Recently, a Data Analyst investigated the algorithm that calculates Affiliate Lead Values. As a result, the algorithm was streamlined for efficiency and upgraded to be more precise over certain date range constraints. We are proud to announce that this new, more accurate algorithm will be released within the next week or so.

Rigorous data modelling has shown that many Affiliates will remain mostly unaffected by this upgrade, so the software release should largely go unnoticed. Still, there is the possibility that some Affiliates will notice a slight increase or a slight decrease in their overall earnings in the near future. Any Affiliates who are concerned about this possibility should contact the Affiliate Support Team to ask how their traffic fared in the data modelling tests. These tests cannot possibly predict exact future traffic statistics, but they may provide a valuable indicator when making financial forecasts.

Affiliates who have the Transactions Report enabled on their accounts will probably find it to no longer be as useful in determining the exact value of specific traffic metrics anymore. This is due to an overhaul of the parameters that are used in the commission algorithm. Affiliates who rely on this report for reasons such as determining paid search bid prices and optimising marketing strategies, will now be supported better by our Detailed Traffic Audit. Affiliates should just email the Affiliate Support Team with a request for the report, and it will be sent before the end of the next business day. The request should include the desired date range for the report, which should at least encompass 1000 Leads to return any useful results. This Detailed Traffic Audit will soon become a self-serve feature in the Affiliate Control Panel, but there is no word yet on the development timeframe for this project.

So in conclusion, we advise that Affiliates keep a close eye on their reported earnings over the next few weeks, to ensure that everything remains fairly normal. The Affiliate Support Team will gladly offer assistance, to prevent any major changes from occurring unexpectedly.

Do you know the conversion rates? Is 0,5-1,5% possible with them?

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Direct hotel providers who use a CPA commission model can only be transparent because they have total control of the booking. They also only pay you for bookings, and tend to pay you only after the end-user actually stays at the hotel, which can be several months in the future.

We don’t actually control the final booking. Also, each of our providers uses a different commission structure and reporting system, which makes total transparency overly complicated and probably confusing to our Affiliates. This is why we pay per-Lead instead of per-booking, and why we offer a Detailed Traffic Audit whenever you want more detailed information about your traffic statistics.

Our commissions are smaller ($0.50 – $1.00), but conversions are more often (50% – 100%) and we process payments monthly on the balance as at the start of the month. This means your revenue stream is much more stable and reliable in the long term.

Regarding cookies, just about all Affiliate Programs use them. They are the only way to track repeat visits, and the only way to ensure that users can’t tamper with the URL to avoid generating commissions on your account. There are of course ways to render cookies useless, but this is rare, and there is no way to protect against it anyway.

If anyone has any questions about the HotelsCombined.com Affiliate Program, please direct them straight to our support team at affiliate@HotelsCombined.com

Regards,
HotelsCombined Affiliate Team.