Hi from "new Luke", in Sydney - with a burning question on Hotel Programs.

tlukec · #1 26-03-2009, 04:30 PM

Good afternoon, and thank you for letting me join!

My name's Luke and some of you may actually know me from my days as Business Development Manager for (Aussie based) Viator.com where I worked until last year. We offered an Affiliate Program for our 5,000+ sightseeing, tours & attractions around the world. We ended up with a terrific bunch of Affiliate Partners (Over 3,500), a good number of whom are in Australia/NZ

Now, my question: I'm keen to get a handle on the state of Hotel Affiliate partnerships for Aussie/NZ sites. I can see hotelclub/ratestogo are pretty firmly entrenched, but others include wctravel.com, expedia.com.au, booking.com Wotif.com seem to have a limited number of Affiliates, but no public program to sign up. Who have I missed...?

Does anyone particularly love OR hate any of these merchants, and why? What do you guys look for in a partner in this space. Best Commission? Great Customer service? Or Best Inventory & Locations?

I'd love to hear your feedback!
Many thanks,
Luke

newbie · #2 26-03-2009, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tlukec

Good afternoon, and thank you for letting me join!

My name's Luke and some of you may actually know me from my days as Business Development Manager for (Aussie based) Viator.com where I worked until last year. We offered an Affiliate Program for our 5,000+ sightseeing, tours & attractions around the world. We ended up with a terrific bunch of Affiliate Partners (Over 3,500), a good number of whom are in Australia/NZ

Now, my question: I'm keen to get a handle on the state of Hotel Affiliate partnerships for Aussie/NZ sites. I can see hotelclub/ratestogo are pretty firmly entrenched, but others include wctravel.com, expedia.com.au, booking.com Wotif.com seem to have a limited number of Affiliates, but no public program to sign up. Who have I missed...?

Does anyone particularly love OR hate any of these merchants, and why? What do you guys look for in a partner in this space. Best Commission? Great Customer service? Or Best Inventory & Locations?

I'd love to hear your feedback!
Many thanks,
Luke

Welcome Luke.

Roamfree - but limited availability close to the booking date at some properties.

Breakfree, Mantra and Peppers via Stella Resorts

Peter Gee · #3 26-03-2009, 08:38 PM

Octopus Travel is another good one.

bcl · #4 26-03-2009, 10:34 PM

Hello Luke,

Eight (but really 7) hotels is on clixgalore I think. There are also some of the major chains available through CJ. And Zuji on DGM and CJ .

It's a very crowded and competitive industry for all players. A good affiliate / busdev manager with at least a few years industry (online travel) experience under their belt makes a big difference.

Gayle

tlukec · #5 27-03-2009, 06:43 AM

Ah, yes. I forgot about them. Thanks!

tlukec · #6 27-03-2009, 06:45 AM

D'oh - how could I have missed them?! Thanks Peter

Gav · #7 30-03-2009, 07:37 AM

Hello!
If you're interested in the Travel vertical - register with us at Become an Affiliate - dgm Sydney Australia

We've got programmes including...
Cheap Holidays to Luxury Travel - ZUJI Australia, Your Online Travel Agency
www.ba.com/au
Car Hire, Car Rental, Hire Cars - Budget Rent a Car
Thrifty Car Rental - Compare and select the best value car rental rates and deals in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane
Hotels, Accommodation, Reservations - Online hotel bookings with instant confirmation
roamfree.com - Best Rates Accommodation, Hotels, Resorts
Quickbeds.com: Cheap Last Minute Hotels & Accommodation Bookings & Early Bird Discounts
Cheap Flights, Qantas, Virgin Blue, Jetstar - Cheap Flights & Airfares - Compare Flights at Webjet - Webjet.com.au
Cheap flights, accommodation, holiday packages, hire cars - travel.com.au
Cheap Car Hire > Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, Thrifty > Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne
Car Hire, Car Rental Australia > Car hire.com.au
Sea World Resort - Gold Coast - Australia
Book - Hotels - AU
Paradise Resort - Gold Coast Family Accommodation and Holidays
Homepage - Intrepid Travel
Snowboarding Insurance – Cheap Ski & Snowboard Travel Insurance Australia
and with some more to come

(I"m sure I've forgotten some there too!)

Our travel vertical is really taking off at the moment so if you'd like to know anything please give me a shout - gavin.hudson@dgm-au.commm (edit this) or 02 8569 0021

Oh and Gayle - we actually employ someone here who used to be Busdev manager for a major online travel company.

tlukec · #8 30-03-2009, 08:34 AM

Thanks very much for the detailed response Gav!
Luke