Stay22 Review: The Best Way to Monetize Your Travel Blog
I’m Jackie, the travel blogger behind Joujoutravels.com with over 5 years of blogging experience.
Today, I’m letting you in on a little secret to boost your travel affiliate income with absolutely no effort on your end. I have a lot of blogging & social media tips & tricks, and this might just be one of the most valuable!
First things first, learn how to make a travel blog if you haven’t already.
The best way to monetize your travel blog is by using Stay22, and in this Stay22 review, I’ll show you how this powerful platform can help you make money from hotel and accommodation bookings.
Stay22 seamlessly integrates hotel links into your content, allowing you to earn passive income without constantly managing or updating links. Whether you’re writing about destinations or itineraries, this tool makes earning from your blog easier than ever!
This is a sponsored blog post (but all opinions are my own) in collaboration with Stay22, which offers an easy and effective way for travel bloggers to monetize their content by integrating hotel and accommodation links.
What is Stay22?
Stay22 is the most innovative affiliate platform and is designed specifically for travel bloggers. It easily helps you monetize your travel blog by linking directly to hotels and accommodations.
The hotels Stay22 includes in their platform are: Booking.com, Hotels.com, Expedia, Tripadvisor, Vrbo, and Kayak. As you can see, it’s really a one stop shop for hotel affiliate links.
How does Stay22 work?
The platform is designed to be incredibly user-friendly, and with just a few clicks, you can start earning from your blog’s existing content.
They have interactive maps and links that can automatically be inserted to your existing posts to maximize your earnings.
Stay22’s standout feature is its AI pop up tool – NOVA. It will leave a page open for your user with their prefered booking platform (Booking.com, Expedia, and more).
It’s only shown to 3% of your users and they must have shown some travel intent for it to trigger. This means, it shouldn’t be too much of a nuisance for your readers.
The revenue is so great from Nova. It’s a no-brainer to include it on your site for the extra cash. I make an extra $500-2K just from this!
By using Stay22, you’re not only offering value to your audience by making it easier for them to book their trips, but you’re also able to monetize your blog.
Here are the steps to set up Stay22 and start earning:
Sign Up and Set Up Your Account
To get started with Stay22, simply sign up here for an account. When you sign up with my link, you’ll get $100 as a bonus once you achieve your first 100 bookings. It took me only 2 months to get 100 bookings!
Once registered and approved, you’ll gain access to a dashboard where you can generate affiliate links, create maps, and track your performance.
How to install the Stay22 code to your header
The Stay22 representative will share the correct code with you that you can implement on your site in the header. They can customize the script so if you want only to use Nova (their pop-up AI tool) you can, or you can use the Stay22 direct links and AI or direct links only. The choice is yours!
If you’re already linking direct to booking.com or other partners, the code will allow you to convert all your existing links to Stay22 links.
The process is quick and doesn’t require any complex tech knowledge. You can easily get the WP Code plugin which will let you insert the header scripts easily.
This is what the WP Code plugin looks like and where I’ve pasted my header code:
Your code will look something like the below and you would replace your AID with whatever Stay22 assigned your AID as, likely your name of your blog. My code only uses the NOVA pop-up however. So direct links are not converted to Stay22 in this script.
<!-- stay 22 Tag -->
<script>
(function (s, t, a, y, twenty, two) {
s.Stay22 = s.Stay22 || {};
// Just fill out your configs here
s.Stay22.params = {
aid: "joujoutravels",
excludes: ["vrbo","booking","expedia","tripadvisor","hotelscombined","hotelscom"],
maxPLevel: "none",
};
// Leave this part as-is;
twenty = t.createElement(a);
two = t.getElementsByTagName(a)[0];
twenty.async = 1;
twenty.src = y;
two.parentNode.insertBefore(twenty, two);
})(window, document, "script", "https://scripts.stay22.com/letmeallez.js");
</script>
<!-- end stay22 Tag -->Generate Affiliate Links, Interactive Maps, and/or Nova
Stay22 offers three main options for monetizing your content:
- Direct Hotel Links: You can generate specific affiliate links for individual hotels or accommodations. These links can be placed directly within your blog posts, so readers can book through your recommendations.
