Getting Started as a Travel Agency

This guide takes a travel agency from registration to its first client booking. It also explains the two ways an agency can work on Wink, so you can choose the right one before you start.

Before you start

You’ll need:

• Your company details.
• Your travel agency registration number, or your IATA code if you have one.
• A bank account for your commission.

Choose how you’ll work

	Standard (most agencies)	Agent-collected payment
How you book	In the Wink portal, or through the Partner API	Through the Partner API, from your own system
Who takes the client’s payment	Collected for the hotel, which stays merchant of record. You enter your client’s card at checkout.	You do, as merchant of record.
What you earn	10% default commission on each booking	The commission in your own agreement with each hotel
What you pay Wink	Nothing	1.5% Booking Fee on each booking’s value, invoiced monthly, plus Partner API usage above the free allowance
Paying the hotel	Handled for you	You pay each hotel directly, under your own agreement with them
Refunds, chargebacks, payment compliance	Handled for you	Your responsibility
Approval	Your registration is reviewed before you can book	Your registration is reviewed, plus Wink’s written approval for this route, with a credit limit

Wink reviews every travel agency’s registration. Most agencies then use the standard route. Agent-collected payment is for API partners only: agencies that book through the Partner API from their own system, already collect client payments under their own licence and contract directly with hotels.

Step 1: Register your agency

1. Go to app.wink.travel, click Sign-In / Register and register.

2. Click Accounts in the left sidebar, then Create, and choose I am a Travel Agent.

3. Fill in your agency’s details. Choose Company as the entity type: it decides how you’re paid. See Create Account.

4. If you’ll collect payment yourself through the Partner API, choose that route during registration. This is a request, not an approval. See Step 6.

5. Wink reviews every travel agency registration. We e-mail your registered address and ask for your paperwork: company details and your travel agency registration number or IATA code. You can book once your registration is approved.

Step 2: Add your bank account

Go to Account > Bank Accounts, add your agency’s account and mark it Primary. Commission is paid there by bank transfer. Wink sends payouts through Revolut, so a Revolut business account is the smoothest option, but any bank account works. See Bank Accounts.

Step 3: Find hotels for your client

1. Click Browse > Hotels in the main nav bar.

2. Search by destination, dates and occupancy, and filter until you have the right options for your client.

3. Save shortlists to a curated list if you’re comparing options with the client.

The rates you see are the hotel’s own. Wink passes them through unchanged, with no markup layer: you earn through commission. See Search.

Step 4: Book for your client

1. Choose the room and rate, and enter your client’s name and contact details as the traveller.

2. At checkout, enter the card your client gave you for this booking. The payment is collected for the hotel, and the hotel stays merchant of record.

3. Confirm. You, the traveller and the hotel each receive a confirmation e-mail. The booking code starts with WNK.

Handle your client’s card with care

Ask for the card only for the booking you’re making and enter it straight into the checkout. Don’t write it down, e-mail it or keep it in your own records.

Step 5: Manage bookings and get paid

• Bookings: click Bookings in the main nav bar to see every booking, filter it, export it to CSV, resend a confirmation or cancel within the hotel’s cancellation policy. See Bookings.
• Commission: 10% by default. Once you work with a hotel regularly, you can ask it for a direct connection and agree a different commission.
• When you’re paid: commission becomes available within 24 hours of the guest checking in, and goes to your primary bank account. Transfer fees are paid at cost. See Pricing.

Step 6: Collect payment yourself (API partners only)

Skip this step if you book in the portal, or you’re happy on the standard route.

1. Integrate with the Partner API. This route works only through the API, from your own booking system, not in the portal.

2. Choose the route during registration (Step 1).

3. Wink assesses it alongside your registration paperwork, for example your financial standing and regulatory status, and confirms in writing. Approval comes with a credit limit: the most you can hold in unsettled bookings at any time.

4. Until you’re approved, you can keep booking on the standard route.

Once approved, you take the client’s payment yourself and pay each hotel directly. For each booking you deduct, in order, the 1.5% Wink fee and then your commission; the rest is due to the hotel:

On a USD 1,000.00 booking with a 10% commission
Booking value	USD 1,000.00
Less Wink fee (1.5% of booking value)	USD 15.00
Subtotal	USD 985.00
Less your commission (10% of subtotal)	USD 98.50
Due to the hotel	USD 886.50

Wink invoices the 1.5% Booking Fee monthly, in USD, payable within 15 days, plus any Partner API usage above the free allowance. You’re responsible for refunds, chargebacks, payment security (PCI-DSS) and any licence your country requires to collect payment. The full terms are in the Travel Agent Agreement.

Connect your own systems

Agencies with their own booking tools can search and book through the Partner API. Travel agency accounts can create bookings directly with it, and it is the only way to work on the agent-collected route. See the Partner API reference.

Your checklist

• Agency registered as a Travel Agent account
• Paperwork sent and registration approved
• Bank account added and marked Primary
• First hotels found for a client
• First booking made, card entered at checkout
• Optional, API partners: chose to collect payment yourself at registration