Affiliate placement policy

Getaway Brief Affiliate Placement Policy

Status: local operating policy for affiliate-readiness. Do not add live affiliate links until the site owner approves signup/publishing and partner IDs are available.

Goal

Getaway Brief should use affiliate links as useful booking shortcuts, not as the reason an article exists. Every link block must help a reader make the next travel decision faster.

Allowed placements

• One early comparison CTA after the quick answer when booking intent is obvious.
• Destination-level CTA blocks tied to the stated booking angle, such as walkable hotels, pet-friendly stays, refundable lodging, timed attraction tickets, tours, rental cars, or vacation rentals.
• One disclosure reminder in the article sidebar or near CTA areas.
• Related guides that keep readers inside Getaway Brief before pushing to external booking pages.

Avoid

• Do not claim a hotel, tour, platform, or product was personally tested unless it actually was.
• Do not rank options by commission rate.
• Do not hide affiliate relationships.
• Do not overload listicles with repeated identical buttons.
• Do not recommend unsafe, illegal, or unrealistic travel logistics.
• Do not add hard price claims unless they are sourced and dated.

Copy rules

Use neutral, utility-first button language. Current generated CTA labels are intent-matched and should remain non-promissory:

• "Compare refundable stays"
• "Check walkable hotels"
• "Compare pet-friendly stays"
• "Compare rentals and cabins"
• "Check tours and tickets"
• "Compare flight-friendly stays"
• "Check rental car options"

Avoid exaggerated language:

• "Guaranteed best deal"
• "Always the lowest price"
• "Official recommendation"
• "Urgent deal" unless directly supplied by the partner and current.

Verification microcopy rule

Each article page should keep a short "Check before booking" box near the first CTA. This box must be generated from the article's travel constraint, not from partner claims, and should remind readers to verify current schedules, lodging rules, venue hours, pet policies, weather context, and refund terms before booking anything nonrefundable.

The microcopy is part of affiliate readiness because it makes Getaway Brief's CTAs useful without implying that local drafts have live availability, prices, current transit schedules, or property-level policy verification.

Disclosure rule

Each public page with affiliate links needs:

1. A short page-level disclosure near the first affiliate CTA.
2. A full disclosure page linked from the nav/footer.
3. Clear separation between editorial guidance and partner links.

Pre-launch replacement plan

Current generated pages use #affiliate-placeholder links. After signup approval, replace placeholders with partner-specific links only after confirming:

• Partner account is approved.
• Tracking IDs/subIDs are available.
• Destination/action matches the article intent.
• Link does not create a misleading claim.
• Disclosure remains visible.

Partner fit matrix for first applications

Use this matrix when replacing placeholders after the site owner approval. It keeps outbound links matched to reader intent and reduces the risk of over-monetized pages.

SubID naming convention after approval

When partner links are approved, use stable subIDs so reports map clicks back to pages and CTA type without storing personal data:

ts_{article_slug}_{intent}_{placement}

Examples:

• ts_weekend-trips-from-nyc-without-a-car_hotels_quick
• ts_things-to-do-in-gatlinburg-when-it-rains_tours_destination1
• ts_dog-friendly-weekend-trips-from-dallas_vacation-rentals_destination2