$100K Extra Revenue?
See how 50+ units can earn it in 1 year.
In today’s market, vacation rental managers face intense competition, rising operational costs, and increasingly demanding guests. Add to that ongoing economic uncertainty, and it’s no surprise that operators are exploring more ways to drive revenue. Adding more properties raises costs and complexity. That’s why many now focus on maximizing revenue from existing listings instead.
One popular strategy is affiliate marketing – connecting guests with helpful services and earning commissions in the process. This is great for services like luggage storage or equipment rentals. For offering guests local experiences and transportation, there’s an even easier way to unlock passive income for vacation rentals. Enso Experiences is a zero-effort, guest-friendly solution called for curating and offering your guests to experience your area like locals. And to get a cut from this! Enso Transport allows you help guests with ways to move around easily, and earn a commission too!
Whether you manage vacation rentals or a hotel, discover how to leverage affiliate marketing or Enso Experience features to grow. Learn how to maximize your vacation rental revenue, ensuring both happy guests and a healthier bottom line.
So if you are seeking new income avenues without adding an operational hassle, you’re in the right place. Dive into this vacation rental affiliate marketing guide and bonus tips for hospitality professionals.
By offering additional services and experiences, you can enhance your guests’ stay and earn a commission for each booking or purchase made through your referral links.
Enso Pro Tip
You don’t need a travel blog or large following to earn with affiliate marketing. Use your Boarding Pass to showcase links for restaurants, luggage storage, or equipment rentals in the ‘Customize Your Stay’ section. You can do the same in digital guidebooks.
Affiliate marketing through a guest portal allows you to generate income without a huge website traffic or extensive marketing efforts. Simply include well-placed links to relevant services and watch as your earnings grow. It’s a straightforward way to monetize your rental’s additional services and offer added value to your guests.
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a strategic approach in digital marketing where businesses reward external partners, known as “affiliates,” for generating traffic or sales through their promotional efforts. Affiliates use unique links provided by the business to promote products or services. When a customer clicks on one of these links and completes a purchase or performs a specified action, such as signing up or booking, the affiliate earns a commission or a set fee from the business.
This model is performance-based, meaning affiliates are compensated based on actual sales or actions taken by referred customers. The concept is straightforward: you suggest a product or service to your audience. If they make a purchase through your distinct affiliate link, you earn a commission. The price of the product or service remains the same for the customer, whether they purchase it through your link or directly from the business.
Why Affiliate Marketing Makes Sense for Vacation Rentals?
Unlike travel bloggers or influencers who build audiences to earn commissions, vacation rental managers already host an ideal audience: travelers. Your guests are on-site, often asking for recommendations – restaurants, baby gear, airport transfers, activities, and more. By offering helpful suggestions through affiliate partnerships, you can enhance their experience and earn passive revenue.
Traditionally, this is done through affiliate programs. You get a custom tracking link, share it with your guests (in digital guidebooks, emails, or guest apps), and receive a commission when they book a service.
Examples include:
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BabyQuip for crib and stroller rentals
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Stasher for luggage storage
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AirportTransfer for seamless rides
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Viator for local tours and excursions
All great options – but adding and managing affiliate links manually takes effort. That’s where the next-gen solution comes in.
Passive Income, Simplified: Enso Experiences
If you’re looking for the simplest way to earn more per guest with zero setup and no vendor management, Enso Experiences is the answer.
✅ Thousands of local experiences, tours, and activities
✅ Fully integrated into your guest portal (the Boarding Pass)
✅ No affiliate link setup or vendor chasing
✅ Commission earned automatically when guests book
Your guests get a personalized, branded marketplace of curated local experiences. You get paid. No maintenance, no fuss – just plug and earn.
How Affiliate Marketing Works (and How to Do It Well)
Affiliate marketing is a simple and scalable way to earn passive income from your vacation rental business, without raising prices. It works by promoting helpful services or products to your guests and earning a commission each time they buy through.
Here’s how vacation rental affiliate marketing works in five simple steps:
1. Join an Affiliate Program or Network
To start, you need to partner with a company that offers an affiliate program. Many travel-related brands, like Viator, BabyQuip, and AirportTransfer, have programs you can join directly. You can also explore affiliate networks like ShareASale or CJ Affiliate, which host multiple programs on one platform.
Once accepted, you’ll get access to:
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A dashboard for tracking clicks and earnings
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Ready-to-use marketing materials
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Guidelines on how to promote offers effectively
Choose programs that align with your guest profile – families, adventure travelers, business guests, etc. – to maximize your earning potential.
2. Get Your Unique Affiliate Links
Each product or service you promote comes with a unique tracking link. This link tells the vendor that the booking came from you, so you can earn credit for it.
