If you have ever wondered how travel bloggers end up staying somewhere for a collaboration, the short answer is that they pitched themselves.
I thought that complimentary stays were something that only the big name, established travel bloggers received and something that us grass roots travel bloggers only dreamed about. That is not the case.
ven if you’re a relatively new travel blogger, if you have set out a travel niche and have got a bit of traffic coming your way, then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t enquire about complimentary stays. I made my first pitches after just 6 months of blogging.
We are Charlie and Luke, UK travel bloggers. This is part of our guide to the best travel affiliate programs because the two things go together: getting the stay is half of it, and earning from the guide you write afterwards is the other half.
Below is the exact email we send, what to line up before you send it, and how a comped stay turns into income rather than just a free night.
👉 Sign up to Stay22 and earn $100 once you reach 100 bookings!
What Is a Complimentary Hotel Stay?
A complimentary stay is when a hotel hosts you free of charge, usually in exchange for coverage: a blog post, social content, photography they can reuse, or a mix. It is a value swap, not a favour.
At most independent blogs these arrangements are comped (the room and often a few extras are free), so treat the stay as a cost saved and an opportunity to create new, fresh content, but as a way to pay the bills.
We have collaborated with some wonderful hotels over the years, including La Kukula Lodge in Costa Rica and the Hotel Bel Ami in Paris.
Before You Pitch: Your Media Kit or Brand Page
Hotels say yes to people who make the decision easy. Before you email anyone, put a one-page media kit together or a brand page on your website so a marketing manager can approve you in a couple of minutes. Include:
- Who you are and what you cover (destinations, the kind of stays you feature).
- Your numbers, current and specific: monthly readers, email subscribers, and social followers.
- Where the coverage will live and roughly when (a guide on the blog, plus social).
- A few links to past pieces that show the standard of your photography and writing.
Keep it to one page, on-brand, easy to skim. A tidy media kit is the single biggest thing that moves you from “who is this” to “yes, when would you like to come”.
Target Accommodation that Fits with Your Brand
Think about who you’re going to approach for a complimentary stay and whether they fit with your blog’s niche. A luxury travel blogger isn’t going to be asking for a stay at a budget backpacker’s hostel and if he does, he’s probably going to be turned down. Why?
What value does is there for the hostel? A review on a luxury travel blog isn’t going to reach their target clientèle of scruffy young travellers. Likewise, what value would a blog post on a backpacker’s hostel have for the luxury travel blogger? It wouldn’t be of interest to their target audience and it wouldn’t strengthen their brand (worse, it would actually confuse it).
When I first started Charlie On Travel, the blog was about simple, sustainable and socially-responsible travel. When I was researching places to approach, I looked for eco-lodges in particular, and places that are environmentally friendly and run by people who are living an alternative, sustainable lifestyle. I was also keen to approach smaller, growing businesses because Charlie On Travel was still a relatively new and growing travel blog.
Now, Charlie On Travel has evolved and the blog focuses on curated travel guides to lesser-known destinations and independent and boutique hotels that are a little more off-the-beaten track.
Think About What You Have to Offer Before You Pitch
Once you’ve got a shortlist of places that you would like to approach for a complimentary stay, you need to think about what you have to offer. Complimentary stays aren’t really free — you need to have something of value in exchange for your stay. These might commonly include:
- A blog post/review with photos, and maybe even video coverage of your stay
- A mention and a link within a relevant blog post on a broader topic
- Photography or videography if you’re strong in these areas
- If you have a strong social media presence (on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc.) you can offer coverage throughout and after your stay
- Contribute reviews of their accommodation to TripAdvisor, HostelWorld etc.
- Write an article or testimonial for their own website
When inquiring about complimentary stays, I offer a combination of the above. My main strength is written content that ranks well on Google search and in AI platforms like ChatGPT, so I will usually offer a full blog post with a link; social media coverage on my main social media channels (Facebook and Instagram); and I often a Google Review as I’m a Level 8 Local Guide which means my Google reviews are highly visible and influential.
The Complimentary-Stay Request Email
Short, specific and easy to say yes to beats long and gushing every time. Adapt the bracketed parts:
Subject: Collaboration: [your site name] x [hotel name]
Hi [name],
I’m [name] from [your site name], a travel blog covering [your niche] for [rounded audience size] readers a month. I am planning a guide to [destination] for [rough month] and would love to feature [hotel name].
