Q: What is your rate of conversion?

A: Our conversion rate is the highest in the industry. As of July 2004, 27% of clients looking to book rooms went to contract with hotels. Out of that 27%, half those reservations are completed after cancellations and attrition. Attrition is the amount of rooms that go unused in a group room block.

Q: How many "capture days" do affiliates get?

A: We allow our affiliates 6 months to capture a customer. I.E. if you send a potential client to us, then you will receive credit for the referral for up to six months after you referred them to our website. If that customer posts a group request, then the affiliate will receive compensation for their booking no matter if it is 3 days or 3 years in advance. Commissions are paid to the affiliate after the client checks out of the hotel.

Q: Is the affiliate commission a percentage of the total sale?

A: The commissions are set at 30% of the industry standard commission received from the hotel or travel vendor on room revenue produced. The industry standard hotel commission can fluctuate depending on the size of the group, but typically is about 10% of the total room revenue. For instance, in July 2004, our average affiliate payment was $263.00 per booking. Our affiliate payments are a lot higher than most hotel reservation websites because group bookings encapsulate much more room revenue.

Q: Is there any minimum or maximum number of rooms per night or consecutive room nights requested?

A: There is no minimum or maximum for room reservation requests on our site. A group reservation is 10 rooms per night by industry standards. Because most internet sites cannot process more than 4 rooms per night, we have quite a few preferred hotel partners that load in rates for groups of 5 rooms per night or more.

Q: Is it OK to use pay-per-click ads to generate traffic directly forwarded to your site?

A: Any PPC advertising does not have to be approved first before released. The ads that produce the best results focus on our free room promotions, rebates, best prices, and room upgrades for group coordinators.

Q: When can I expect my commission check?

A: We send out affiliate commissions between 30 to 45 days after the group bill has been settled with the hotel. Groups book an average of 6 months in advance. About 10% of groups book as early as 2 years in advance and as late as 1 week in advance of arrival at the hotel.