For example, if you link to a luggage storage through Stasher, your guest will book as usual. But you’ll get a commission behind the scenes.
3. Share the Links with Your Guests
To earn, you’ll need to promote the affiliate links in places your guests will see them. That could be:
- On your website
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Inside your digital guidebook or welcome book
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In the “Customize Your Stay” section of the Enso Connect Boarding Pass
The key is to offer relevant recommendations based on your guest’s needs and trip type. For example:
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Offer baby gear rentals to traveling parents (BabyQuip)
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Suggest guided city tours to international visitors (Viator)
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Link to airport transfer services for smooth arrivals and departures (AirportTransfer)
Done right, it feels more like helpful concierge service than a sales pitch.
4. Earn Commissions When Guests Purchase
When a guest clicks your link and books a service – you earn a commission. This could be:
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A fixed fee (e.g., $10 per booking)
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A percentage of the sale (e.g., 7% of a $200 tour)
That means just a handful of well-placed links can generate meaningful extra income every month.
Example: A family books a $200 tour through your Boarding Pass. At 8% commission, that’s $16 in passive income. Multiply that by 10 similar bookings, and you’ve just earned $160 – without lifting a finger.
5. Receive Payouts Automatically
Most affiliate programs pay monthly or after you meet a minimum threshold. Payments are typically sent via:
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Bank transfer
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PayPal
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Direct deposit
If you consistently offer value to your guests and build trust, this income stream can grow month over month.
Enso Pro Tip: Let Enso Experiences Do the Heavy Lifting
While affiliate marketing is a powerful revenue tool, setting up and managing links takes effort. That’s why more vacation rental managers are turning to Enso Experiences.
Instead of managing affiliate links one by one, Enso Experiences gives your guests access to thousands of curated, commissionable activities. From tours and events to wellness packages – all embedded directly into your Boarding Pass guest app.
No setup. No vendors to manage. Just passive income built into your guest experience.
👉 Activate Enso Experiences in your Enso Connect account and start earning today.
How to easily promote affiliate links to your guests without being salesy?
Offering add-on products or services to your guests without coming off as salesy requires a tactful and genuine approach. We’ve compiled a list of best practices for promoting affiliate links, tailored specifically for the vacation rental industry and hoteliers.
Value-Driven Content
Embed your affiliate links within high-quality content that offers genuine value to your guests. This could be in the form of informative articles, how-to guides, or local recommendations relevant to their interests. Consider the stages of your guest’s journey. For instance, those in the planning phase might value articles detailing essentials for specific destinations, insights on weather, terrain, or local cuisine, etc. The best way to assist your guests and proactive approach to guest queries is crafting digital guidebooks shared in advance. These guides can address common questions and seamlessly incorporate your affiliate links. For example, suggest water-resistant footwear for a trip to Algonquin Park or provide a trusted airport transfer link for international visitors. Such tailored recommendations will pay off with both positive reviews and additional revenue.
Discover how a vacation rental operator earns hundreds through transportation affiliate links in our success stories.
Enso Tip
Understanding your guests’ travel purpose or profile allows you to enhance their experience with tailored amenity affiliate links. It can be a good idea to suggest a BabyQuip link for crib rentals to new parents on the move. Offer an excellent opportunity to rent ski equipment through Mount to an winter sport enthusiast. A working nomad will appreciate an option to have a monitor, that can be rented through The Host Co. With rising travel expenses and a growing trend to travel light, such services are gaining popularity.
All this can be easily managed through the Enso Connect platform by gathering pre-arrival guest details and setting custom guidebooks and upsells.
Contextual Placement
Instead of randomly placing links, ensure they fit naturally within the context of your content. For instance, if you’re discussing travel essentials, that’s a good place for an affiliate link to a product you recommend. Again, you need to think about your guest journey and what they might need at every stage. For example, after people check-in and settle in the rental, it’s a good time to offer a local neighbourhood guide with restaurants, tours and attractions. Tourist attractions are one of the high-ticket affiliate marketing niches because the orders can get to thousands of dollars, significantly increasing your profit margins. Check out the Viator real estate affiliate program to see how much you could earn.
Personal Recommendations
Share products or services you’ve personally used and believe in. Building lasting relationships and trust with your guests outweighs any commission. One bad partner can cost you a fortune through negative guest reviews, potential customers loss or even property damage.
Transparent Disclosure
Always disclose that you’re using affiliate links. This builds trust with your audience, as they appreciate transparency. You can include a note mentioning that you’re endorsing trusted local partners. Disclose that any purchase made via your link will grant you a commission, supporting your business, or any other initiative of your choice.
Use Visuals
Incorporate visuals like photos, videos, or images that complement the product or service you’re promoting. This can make the promotion feel less intrusive and more enticing. With Enso Connect rental software you can craft visually attractive guidebooks, upsells and step-by-step instructions with multiple media options.