I am writing to ask whether you would consider hosting a [number]-night complimentary stay. In return I would produce [be specific: a dedicated section in the destination guide, a set of edited photos you are welcome to reuse, and X pieces of social content].
I have attached a short media kit with my audience and a few examples of previous work.
[your name] [site URL] | [social handle] | [email]
How to Find the Right Contact
Skip the general info@ or reservations inbox if you. Look for the marketing, PR or partnerships manager on the hotel’s website or LinkedIn, or ask reception for the best email for press and collaborations. For small independents, the owner is often the right person.
The Final Stage of Getting a Complimentary Stay
After you’ve hit the send button, it’s all about waiting. If you don’t hear back within the week, a follow-up email can be a good way to reinforce your original email and show you are serious about the proposition.Â
If your proposals are turned down, don’t be disheartened. It’s part of the process and you should take it as an opportunity to tweak your pitch and think about what you’re putting on the table for next time.
If you get an offer of a complimentary stay, iron out the kinks with the accommodation owner and find out if they have any specifics beforehand. Make sure that you do what you promised in your original email and let the accommodation owner know a time scale for when everything will be completed.
How We Turn a Comped Stay Into Income
A free night on its own is a saving and content creation opportunity, not income. Some influential travel bloggers even turn them down for this reason.
The income comes from the guide you write afterwards: a useful and high-ranking blog post with a Stay22 map and booking links, so every reader who books after reading earns you a commission, is where income is made. We treat every hosted stay as fuel for an affiliate-earning guide, not a one-off perk.
If you are a creator setting this up for the first time, the tool we would start with is Stay22: it bundles the major booking sites into one account and drops an accommodation map into a post, so you apply once instead of joining several hotel programmes. The full reasoning and our real numbers are in our Stay22 review.
👉 Sign up through our referral link to get $100 once you reach 100 bookings!
Completing a Project
After a complimentary stay or trip of any type, I always follow-up with my contact to share a round-up of the links to all of my work across the blog and social media posts, including performance stats if relevant.
Make sure to check that your contact is happy with what’s been produced, as creating a positive collaboration and fulfilling all the expectations for a brand who hosts you is an important part of the partnership and helps to drive future opportunities.
If a collaboration goes well, you can ask for a review of working together to add to your media kit or page.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
 Send a short, specific email to the marketing or PR contact naming a real upcoming piece, the dates (ideally their quiet season) and exactly what you will deliver, with a one-page media kit attached. The template above is the one we use.
You don’t always need a big following to receive a complimentary stay as a blogger or influencer. Independent and boutique hotels care more about the quality and fit of your coverage than a huge follower count. A tidy media kit and a clear, on-brand plan matter more than raw numbers.
Yes. UK ASA and CMA guidance treats a comped stay as a form of payment, so label it clearly on the post and with #ad or #gifted on social.
The stay is a saving and content creation opportunity. The income is the guide written afterwards, monetised with affiliate booking links so it earns every time a reader books. See our Stay22 review.
Great post. I find branding is key in this issue. Personally, while I didn’t start out in luxury travel, we kind of moved into it by reviewing luxury hotels which we were lucky enough to stay in. Hotel reviews were never part of our blog either until we stayed at a couple of fancy places, the first was complimentary through winning a competition, then we got married and of course honeymooned in a couple of swank resorts. I made the most of these opportunities, blogged about them and used them to convince others to give us hosted stays. Now we can stay at any luxury hotel in Asia by just emailing them (probably over exaggerating here) and we get emails from hotels offering us free stays which we tend to turn down (I prefer to chose where I stay, again part of branding). I don’t think it is necessary to differentiate with price, you can blog about both backpacker and luxury travel as long as they are unique hotel experiences and I have done both (we tend to go with boutique / design hotels) – just be sure to pitch matching hotels with the niche. In honesty I’ve only accepted a couple of hosted stays in my time, as when I travel I prefer to be relaxed and with hosted stays I’ve had itineraries put to my stay and feel obligations are hanging over my head. This goes the same for restaurants. Anything free I find harder to write about, everything feels forced and paying my own way makes the experience more real. I’ve been blogging close to two years now so it doesn’t take too long to get onto similar.
