Affiliate partners

1. What the affiliate system does

You create a partner in Unitlify and give them links containing their code. Everything a guest books through one of these links is attributed to the partner: bookings and voucher purchases. At the end of the month you download a statement as an Excel file and settle up with the partner.

There is no partner login. The partner sees nothing in Unitlify; they only receive the links and the statement from you. You pay the partner yourself. Unitlify neither collects nor pays out any commission.

2. Creating a partner

Menu Booking system → Affiliate partners. You need the permission "Affiliate partners" for this.

When creating a partner you enter:

The code is unique per business. If you change it later, all links distributed so far stop working. In that case, send the partner the new links.

3. The links

The Links button on the partner gives you ready-made addresses to copy:

Both links lead to your Unitlify shop, not to your own website. The partner can use the links freely: on their website, in newsletters, on social media or as a QR code.

Vouchers count as well. If a guest arrives via a partner link and buys a voucher in the shop, that purchase is also attributed to the partner.

Only offers that are active and published are shown. A link to an offer that is deactivated later leads nowhere.

4. How attribution works

The code travels through the shop in the address bar: from the overview to the offer page, into the cart and all the way to checkout. On completion, the checkout sends the code along, and Unitlify stores the partner and the commission rate valid at that moment on the booking.

In addition, the open page remembers the code in the browser's memory. If a click loses the code from the address (for example via the logo back to the overview), this memory takes over as long as the guest stays in the same browser tab.

Deliberately not used: cookies or permanent storage in the browser. Attribution applies only to the current visit. A tracking cookie that remembers the partner for days would require the guest's consent. Unitlify does without that.

When attribution is lost

You and your partner should know these cases, because they lead to bookings without commission:

• The guest retypes the address or uses a bookmark without ?partner=….
• The guest closes the tab and comes back later, for example via Google or your website. There is no cookie, so there is no memory either.
• The guest opens the shop in a new tab or window, for example by right-clicking "Open in new tab" on an offer whose address no longer contains the code.
• The guest reloads a page whose address no longer contains the code. As long as ?partner=… is still in the address bar, reloading is not a problem.
• The guest switches to your own website and books there through your widget. Your widget on your website does not know the partner (see section 6).
• The partner is paused or deleted. The booking goes through normally, just without attribution.
• The code in the link is misspelled. Unitlify checks the code on the server. An unknown code is silently ignored; the guest notices nothing.

If a guest has opened two different partner links one after the other, the code that was last in the address counts.

What does not interfere

• External payments (PayPal, Klarna, credit card): attribution is stored when the booking is created, i.e. before the guest is redirected to the payment provider. The way back does not matter.
• Changing the language in the shop: the code is kept.
• Several offers in the cart: all bookings of the order receive the partner.

5. Commission and statements

The basis is the gross amount including VAT:

• Booking: total amount minus redeemed vouchers. This way nothing is paid twice if the voucher was also bought through the partner.
• Voucher purchase: purchase amount minus refunds.

Rate: the commission rate is stored on the booking at the time of purchase. If you change the rate later, this only applies to new bookings. With "per offer" rates, offers without an entered rate yield 0 %, as do value vouchers without an offer.

What counts: confirmed, checked-in, completed and no-show bookings as well as parked bookings. For vouchers: active, partially and fully redeemed as well as expired vouchers. Cancelled, unpaid and revoked items appear in the statement with 0 € commission.

Monthly statement: on the partner, choose the month under Statement. You receive an Excel file with all items, basis and commission. The decisive factor is the month of purchase (Berlin time), not the event date.

In the bookings list: the filter "All affiliates" shows all bookings and voucher purchases of a partner. The booking detail view shows "Affiliate: name (x %)". The export has a column "Affiliate partner (commission)".

Keep in mind when settling: a booking can still be cancelled after the statement. Ideally settle only once the month is closed and the events have taken place, or agree on a subsequent correction with the partner.

6. Widgets on the partner's site

If the partner does not embed your shop via a link but as a widget directly on their website, add the partner attribute to the embed code:

<script src="https://unitlify.de/widget/v1/katalog.js" async></script>
<unitlify-katalog widget-id="YOUR-WIDGET-ID" partner="CODE"></unitlify-katalog>

This works with all widget types (catalog, single offer, booking box, button). The widget appends the code to every address it calls internally, and the shop checks it just like with a link. The code with the partner code already filled in is available in the partner's Links dialog.

Important:

• The attribute belongs in the code on the partner's website. Leave it out on your own website, otherwise every booking via your site would be credited to the partner.
• One embed code per partner. A widget can have several partners, because the code is in the attribute, not in the widget itself.
• Widget statistics (bookings per widget) and affiliate attribution are independent. A booking can carry both: widget X and partner Y.
• A ?partner=… in the address of the partner's website is not read by the widget. The code must be in the attribute.

7. Pausing or deleting a partner

• Pause: new bookings are no longer attributed, existing ones are kept. The links keep working technically; the guest lands in the shop as normal.
• Delete: the partner disappears from the list, existing bookings keep their attribution (visible in the bookings list and the export). Download any outstanding monthly statements before deleting; afterwards they are no longer accessible via the partner list. The code becomes free and can be assigned again. Links with the old code no longer attribute anything.

8. Frequently asked questions

Can the partner book on behalf of the guest? No. There is no partner access. The partner links or embeds; the guest makes the booking themselves.

Can I link to the partner on my own website, e.g. my-site.com/?partner=x? No. Your website does not know the code. The partner link must point directly to the Unitlify shop, or the partner embeds a widget with the attribute.

Does the guest see that they came via a partner? Only in the address (?partner=…). Nothing is shown in the shop itself; prices and offers are identical.

Can I give a partner their own price or discount? Not through the affiliate system. For that, create a discount code and give it to the partner in addition to the link.

Do bookings via GetYourGuide, Regiondo or other channels count? No. Only bookings and voucher purchases in your own Unitlify shop, whether via link or widget.

What happens with a rebooking? The booking keeps its partner and its commission rate. If the amount changes, the basis changes in the statement of the original month of purchase.

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Summary for your partner

You can pass this text on to the partner:

Please use only the links we have sent you. They contain your code (?partner=…), and only through it can we attribute bookings to you. Attribution applies to the respective visit: if a guest returns later without this link, we can no longer attribute the booking. If you would like to embed our booking shop directly on your website, we will send you a ready-made embed code with your code. You will receive the statement from us monthly.