- Interactive Maps: Stay22 allows you to create customized, interactive maps that display nearby hotels, accommodations, and points of interest. These maps are perfect for destination guides or travel itineraries, as readers can easily find and book a place to stay based on your content.
- Nova: Stay22 also offers an AI-driven pop-up tool that enhances the user experience by automatically suggesting relevant accommodations based on your blog content and the reader’s location. This pop-up appears as users scroll through your post, providing tailored accommodation options without disrupting their reading experience.
Here’s an example of the interactive maps!
Track Performance and Earnings
Once the affiliate links or maps are live on your blog, Stay22 automatically tracks clicks, bookings, and commissions. You can monitor your earnings in real-time via the Stay22 dashboard. You’ll also get insights into which posts are driving the most bookings, helping you optimize your strategy.
Affiliate Commissions
The more bookings generated through your links, the more commission you earn. Stay22 typically works on a pay-per-booking model, with commission rates depending on the accommodation partner. All commissions are automatically calculated and added to your account after the stay is completed.
Can small blogs make money?
Yes! You don’t need a ton of traffic to start earning passive income with Stay22 and other affiliate programs. Small bloggers can benefit hugely from affiliate marketing especially with the Artificial Intelligence features that Stay22 has.
Think about it like this: if you attract clicks to your blog from a hyper-focused audience, they will more likely convert, even though it’s a small audience.
My top tip for small bloggers is to start creating “buying-style guides” to benefit from this hyper-focused audience.
How? Do your keyword research through tools like Keysearch (Use code KSDISC to save 20% off your membership!). This tool allows you to discover what low competition keywords you can target.
An example of a buying style guide would be best hotels in Egypt with a pyramid view. This is more specific so I have a higher chance to rank than a post that was simply called best hotels in Egypt.
How much can you earn with Stay22?
To give you an idea of how much I’m earning, in my highest month, I made around $1,000 with 66k sessions in September 2024.
💰📈 Read how I made 10k in a month as a blogger & social media influencer.
📸🚀Learn how I grew 100k on Instagram in three months
How much you can earn with Stay22 really varies from blog to blog, but with consistent traffic and the right content, the earning potential is significant.
It’s a great way to generate passive income by leveraging your travel blog’s audience!
Stay22 Review: Pros & Cons
Pros
- High Flexibility: You can choose from different methods to link to hotels, including maps, direct links, and Nova (the AI pop up tool).
- Spark: Spark will generate you additional revenue without extra effort. It automatically inserts links into your posts using AI! You can expect a 12% increase in bookings just from this.
- Nova: The pop-up feature generates extra income by allowing users to book through platforms like Booking.com and other accommodation services. For me, this adds around $500-1000 per month.
- Easy to Understand Analytics: The dashboard lets you know how many bookings you got and from which posts. This will help you optimize your strategies.
- All in one booking platform: It pulls from many booking platforms including booking.com, Expedia, and Vrbo. This will increase the likelihood of your users finding what they need.
- Easy Setup: The pop-up integration and link creation for hotels is straightforward. Little technical knowledge is required, which makes it an attractive tool for busy bloggers or content creators.
Cons
- Slightly Lower Commission Rate: Compared to direct booking platforms, Stay22 can have a slightly lower conversion rate. However, the conversion rate is much higher and the additional bookings you’ll get with them will outweigh this con.
- Less Customization: The pop-up may have limited customization options in terms of which pages and when it triggers. It might be a nuisance to some readers but I’ve never had complaints myself.
- Limited Data: You won’t get as much detail on the bookings generated as with booking.com direct. Information like commission value per booking or if the booking was from link vs the AI tool is not available in the dashboard.
Bottom Line
Stay22 is an easy way to start generating hundreds of dollars on your travel blog with little effort from your end. By simply integrating their pop-up feature, you can provide valuable booking options for your readers while earning commissions seamlessly.
Its ease of use and additional income potential make it a great tool for bloggers looking to monetize travel-related content without extensive maintenance. If you’re looking for a straightforward way to boost revenue, Stay22 is definitely worth considering.
If you enjoyed reading this Stay22 Review, then get started monetizing your travel blog by signing up with Stay22 here. You’ll get an extra $100 for signing up and after you make successful bookings!