Limit Frequency
Don’t bombard your guests with too many promotions. Strike a balance to ensure your content doesn’t feel overly commercialized.
Engage and Listen
Engage with your guests and listen to their feedback. If they feel a particular promotion is too aggressive, take note and adjust your approach.
By focusing on providing genuine value and building trust, you can promote affiliate links in a way that feels organic and respectful to your guests.
Top Affiliate Marketing Programs to Kickstart Your Earnings
If we convinced you to dive into the world of affiliate marketing, you are probably wondering where to start. With countless programs out there, choosing the right one can be daunting. To help you navigate this landscape, we’ve curated a list of the top 5 travel affiliate programs. They have proven track records of reliability, high commissions, and strong support for their affiliates. These platforms offer great products and services to promote and provide the tools to ensure your affiliate journey is successful. Depending on your location and guest avatar, these programs may help boost your earnings and elevate your affiliate marketing game.
AirportTransfer
Revshare 7%
Description
Flawless, timely, convenient, and friendly airport transfers journey every time, all the time, and anywhere.
What’s in it for you?
By joining the AirportTransfer.com Affiliate Program, partners can introduce travelers to top-notch private airport transfer services worldwide, ensuring a hassle-free experience for passengers. And earn 7% commission. A cookie period of 30 days – Even if a customer who comes through you leaves AirportTransfer.com and makes a reservation from another channel within 1 month, you still earn your commission.
Affiliate Program Details
Instacart
Revshare 3%
Description
Instacart is an American online grocery delivery service where users can order from local stores, and have items picked and delivered by Instacart shoppers. It offers a convenient alternative to in-store shopping, especially for busy individuals or during times when physical shopping is less ideal.
What’s in it for you?
By utilizing Instacart’s tools, creators can make their content, whether it’s recipes or product recommendations, shoppable. This means that with just a few taps, audiences can add ingredients or recommended products directly to their Instacart cart and have them swiftly delivered. Participants in this pilot program, who must be at least eighteen and legal U.S. residents, are offered a 3% commission on qualifying purchases made through their shoppable links or recipe webpages. The program supports various content formats and provides easy-to-use tools for creating shoppable content, enhancing the user experience for both creators and their audience.
Affiliate Program Details
Stasher
Revshare 10%
Description
Stasher is a worldwide luggage storage service, partnering with local businesses to offer travelers secure locations to store their bags in over 890 cities. It’s an ideal solution for tourists between check-outs and check-ins, allowing them to explore destinations without the burden of their luggage.
What’s In it for you?
By referring guests or clients to Stasher’s luggage storage services, partners can earn a 10% commission on every booking made through their referral link. Stasher boasts a vast network, with thousands of storage locations in over 890 cities worldwide. The program is straightforward to join, and once approved, affiliates receive a referral link, custom discount code, and access to a dashboard to monitor performance. The initiative not only offers a financial incentive but also provides a valuable service to clients, ensuring their travel experience is more convenient and enjoyable.
Affiliate Program Details
Baby Quip
Revshare 10%
Description
BabyQuip is a service that offers baby gear rentals for traveling families. It provides a range of essential baby equipment, such as cribs, strollers, car seats, and toys, which families can rent while on vacation or trips. This ensures that families have access to the necessary items for their children without the hassle of transporting bulky equipment, making their travel experience more convenient and enjoyable.
What’s In It for You?
The BabyQuip Affiliate Program allows individuals to earn by promoting BabyQuip’s baby gear rentals. By sharing custom links, affiliates can earn a 10% commission on rental revenue booked through their specific BabyQuip link. The program provides an affiliate dashboard for easy tracking of link clicks, bookings, and earnings. Payments are processed via PayPal three days after each completed reservation. This initiative not only provides a financial benefit but also supports traveling families by offering essential baby gear for their journeys.
Affiliate Program Details
Enso Tip
Collaborating with local businesses tops the elevated guest experience and revenue benefits with uplifting the local community. This might require more legwork, but will pay off in future with authentic sustainable practices, community connections and guest loyalty.
How Much Can You Earn With Affiliate Marketing?
Your potential earnings from affiliate marketing can vary based on the number of guests, their engagement, and the relevance of the recommendations to your guests’ needs. This is why it is important to understand who comes through your doors.
Let’s say a guest books a $200-per-person Niagara Falls tour through your guest portal. If you’re using Enso Experiences, you’ll receive a commission – no setup needed. You’d earn $48 on a family of four, assuming they click and book.
Multiply that by 10 bookings per month, and you’ve just added $480+ in passive income – with no change to your daily operations. Do your math!
Learn how to seamlessly include your affiliate links into your guest journey
