includes dining, spa treatments, room service orders, gift shops, merchandise sales, and more. In addition, you can redeem those miles towards stays across Hyatt's global collection of hotels and resorts.

Is Hyatt different from Marriott?

Although Hyatt shares a name with another major hotel brand called Marriott, the two companies are very different from one another. For starters, Marriott operates over 5,000 properties worldwide, while Hyatt owns just over 1,500.

Marriott was founded in 1919 and is currently owned by Starwood Capital Group. Its headquarters are located in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Hyatt was established in 1866 and now has approximately 7,800 hotels and resorts around the world.

Additionally, Hyatt focuses primarily on high-end luxury accommodations, while Marriott tends to appeal to a broader demographic. That said, both brands have been growing rapidly in recent years, so who knows -- maybe the lines will blur soon enough!

Which hotel chain is Hyatt part of?

Hyatt operates hotels and resorts exclusively throughout North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Australia/New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Bermuda, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Turks & Caicos Islands, Jamaica, Barbados, Antigua, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Trinidad & Tobago, Sint Maarten, Surinam, Guyana, and Venezuela.

Are there any other ways to earn money as an accommodation affiliate?

Yes. Aside from being able to use your existing blog posts to advertise various hotel websites, you can also create original content specifically targeted to hotels. For instance, if someone were looking for information about a certain destination, you could write an article explaining why it's a particularly popular spot among travelers.

Or, you could write reviews of hotels and destinations you've visited yourself. Some affiliate marketers even hire people to stay at hotels and give them a set amount of cash for writing positive reviews.

In order to avoid getting scammed, always read the fine print carefully before agreeing to any compensation plans offered by the hotel. Make sure the agreement clearly states that you will receive payment for sharing your opinion. Also, remember that you should never provide personal details, especially passport numbers, phone numbers, email addresses, or social security numbers.

Some hoteliers prefer to keep things simple by offering a flat fee for every review written. These payments are often made directly into an escrow account held by the affiliate marketer. Once a review is published, the hotelier releases funds to the marketer automatically.

Another option is to sell advertising space on your blog to interested advertisers. Depending on the size of your traffic, you could potentially charge anywhere from $20-$200+ per month for each ad slot sold.

How do I become a hotel affiliate?

To begin, you'll need to register as an independent agent with the relevant hotel association. Each country has its own requirements regarding licensing. The United Kingdom requires agents to hold a license issued by the Accommodation Marketing Association.

Once you complete the registration process, you'll typically be required to pass a series of tests covering topics ranging from general knowledge to technical skills to legal obligations. After passing those challenges, you'll likely receive official certification verifying your expertise.

That's not necessarily the end of the road though. Many companies prefer to work with certified, experienced agents instead of beginners. As such, you may need to prove your ability further by completing additional training courses and taking exams administered by the hotel association itself.

After meeting the necessary qualifications, you'll be ready to start making money as an accommodation affiliate. Your job will mostly consist of finding hotels that fit a client's needs, researching the availability of the desired lodging options, negotiating favorable rates, and then sending clients to the chosen establishments.

Depending on the size of your team, you may also be responsible for creating promotional materials to generate interest in the product. Or, you could simply send customers to the hotel's contact page to book directly. Whichever approach works best for you, you should definitely take advantage of the resources provided by the hotel associations themselves. They usually host informational webinars, run live chat sessions, and post informative articles to answer common questions.

Finally, we recommend checking out our guide to becoming a freelance writer to learn more about the ins and outs of turning your passion into profit.