Originally Posted by
GUWonder
The hotels have affiliated loyalty program credit cards that the miles and points blogosphere can peddle to run up the card referral income the blogs get from the banks. Does AirBnB have anything like that?
Hotels dislike AirBnb, and who really wants to bite the hand that feeds?
Airbnb has an affiliate program. Qualifying for it is notoriously difficult and by invitation only. During the height of the pandemic in May 2020, though, they loosened the requirements with what they called an 'Associates' program to the point where I had an affiliate link. Since I and people like me were still traveling and staying in Airbnbs, I made about $1k to $1.5k per month in affiliate revenue from that program. Most of any program I've done. They ended that program March 31, 2021 and now it's back to an invite-only arrangement.
But I don't sense that Gary messes around with affiliate stuff other than credit cards. He could be making bank on Booking, VRBO, Expedia, etc. Perhaps the relatively smaller returns are not worth the hassle for him. Same with ads?
In any case, becoming and Airbnb host has proven to be a FAR more lucrative AND passive revenue stream than blogging is.