What it means in practice
In the merchant model, the seller, usually an OTA, becomes the merchant of record. It collects the full payment from the traveller, pays the supplier a confidential net rate, and keeps the difference as margin. The seller controls the retail price and the customer relationship, and it carries the payment and refund risk.
The merchant model gives the seller more margin and pricing control than the agency model, which is why large OTAs favour it. For affiliate programs, the merchant margin defines the commission pool: because the seller sets the markup, it also decides how much it can pay partners on a referred booking.
A brand acting as merchant on its own affiliate program keeps the full margin and the customer data, so it can fund richer partner commission and pay on completed-stay commission it controls end to end.
How Track360 handles this
Track360 lets a merchant-model operator set partner commission against the margin it controls and pay on confirmed, completed bookings, keeping both the customer relationship and the payout logic in-house.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about merchant model, how it works in affiliate programs, and where it shows up across Track360's supported verticals.
The merchant model is a distribution model where the seller becomes the merchant of record. It collects payment from the traveller, pays the supplier a net rate, keeps the markup as margin, and carries the payment and refund risk.
Related Terms
Agency Model
The agency model is a travel-distribution model where the supplier collects payment and pays the seller a commission, so the seller never holds traveller funds.
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.
Bedbank
A bedbank is a hotel wholesaler that buys room inventory at net rates and redistributes it to OTAs, agencies, and tour operators to resell with a markup.
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.
Travel Affiliate Program
A travel affiliate program is a partnership program where a travel brand pays affiliates and creators a commission for the bookings they drive to its site.
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 merchant model and related affiliate program topics.
Agoda Affiliate Program: Operator Teardown 2026
A business teardown of the Agoda affiliate program: commission rates from roughly 4% to 7% on completed stays, the merchant model behind its APAC inventory, booking-confirmation attribution, deep links, and the strategic case for a travel brand running its own higher-margin in-house program.
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Booking.com Affiliate Program: Operator Teardown (2026)
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OTA Distribution vs Direct Booking: The Affiliate Lever (2026)
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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.
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