Monetizing a travel blog isn’t as simple as writing a few posts and adding ads. As fellow travel bloggers, we know the hustle — balancing content creation with SEO, social media, and trying to earn enough to keep going.
We’ve tried different monetization methods over the years: display ads, affiliate links, sponsored posts, and digital products.
Some worked. Others didn’t.
Before Stay22, we often felt like we were just waiting for payments to hit, without much predictability or clear insight into our blog's true earning potential. It was frustrating, to say the least.
But in June 2024, we decided to try Stay22 – a travel tech platform that helps bloggers earn affiliate commissions easier and smarter. A year later, we're incredibly happy we did it. While it's not a magic bullet to overnight millionaire status, it's undeniably a massive improvement over our previous setup.
Here’s how it works — and why you might want to try it too.
What Is Stay22?
Stay22 is a location-based affiliate tool designed for content creators in the travel niche. It shows your readers a map with hotels, hostels, vacation rentals, and even nearby activities, pulling from major booking platforms like:
- Booking.com
- Expedia
- Vrbo
- TripAdvisor
- Hostelworld
- GetYourGuide
- and many more.
Instead of linking to one specific hotel in your blog post (and hoping it’s still available later), Stay22 shows a dynamic map with all the available options nearby — and you get a commission if a reader makes a booking through it.
Implementation is straightforward: you install a short script on your site (it took us about 10 minutes!), and it automatically transforms your existing affiliate links into Stay22 affiliate links.
They also offer a powerful tool called Let Me Allez (LMA), which intelligently personalizes booking options for your users, opens offers in new tabs, and even fixes broken links — all designed to maximize conversion.
Why Stay22 Stands Out
Here’s why Stay22 worked for us when other affiliate strategies felt clunky:
-
Better User Experience
Readers don’t have to click random links. They get an interactive map that shows exactly what’s around the place we’re writing about. It's genuinely helpful — especially for travel planning. -
No Manual Linking Needed
We used to spend so much time adding individual affiliate links. Stay22 lets us embed a map with relevant listings already included. It updates automatically, so there’s no need to swap out expired links or track availability. This is a huge win for passive income, as the widget does the heavy lifting for you over time. -
Multiple Booking Options & New Partners
One big downside of regular affiliate links? You’re often tied to one provider. Stay22 shows options from multiple platforms, so your readers can choose the one they prefer — and you still earn the commission. This flexibility means more potential for passive earnings. Crucially, it gave us access to partners like Expedia and Hotels.com without needing to apply and manage separate accounts for each. -
Earn From Chains Too
With Stay22’s Auto-Affiliation feature, you can earn commissions from big hotel chains like Hilton, Marriott, and IHG, even if they don’t offer traditional affiliate programs. This opens up even more avenues for hands-off income generation. -
Simplified Tracking & Predictable Payouts
Before, we juggled multiple affiliate dashboards with different payout thresholds and unpredictable payment dates. With Stay22, all our affiliate revenue accumulates in one place. We have one dashboard for all partners across all our sites, and once we hit $100 USD, we can request a payout every 30 days. This control significantly improved our budget planning and sense of financial security. -
Personal Approach and Support
What we really appreciated was the personal touch. Before installing Stay22’s script, we had a call with their representative. She patiently explained everything, answered our questions, and even helped us with the setup step-by-step. It’s a small thing, but that dedicated support made all the difference in our decision to move forward.
How We Use Stay22 on Our Blog (And Our Results!)
When we started using Stay22, we focused on our destination guides and hiking trail posts - the ones that get the most traffic over time. We added the Stay22 widget right under the section where we mention accommodation, and occasionally again at the end of the post as a trip-planning tool.
We didn’t need to change the content. We just added the map, and the results followed.
After a few weeks, we noticed:
- More engagement - readers clicked on the maps and stayed longer on the page.
- Significantly increased affiliate income - our yearly revenue jumped considerably, with some months seeing earnings more than double, even from older posts we hadn’t updated in a while. This truly solidified Stay22 as a powerful passive income stream for us.
- Better insights - we can easily track which articles generated bookings and see our impressive 4.4% conversion rate from clicks to bookings, a testament to how effective the system (especially the Let Me Allez script) is.
- Less stress - no more chasing updated hotel links or chasing minimum payouts across different platforms.
It’s especially effective for evergreen content that stays relevant year-round, as these posts can generate passive income for months or even years to come.
Disadvantages of Stay22
While Stay22 has been a game-changer for us, it's important to note it's not a "one-stop shop" for every travel affiliate need.
The main drawback for us is that Stay22 currently doesn't integrate with specific partners we frequently recommend, such as Airalo for eSIMs or Kiwitaxi for transport bookings.
So, if a significant portion of your blog revenue relies on a particular partner that's not yet supported, that will be a limitation.
However, Stay22 consistently expands its network. Since we joined, they've added GetYourGuide, which now generates regular income for us, so we're optimistic about future integrations.
Tips to Maximize Your Earnings with Stay22
If you’re ready to try Stay22, here are a few things we’ve learned that can help:
✔ Choose the Right Posts Focus on high-traffic, location-specific content:
- City guides
- Itineraries
- National park reviews
- Hiking trails and outdoor adventures These posts naturally lend themselves to people needing a place to stay.
✔ Place Maps Strategically Insert the widget:
- After your accommodation recommendations
- Near your “where to stay” section
- At the bottom of the post as a final CTA You want it to feel natural and helpful — not salesy.
✔ Track Performance Stay22 gives you analytics so you can see which maps are converting best. This helps you optimize your placement over time.
✔ Use the Link Generator Stay22 also lets you create affiliate links to specific hotels or locations if you prefer a more traditional approach. We use both, depending on the post.
Final Thoughts: Is Stay22 Worth It?
In short: Absolutely. Especially if you’re a travel blogger with existing content. It’s one of those rare tools that truly benefits both you and your audience. It enhances the user experience, helps people book trips more easily, and genuinely generates passive income for your blog.
Since switching, our income is up, our work is easier, and we feel more motivated to keep building our blog. It didn't turn us into millionaires overnight, but it did significantly increase our earnings with less stress and time invested.
It took us less than 10 minutes to set it up on our site — and it’s already paying off consistently. If you're trying to go full-time with blogging (or even just earn steady side income), the increased predictability and earnings from Stay22 can significantly boost your feeling of security.
Ready to Try It? (Earn a 100 USD bonus)
If you’re writing about travel, your blog can start earning more right now.
👉 Register to Stay22 here and start monetizing your content in a smarter way. We will receive a 500 USD bonus when you hit 100 bookings. You will get a 100 USD bonus for using this link.
Have questions or want help getting started? Feel free to reach out — we’re happy to share what’s worked for us!
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