Some interesting thoughts here, Allan. Definitely excellent that you got to make the most out of a few luxury hotel opportunities (a little envious here!) and good idea building on them. That’s amazing that you get offers coming through to you. I’ve only ever had one come through but it was for my old blog which was specifically about living/travelling Taiwan (which I no longer am, sadly). I think that the price thing depends on the blog – price is part of some bloggers niche and not part of others – but there are different kinds of backpacker/flashpacker etc.
Do you mean itineraries for the whole of your stay somewhere? Wow. We had none at all in the three complimentary stays that we’ve had. I wonder if that’s part of higher end hotels. I know what you mean though, and certainly don’t try and get comp stays for the whole of my travels – gosh, that would be a lot of hard work and a lot of follow up work!
Thanks so much for your thought out comment, Allan, some great thoughts!
Because I’m focused on SE Asia it makes things easier and to ask for hosted stays in Europe would no doubt be less fruitful… I think the most packed itinerary was a one night stay where we had an itinerary to eat (photograph and share) four meals (including high tea), a two hour local tour and a lot of photographing in the resort. The itinerary was printed for us and when we arrive an hour or two late they get all huffy… fortunately the food was great :) There must be a stage where you can start getting paid to write up these hosted stays… I’m just not sure when.
Wow, that’s a lot of eating and photographing! Sounds like a lot of pressure on your holiday though… I’ve never had an itinerary; having one would definitely make me more reluctant to actually stay.
This is a really useful post Charlie, as we are in the middle of figuring out how to use our blog to travel better, and cheaper. Looks like a complementary stay model is a win win for both the blogger and the owner, so I think many hostels / hotels will trust it, we’ll see!
Glad it was helpful for you guys! It’s only something I’ve done recently but I’ve really found that using the right approach it can work out well for both sides :) Good luck to you two!
It’s nice to have complimentary stays because of a blog, it’s more like a barter trade where you get to say in exchange of a social media promotion.. i still don’t abuse the power though and sometimes would like to pay so I can give an honest review of the place ifever I feature them on my blog ^_^
Yes, I completely agree. I mostly pay for accommodation but for some things which are slightly out of my price range but in my niche – eco retreats in hard to get to places, for instance) – complimentary stays can be really useful.
Not just really handy tips, but really helpful explanations and great articles linked too.
Each post you do is better than the last.
Thanks, Dale, that’s super nice of you to say, Like all bloggers, I work hard on my writing, so I usually hope that’s the case!
Very useful tips, Charlie! We are thinking of pitching some hotels during our Long Way Home hitchhiking trip across Asia and these ideas are really helpful!
Sounds awesome, I’d love to hear how it goes! I think it could definitely work well if you have a kind of focus for the trip :)
Oh, I’ve been waiting for someone to provide this kind of information. I was also thinking I’dneed to have millions of followers and years of posts before even thinking of approaching anyone. Thank you for the information.
That’s what I thought too, but turns out not! I found I had more success approaching accommodation businesses who don’t have a great online presence, are new and are still growing. Thanks for reading/commenting :)
Oh, and off-season! Here in Costa Rica it’s currently low season, which means a lot of rooms aren’t filled, which means places are more willing to let a travel blogger stay for free.
Many congratulations on scoring your first free stay Charlie.
You’ve explained the process very well and this seems the perfect guide for anyone new to travel blogging.
I’m going to save this post as a good reference point. Whilst I’ve not ventured into this area of seeking free hotel stays it is nice to know it is something I might consider exploring in the future.
Thank you! I was very excited about it. It’s great to hear that you think my post is a good guide, and I think it’s definitely something worth exploring if you have a particular topic you want to broach etc. :)
Perfect, just what I needed to read I think I’m about to hit this level, thanks for the info!
Awesome! Good luck, let me know how it goes :)
These are really great tips, Charlie, and hopefully will get motivated bloggers moving in the right direction for them.
One thing I wanted to point out that I think this post didn’t mention, however, that these free stays really require a lot of work on the part of the blogger and it’s really important for you to hold up your part of the bargain and deliver the services that you promised. We have only done two sponsored stays over the course of our 2 year trip, and part of that is because of the amount of work that goes into a stay: hours spent photographing the property, getting a full rundown of available amenities, talking to other guests to get an impression of their (unsponsored) stay, updating your social media feeds with pics from your stay, etc., Normally we look forward to time back at our lodging as a chance to unplug and take a break from travel blogging, but if your stay is sponsored, you’ll likely be on your toes. Given the amount of work we find creating quality lodging reviews require, we won’t stay anywhere that won’t host us at least 3 nights, because otherwise I don’t think it’s personally worth it for us, and we tend to only engage in such partnerships if we feel the lodging actually offers something special and of interest to other travelers. Others might feel different, but this is what works for us!
