Stay22 Review: How I Make Money as a Travel Blogger with Hotel Affiliate Bookings

As a full-time travel blogger, I’m always looking for tools that help me turn my passion into a sustainable business – without compromising the integrity of my content. After testing countless affiliate programs over the years, I know how overwhelming (and underwhelming) affiliate bookings can be. That’s why I wanted to write this honest Stay22 review, based on my own experience using the platform across my blog for over 18 months.

Stay22 wasn’t an overnight decision for me. I’m very selective about the partners I work with, and I only recommend tools that I personally use and truly believe in. Since adding Stay22 to my affiliate toolkit over 1.5 years ago, I’ve seen a real difference – not just in earnings, but also in how easily I can provide value to my readers.

In this review, I’ll walk you through what Stay22 is, how it works, and why it’s become one of my favorite ways to earn money through hotel affiliate bookings.

This blog post is sponsored by Stay22, which does not influence my personal thoughts and review – all expressed opinions are my own.

Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission for purchases/bookings made through these links, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products and services that I’ve personally used and genuinely like. For more info, please read the privacy policy.

In a hurry? Try Stay22 on your travel blog and stop leaving affiliate earnings on the table. Click here to get started and receive a $100 bonus once you reach 100 confirmed bookings!

What is Stay22?

Stay22 is an affiliate monetization solution for travel bloggers who want to earn passive income by recommending hotels, accommodations, and tours to their audience. Unlike traditional affiliate networks that require you to sign up to individual affiliate programs and then manually generate and insert affiliate links, Stay22 works in a smarter, more seamless way. It’s a simple script you install on your website that automatically transforms your existing travel-related links into smart Stay22 affiliate links.

Stay22 currently supports major travel platforms like Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, Trivago, Tripadvisor, VRBO, Kayak, GetYourGuide, and Agoda. It’s a wide-ranging and growing network that covers everything from hotels and vacation rentals to local tours and experiences.

The platform also comes with several features to help you boost conversions:

Stay22 Linkswap via LMA Script: Stay22’s LMA (Let me Allez) script is a game-changer when it comes to optimizing affiliate links. It makes sure that every reader who clicks on a link is automatically directed to the most relevant booking option for them – based on their location, preferences, and device. If a link ever breaks or leads to a 404 error, LMA jumps in to fix it instantly, replacing it with a working affiliate link. This not only helps recover lost commissions but also keeps your site clean and functional, which search engines love.

Stay22 Nova: Nova is a smart monetization product automatically enabled through the Stay22 LMA script. It’s an AI booking agent that detects high-intent readers and opens a new tab with personalized hotel or accommodation options when they’re most likely to convert. Once again, the suggestions are tailored to the destination they’re interested in and shown on a booking site they’re most likely to trust. It only triggers for highly engaged users, helping you increase conversions without disrupting the reader experience.

Stay22 Spark: Stay22’s Spark solution reviews your blog posts and spots places where you could be earning but aren’t yet. It finds natural points in your existing content to add helpful affiliate links. On average, it adds about 2 to 3 links per post, giving you more chances to earn while keeping everything reader-friendly. So, it’s an easy way to unlock extra revenue from content you’ve already created.

Interactive Maps: Stay22 offers interactive maps that you can embed into your blog posts, allowing readers to explore and book accommodations directly. They’re easy to use, show prices, and can be customized.

Smart Stay22 Affiliate Links: Stay22 also lets you create ‘traditional’ affiliate links. Just copy the hotel or tour booking URL from any supported platform and paste it into their Allez Link Generator. It instantly turns it into a trackable affiliate link.

How to Get Started with Stay22

When Stay22 first reached out to me back in 2023, I’ll admit I was hesitant. At the time, the platform was still fairly new and not yet widely talked about in the travel blogging community. I’m incredibly selective when it comes to partnerships, whether for my blog or social media. For me, trust, authenticity, and a natural fit with my brand always come first. I turn down over 90% of the offers I receive because I want to make sure any recommendation I share truly adds value to my audience.

Back then, there weren’t many Stay22 reviews I could rely on. But after a thoughtful conversation with one of their team members, where I voiced all my questions and concerns, I had a good feeling about them. All their responses were clear and their support was refreshingly personal. That experience made me decide to give it a try.

I had been using direct Booking.com links for years, so switching to something new felt like a leap. But once I saw how little effort it took to get started, I was genuinely surprised. They sent me clear, step-by-step instructions by email, and within minutes I had the script installed on my blog using a basic plugin. All it took was a quick copy-paste of the code – no tech skills needed, no digging into my site’s backend. The whole process took less than ten minutes from start to finish.

Once it was live, a Stay22 team member personally checked to make sure everything was running smoothly. What impressed me most? The script instantly recognized and converted all of my existing Booking.com affiliate links – no manual updates required. Even better, it opened the door to earning from platforms I hadn’t been using before, like Expedia and Hotels.com, simply based on what worked best for each reader. I was suddenly making commissions I’d previously been missing out on, all without changing a thing in my content.

Ready to give Stay22 a try? Use my Stay22 link to receive a $100 bonus when you hit 100 confirmed bookings!

Benefits of Using Stay22 as a Travel Blogger

After using Stay22 for over 18 months, here’s what I personally love about the platform and why it works so well for me. Due to these 10 reasons Stay22 has become one of my favorite affiliate tools:

1. Easy to set up and use

I didn’t need any technical knowledge to get started. A simple plugin and copy-paste of the LMA script (easily generated from the hub platform after signing up) and I was up and running in minutes.

