What an affiliate commission actually is
Some of the links on The Ireland Edit are affiliate links. If you click one and go on to book a hotel, tour, or experience, the provider pays us a small commission. The price you pay is exactly the same. Nothing is added to your bill.
Those commissions are how we keep the site running: hosting, photography, ongoing research trips around Ireland, and the time it takes to write and update every guide.
A real example
You read our guide to luxury Dublin hotels, click the "Check Availability" button on The Merrion, and book three nights. You pay The Merrion's standard published rate. The Merrion's booking partner pays us a small percentage of the room cost. We never see your card details, your guest details, or anything beyond an anonymous "a booking came from your link."
When and where booking buttons appear
We try to make it obvious. Anywhere we link to a paid booking partner, the link uses clear action language and visually marks itself as outbound.
Hotels and resorts
Links to Hotels.com or the property's booking partner.
Day trips, distillery visits, Cliffs of Moher tours
Links to Viator, our experiences partner.
Golf courses and resorts
Links to the course's booking system or our golf partner.
Restaurants
Almost always links to the restaurant's own reservation system. Not affiliate.
Internal links between our own articles are never affiliate links. They exist purely to help you find the next useful guide.
How we keep recommendations partner-independent
Our editorial selection happens before any commercial decision. We pick the hotels, restaurants, courses, and experiences we'd recommend to a close friend flying in from the US. Then, separately, we check whether a booking partner happens to support them.
What we do
- Recommend properties and tours we'd book ourselves.
- List places we love even when no commission is available.
- Update or remove a recommendation if the experience drops.
- Disclose every affiliate link with clear button language.
What we don't do
- Accept payment for a positive review.
- Sell ranking positions or list placements.
- Run sponsored posts disguised as editorial.
- Push the highest-paying partner over the better recommendation.
Who we work with
Our current booking partners are major, regulated travel providers. We chose them because they offer the same prices as booking direct, with reliable customer service if something goes wrong with your reservation.
- Hotels.com (via Commission Junction) for hotels and resorts.
- Viator for tours, day trips, and experiences.
- Selected golf operators for tee times and golf packages.
Compliance and your trust
This site complies with the US Federal Trade Commission's guidelines on endorsements and testimonials, and with the EU rules on commercial communications. Affiliate links use the standard rel="nofollow sponsored noopener" attribute. If you ever see a recommendation that doesn't feel right, please tell us. We'd rather lose a commission than your trust.
Questions
Email hello@theirelandedit.com with anything. You can also read more about who we are or browse our Ireland itineraries.