What it means in practice
A bedbank, or hotel wholesaler, sits between hotels and sellers. It contracts room inventory at a net rate, then redistributes it through APIs to OTAs, travel agencies, and tour operators who resell it with their own markup. Hotelbeds and WebBeds are well-known examples.
Bedbanks expand a hotel reach without the hotel managing thousands of seller relationships directly. For affiliate programs, bedbank distribution affects margin: every layer between the hotel and the traveller takes a cut, which shrinks the commission pool available to pay partners on the final sale.
A hotel group that wants richer margin and direct partner relationships can run its own affiliate program alongside bedbank distribution, paying creators and publishers on completed-stay commission rather than absorbing multiple wholesale markups.
How Track360 handles this
Track360 lets a hospitality operator run a direct affiliate program with per-product commission and confirmed-stay payouts, so it can balance wholesale bedbank distribution against higher-margin direct partner channels.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about bedbank, how it works in affiliate programs, and where it shows up across Track360's supported verticals.
A bedbank is a hotel wholesaler that contracts room inventory at net rates and redistributes it to OTAs, agencies, and tour operators. Those sellers add a markup and resell the rooms to travellers, while the bedbank earns the spread on volume.
Related Terms
Net Rate and Markup
Net rate and markup is a pricing model where a supplier sells inventory at a confidential net rate and the seller adds a markup to set the retail price.
OTA (Online Travel Agency)
An OTA, or online travel agency, is a website that sells hotel, flight, tour, and car-rental inventory from many suppliers inside a single booking flow.
Merchant Model
The merchant model is a travel-distribution model where the seller collects payment from the traveller, pays the supplier a net rate, and keeps the markup.
Channel Manager
A channel manager is software that syncs a property rates and availability across every booking channel, such as OTAs, the GDS, and the direct site.
Completed-Stay Commission
Completed-stay commission is affiliate commission paid only after a referred traveller actually checks out, rather than when the booking is first made.
Tour Operator
A tour operator is a company that bundles flights, hotels, transfers, and activities into a packaged trip and sells it to travellers directly or through agents.
Continue Learning
Free structured courses that cover this topic and more.
How to Migrate an Affiliate Program Without Breaking Attribution
A practical migration plan for operators moving from an existing affiliate or IB system. Map your stack, protect attribution, preserve payout logic, and move to a new setup without creating reporting chaos.
How to Structure Affiliate Commissions
CPA, RevShare, hybrid models, KPI-based deals, and multi-tier payout logic. How to pick the right structure for your program, negotiate without losing margin, and adjust as your affiliate base grows.
Related Articles
Further reading on bedbank and related affiliate program topics.
Cruise and Tour-Operator Affiliate Programs: Operator Guide (2026)
How cruise lines and tour operators run affiliate programs: high AOV, 6 to 18 month booking windows, deposit-then-balance payouts, group and cabin economics, and commission paid on sailed trips. A build guide for operators.
Jun 9, 2026
The Sleeping Giant Awakes: The State of iGaming in Brazil (2025-2026)
Brazil’s iGaming market is booming. Explore new regulations, key players, market growth, and what operators must know to succeed in Brazil’s fast-rising iGaming industry.
Dec 9, 2025
Affiliate Tracking Software Explained: Full Guide
How affiliate tracking software works, key features, fraud protection, and why advanced platforms like Track360 are essential for U.S. brands.
Mar 3, 2026
Affiliate Tracking Software: Full Guide for Modern Businesses
What affiliate tracking software is, how it works, how to choose the best platform, and how to use it effectively to scale and automate partner programs.
Feb 19, 2026
Choosing the Best Affiliate Management Platform
Guide to affiliate tracking software: how it works, why it matters, how to choose the best platform, and how tools like Track360 help scale partner programs
Mar 3, 2026
How to Choose the Right Affiliate Tracking Software
How to choose the right affiliate tracking software, compare tools, understand integrations, and see why platforms like Track360 fit modern U.S. businesses
Mar 11, 2026