4 FareHarbor affiliate features that accelerate bookings

Allowing your items to be resold through affiliates is a great way to gain exposure and fill seats on your tours. FareHarbor’s affiliate features streamline the booking process so that you don’t have to pick up the phone to take affiliate bookings. 

The less time you spend manually entering affiliate bookings, the more you can focus on growing your business! If you’re new to partnering with affiliates, check out our guide on setting up and managing affiliate relationships or start actively selling your tours through the FareHarbor Distribution Network. 

There are four ways affiliates can directly book your tours or activities, allowing you to easily track bookings and any commission you owe them or net rates owed to you at the end of the billing cycle. 

Note for the first three booking options: A credit card is required when customers complete their bookings and the full payment is deposited directly into your bank account. You’ll then be responsible for paying the affiliate their commission. 

Also, just like standard online bookings, customers pay in full upfront, and you can communicate with them as you would with those who book directly through your website.

1. Affiliate book buttons

Best for: Affiliates who have highly trafficked websites or blogs

The Channel Support team (a.k.a. FareHarbor’s affiliate pros) can create a custom URL that generates a “book now” button, booking calendar, or booking flow when integrated on your affiliate’s website. It’s just like the “book now” buttons on your website, but they can be customized for your affiliate.

Any bookings made through these buttons are tracked as coming from that affiliate, and the commission you owe them (if applicable) is automatically calculated, so you don’t have to spend any time crunching the numbers.

Benefits 

• Prices can be customized for each affiliate through these buttons
• Tours and booking flows can be tailored to limit inventory
• Semi-customizable formatting options help match the affiliate site’s layout and appearance
• Fill seats and get more exposure on well-known websites
• Unlisted items can be included in flows

There are several integration options available for the affiliate book buttons, so affiliates can choose what works best on their website. 

‘Book Now’ button:

Embedded booking flow or item:

Embedded calendar:

2. Affiliate QR code

Best for: Affiliates who prefer physical marketing materials

You can generate a QR code that affiliates can advertise on menus, pamphlets, business cards, or magazines to refer customers to your tours. Once a customer scans the QR code and makes a booking, the affiliate is tagged and any commission you owe will be tracked on your Dashboard.

Benefits

• Prices can be personalized for each affiliate
• Booking flows can be customized to limit inventory
• Customers get direct and easy access to book online from paper marketing material
• Unlisted items can be included in booking flows

3. Affiliate promo code

Best for: Affiliates who want to refer guests to book on your website

The affiliate code operates in the same way as a regular promo code. Affiliates refer customers to your website with a promo code, the guest enters that code when they book, and then the booking is tracked. 

The affiliate can also book on behalf of a guest, such as at a concierge desk at a hotel, and use the code. Either way, when the code is applied, the referring affiliate and commission owed are tracked on your Dashboard. This option is often paired with a discount to incentivize the customer to book with you! 

Benefits

• You get increased exposure and traffic to your website
• You can offer a discount to the customer, and your affiliate receives a commission for referring them – it’s a win win! 
• You can limit the number of times the code is used and which tours it can be used for

4. Affiliate Dashboard

Best for: Affiliates who are collecting payment from the customer in their own system

An affiliate Dashboard allows the affiliate to log into their own account and make a booking just as you would in your FareHarbor Dashboard. They won’t see any of your private information — just your booking calendar and reporting for their own bookings. 

Any bookings made in their affiliate Dashboard are made in real-time, and the bookings are tracked so you know they came from the affiliate. 

Benefits

• Prices can be customized for each affiliate
• You can choose which tours are sold by the affiliate
• Affiliates can collect payment in their own point-of-sale system, then you can bill then for the net rates
• Affiliates can book for multiple companies from the same place
• Bookings are made just like your direct back-end bookings

Additional Factors to Consider

• Calendars are not customizable for affiliates. They will see your default calendar but will be limited to booking only.
• Unlisted or private items can’t be sold through affiliate Dashboards.

No matter which one you choose, these features make it easy for affiliates to book with you and for you to track any commission you might owe them. If you’re ready to get started with a new affiliate, you can fill out this form or email channelsupport@fareharbor.com with the following information:

• Affiliate name (i.e., hotel name/company name)
• Commission % or $
• Website URL (if they have one)
• Which payment set up will you use? 
  • Billing Set Up: They collect payment and you bill/invoice them.
  • Referral Set Up: You pay the commission to the affiliate after a tour or activity is booked.
• Which feature of those listed above will your affiliate utilize to make bookings?

Want to learn more about reselling your tours? Unlock the tactics to build your successful affiliate strategy.