Hey Steph, great to hear from you. You’re quite right and I definitely should’ve mentioned that! It’s difficult to know when you’re first starting out quite how much work complimentary stays can be, so I might add a passage on that in :)
We didn’t find our stays quite as pressing as yours, which I think is because 2 of the places we stayed had no other guests (very rural eco retreats, so that’s common for that kind of accommodation) and the other place we never even met the owner. We never had staff/owners on our back or asking anything at all – we were given complete freedom. We of course made sure we achieved everything we promised to a high standard, but it was nice to use our time as we chose to.
I’ve also found that setting a date (i.e. 3-4 weeks after the stay) for the work to be completed works well. Any earlier than that and if you’re travelling/working it can really put you under a lot of pressure to come through on time.
Great advice, thanks for sharing and for pointing out the essential I missed!
I’m really glad that you found my Media Kit post helpful, because I’ve actually found this blog post really, really helpful in sorting out some upcoming work stuff, so thank you! x
Hey Rachel – yes, it really helped me when I was putting together my media kit, lots of great tips. Aw, thanks, hope your upcoming work things all go well! :)
That’s a great post, Charlie! I’ve received a pretty lucrative offer myself (surprisingly!) from one place and was wondering how should I better do the whole thing :) Your media kit looks great btw!
That’s awesome, congratulations! And I am not at all surprised ;)
Excellent post including great resources and insight Charlie! This goes into the “future resources bookmarks” as well… ;)
I was equally surprised in the beginning when you mentioned some complimentary stays in those eco-lodges, but it seems to be a wonderful exchange on so many levels. And I once you opened the first door this may lead to another corridor with quite a few more doors and so on…
So yes, well done and keep going!
Thanks! Glad it was helpful, Oliver :)
Yes, I mean they were a lot of work as well. I was really lucky to be offered a stay as it enabled me to see some places I certainly wouldn’t have had access to (budget wise) which were just incredible. But, of course, I worked really hard to come through on everything I promised, as you can imagine, and spent a lot of time writing, photographing, chatting, making notes during my stays.
I can imagine Charlie! Some people may translate it as “free accommodation”, but there’s more to it. As you said, you do put quite some time and effort into knocking up your own “portrait” of those places you visit and stay. As I said, an exchange on so many levels… :)
True, true!
Great article sharing your experience and thanks so much for the mention. The only thing I would be wary of is promising reviews on Tripadvisor or similar sites, since it is against their T & C to post reviews if you have a financial relationship with the hotel and there is so much paranoia about fake reviews. If I’m specifically asked to do it by smaller places, I will sometimes ask my husband to leave a review but I would not under my name. However if I have stayed at my own expense then I would definitely leave a comment on Tripadvisor, and include a link to my blog post and possibly post a few of my photos with my URL in the photo title
Thanks, Heather :) Yes, I know there is a lot of paranoia about fake reviews! But I’m never paid for my travel blogging work and certainly don’t write ‘fake reviews.’ I actually review everywhere I stay and eat whilst travelling, and so always offer to write an honest review for places. Can you leave a link to your blog post in TripAdvisor reviews? I didn’t know that you could!
Loved this post – it’s something I’ve only recently started doing and it’s refreshing seeing how many positive responses I receive back with PR agencies or hotels direct interested in listening to what you have to say. I too was intimidated at the beginning and thought it was only something for the huge, established travel bloggers, but low and behold, it actually works for us not-so-big guys too!
Thanks, Lynda :) Glad to hear that you have also been having positive responses. I would say that mostly I don’t get replies, but have had a good response from about 20%, which is really excellent, though I don’t send out too many.
I think if we think carefully about who might be interested in working with us, it can really work out for us little guys too – you’re right! :)
This is great. I have a new blog, a year old, but like you always thought that you had to be in the top 20 bloggers to get this. Great advice
I thought the same and was super pleased to find out it’s not so! :)
Hi Charlie! Awesome post, I’ve just started applyng to hostels and guesthouses myself to try and get free accommodation; thanks for all the tips! :)
Thanks, Will! That’s great – in what country? I hope that you get some good offers :)
Wow – excellent post! I really like how you’ve laid everything out in a digestible way – this sort of info can be daunting!
