Do I need a travel agency licence to sell hotel rooms?

Not to refer a booking and earn commission, where payment is collected for the hotel and the hotel stays merchant of record. A licence is typically required if you collect the traveler's payment yourself.

Can an influencer earn from hotel bookings without a company?

Generally yes under the referral model, because the creator never holds the traveler's money. Requirements vary by country, so confirm your own position locally.

What does merchant of record actually mean?

It is the party that takes the traveler's payment and owes them the service. That party carries chargeback, refund, consumer-protection and tax obligations.

Which model should most partners choose?

The referral model, where payment is collected for the hotel. It pays the same 10% default commission without licensing, chargebacks, refunds or tax handling.

Does packaging a hotel with flights change anything?

It can. Combining travel services may trigger separate package-travel rules in some markets, with obligations beyond hotel booking alone.

Who Can Sell Hotel Rooms Online — Licences, Payment and Liability

Q: What does it cost if I collect payment myself?

Wink charges a 1.5% Booking Fee, invoiced monthly, because it is not handling the funds. Partner API usage above the free allowance comes on a second monthly invoice if you turn on pay-as-you-go. You also take on merchant liability and the licensing that comes with it.

Two activities that get confused

Referring a booking. You recommend a hotel, the traveler books, the hotel is paid, and you earn commission. You never hold the money.

Selling as a merchant. You take the traveler’s payment into your own account and pay the hotel yourself. You are now the party that owes the traveler a stay.

The second is what triggers licensing in most markets, along with chargeback exposure, refund obligations and tax handling. The first generally does not, which is why a creator with no company structure can earn commission while a tour operator holding client funds needs a licence.

What changes between the two models

	Payment collected for the hotel	You collect payment
Merchant of record	The hotel	You
Travel agency licence	Not required for referral	Typically required, by region
Chargeback liability	The hotel’s	Yours
Refunds and cancellations	Handled by the hotel	Handled by you
Consumer-protection duties	Hotel’s	Yours
Wink fee	1.5% platform fee plus card processing at cost, per booking	1.5% Booking Fee, invoiced monthly, plus Partner API usage above the free allowance
Commission earned	10% default	Commission agreed with each hotel (your separate agreement)
Who you need to be	Anyone	A licensed operator booking through the Partner API, approved in writing by Wink

Who can earn without a licence

Under the first model, all of these can earn commission on hotel bookings:

Creators and KOLs posting recommendations to an audience
Publishers and newsletters running destination or hotel editorial
Communities and clubs organising member trips
Event organisers needing room blocks for delegates
Agencies and DMCs building client itineraries
Banks, loyalty and membership programs offering travel benefits
Apps, platforms and AI agents embedding a booking path

None of them holds the traveler’s money, so none of them becomes the merchant. The hotel does what it already does: contracts with the guest and hosts the stay.

When the second model makes sense

Collecting payment yourself is the right choice in a narrow set of cases — when you are already a licensed travel business with your own client contracts, your own payment relationships and your own refund policy, and you need the hotel to be your supplier rather than your merchant. Tour operators packaging flights with hotels are the common example.

This route is available to API partners only: you book through the Partner API from your own system, with Wink’s prior written approval. Wink is not in the funds flow and invoices the 1.5% Booking Fee monthly. If you turn on pay-as-you-go, Partner API usage above the free allowance comes on a second monthly invoice. In either model the hotel’s rate passes through unchanged. If this is not you, the first model earns you commission with far less to carry.

What to check before you start selling

Where your travelers are, not only where you are — consumer-protection rules often follow the traveler.
Whether you will ever hold funds, even briefly. Holding is the line that matters.
Whether you are packaging hotel with transport, which can trigger separate package-travel rules.
How refunds reach the traveler and who answers when a stay goes wrong.
What you promise in your own terms, since that can create obligations regardless of the model.

Rules differ by country and change. Confirm your position with a local adviser before choosing the merchant route.

Common mistakes

Assuming you need a licence to earn commission. For referral, you generally do not.
Becoming merchant of record by accident by routing payment through your own account “just for convenience”.
Promising refunds you cannot control when the hotel holds the money and the policy.
Applying one country’s rules everywhere. Obligations often follow the traveler’s location.
Choosing the merchant model for a better rate. It does not pay more commission; it adds liability.

Who can sell hotel rooms online?