2. Access to the biggest booking sites

I love that I can earn from major platforms like Booking.com, Expedia, and Agoda – all through one tool. It gives my readers more options, and I don’t need to manage multiple affiliate accounts.

3. A huge time saver

Stay22 helps me avoid the back-and-forth of updating links and switching between platforms. It streamlines everything freeing up my time to focus on creating content (or enjoying that well-earned coconut on the beach).

4. Smart geotargeting

I’ve seen better conversions since using their redirection feature. It automatically shows my readers the booking site that’s most popular or accessible in their country, which increases trust and booking potential.

5. Flexible and customizable

Stay22 gives me full control over what I want to use – and what I don’t. There’s zero pressure to activate every feature or partner. For example, I currently exclude GetYourGuide from the script because I use their direct affiliate program and have disabled the Spark AI tool after testing it for a few months. Since I add affiliate links with intention and strategy, the extra links didn’t align with how I prefer to monetize my content.

6. Outstanding customer support

Their support team has honestly been one of the best I’ve worked with. They’re quick to reply, super helpful, and genuinely care about helping me succeed.

7. Clear data and reporting

I regularly check my dashboard to see which blog posts are performing well. It’s helped me understand what my audience is booking and where I should focus my efforts. But while the insights are useful, there are also a couple of things about the reporting that I’m not too fond of. I’ll dive into those in the next section.

8. Quick and reliable payouts

I never have to chase payments or wait months to get paid. Stay22 handles payouts smoothly and consistently.

9. Passive income from existing blog posts

I can still earn from older content that I have written years ago. The script automatically fixes any broken links and monetizes those posts without me lifting a finger.

10. Increased earnings overall

Since switching to Stay22, I’ve seen a noticeable boost in hotel affiliate income. By expanding beyond Booking.com, using Nova, and optimizing user experience, I’ve unlocked a lot of missed earning potential.

What You Might Not Love About Stay22

While I’ve had a great experience overall with Stay22, no platform is perfect and there are a few things worth keeping in mind.

First, I do miss the level of commission transparency I have with Booking.com. In their dashboard, I can see exactly how much I earn per booking and what percentage that was of the total booking value. With Stay22, they take a cut of the commission before it hits your account, but it’s not very clear how much that is. That said, I’ve still seen higher conversions and better overall earnings, so it’s been a worthwhile trade-off for me.

Second, the reporting could use a little more detail. While I can track how much I’ve earned overall and from which articles, I don’t get insights into which Stay22 feature – like Nova or Spark – generated the bookings. It would be helpful to see which tools are driving the most results.

Lastly, there’s Nova. It opens a new tab in the background with booking suggestions for readers showing strong travel intent, which can feel like a pop-up. I was a bit hesitant at first, but so far I haven’t received any negative feedback from my readers.

My Personal Experience with Stay22

Stay22 has become one of the affiliate solutions I truly rely on. What I appreciate most is how seamlessly it works behind the scenes – converting links, geo-targeting readers, and giving me access to a wide range of booking platforms without complicating my workflow. It’s helped me earn more from the same content by capturing missed opportunities I didn’t even know were there.

The dashboard gives me just enough data to understand what content is performing, and I’ve seen a clear boost in conversions since switching. While there are a few things I wish were more transparent, like commission breakdowns and tool-specific reporting, I still consider it a smart and valuable part of my affiliate strategy.

Overall, it’s helped me grow a steady stream of passive income through hotel bookings in a way that feels effortless and well-integrated with my blog. So, I can focus on creating content and providing value to my readers.

Key Results from my Stay22 Dashboard

Let’s move from words to numbers – because that’s where things really get interesting. Below are a few key stats straight from my Stay22 dashboard. Just a heads-up: these numbers reflect Stay22 earnings only and don’t include commissions from my direct Booking.com links or other partners I use for tours, rental cars, ferries, and more.

• Over the past 12 months, my average affiliate income with Stay22 was $947.92 per month.
• My best-performing month up to date was October 2024, bringing in $1,684.01 in affiliate revenue.
• Even after taking a hit from the Google update last September, my Stay22 earnings this year are higher than last year, when comparing the same months – despite having less traffic.
• Right now, my current average commission per booking sits at around $18.26.
• I received my first payout, $578.33, just 3 months after installing the script. So, giving Stay22 a try turned into real results faster than I expected. If you’re ready to give it a shot yourself, you can use my Stay22 affiliate link to sign up and get a $100 bonus after reaching your first 100 bookings.

My Conclusion: Is Stay22 Worth it?

For me, Stay22 has absolutely been worth it. It’s become my top-performing affiliate tool and one of the easiest ways I’ve found to boost my earnings as a travel blogger. I love that it runs quietly in the background – optimizing links, personalizing recommendations for my readers, and helping me monetize content I already created. The support team has also been nothing short of incredible, always responsive and genuinely helpful, which is a rare find in the affiliate space.

What I appreciate most is how low-risk it is to try. You can sign up here (and receive a $100 bonus once you hit 100 confirmed bookings), install the script in just a few minutes, and start tracking results right away. And if you’re not happy with the performance? Simply remove the code – it only takes seconds. But honestly, my guess is you’ll want to keep it.

If you’re looking for a smarter, more streamlined way to monetize your travel blog and to level up your affiliate marketing, I can highly recommend Stay22. It’s made a big difference for me, and it might just do the same for you.

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