Thanks, Emily! I hope it’s useful :)
Fantastic post Charlie! We are just about to embark on our first request for a sponsored stay and I was searching Google for details. Well laid out and precise, great resources too! Thanks for posting!
Great post. We have recently discovered the power of asking! Never know unless you try:)
I couldn’t agree more!
Thanks for this post, I am looking into trying to get complimentary stays and your blog post is helpful.
Thanks, John, glad to hear it was helpful! And good luck with those complimentary stays :)
Really great article. We seem to be doing OK at getting comped tours but only limited success on accommodation. This tips will really help when we try again. Thanks!
Glad to hear that Emily! I’ve only ever had one comp tour, and actually very rarely ask for them because there generally very affordable here in Central America. Eco-lodges on the other hand can be very pricey.. Good luck, by the way! :)
Hi Charlie! Thanks so much for this helpful post! I was wondering when you first email hotels do you say straight out that you would like complimentary stay or do you tell them what you can offer and wait for them to offer you a free stay?
Ash x
http://www.liakadatravel.com
Hi Ash – Nice to hear from you, and glad that the post was helpful. I actually ask straight out. I set out exactly what I would be able to offer them in exchange for the stay (i.e. blog post with link, social media coverage, video etc.) and am very clear about everything including being honest about my opinions.
In most cases where I’ve had a reply, the accommodations are usually happy with my proposal and agree to that exchange. In a few cases the owners have asked for something specific (i.e. an article to focus on a certain aspect of their hotel/lodge). I always say on the original email that I would be happy to discuss opportunities to work together further.
Hope that helps :)
great insight. thank you for sharing great tips Charlie :)
This is great advice! I am planning to backpack and am always looking for alternative places to stay on a low end budget. I just wrote about why airbnb is a great website for linking up with people to crash at their homes around the world! You can check it out at http://www.seeshareinspire.com and if you like it/love it then share it! Thanks for the great blog, I’m following up with a follow now!! :) -Nina Rizzo
These are great tips! I have been travel blogging for a few months and I am scared of approaching hotels , but after I read this post, I think I will give it a go and see how it goes :) Thank you for sharing
Hello Charlie, thanks for the tips. Actuallay, I want to approach an hotel for free. But, my blog is randomize blog. I write about travelling, health, parenting, and life story. What do you think? can a stay in a fab hotel for free by this type of blog?
Hi Liza,
If you feel that you could really add value to your own blog and reach an audience that would benefit a particular hotel, then yes. Complimentary stays are about a mutually beneficial arrangement, not just getting a free place to stay, so you should bare that in mind. Where are you blogging from? Your blog is in a different language, but you do have a strong DA, so there is definitely potential for you to pitch to hotels in your country.
Good luck!
Hi Charlie,
Thank you for such a great post! I was wondering where to start and this gives me a lot of confidence to reach out to hotels for my next trip. Hope it works!
Aarshi J
http://www.trailsunraveled.com/blog/2015/09/04/backpacking-through-rajasthan-udaipur/
Great post!
I’m just learning about the travel world and I’m going to start blogging myself. I’m centered in the Middle East and it looks like a lot of outdated information out there, so I’m going to update and explore. Thank you for the great tips!
Dee
Hey Dee – Glad that you post was useful! Let me know if you find any other great resources :D
Hi Charlie,
I just found this blog post and I think you can really tell you are experienced here! I noticed myself you should keep changing the emails you send out to see what works better, worse and so on. Also, make it for the accommodation as simple as possible to understand what you want.
This is always super helpful and once you do this, it will increase all your “conversion” it terms of replies at least.
Another thing you were totally right: Choose an accommodation that fits with your brand! Very, very important to remember :)
Thanks for that Charlie, will browse now through the other articles as well e.g. scoring free nights at Hotels!
Matt
Thanks for this! Really useful. I was nervous about how to pitch this to them without it sounding like “give me free stuff” haha
Great post! That’s very useful. It is the exact information I was looking for! Thanks a lot for sharing xoxo
http://www.myinfinitystyle.com/
Great post! Going to have to give this a try.
Great post!!! Just did it and got a room :)
Glad it worked for you, Cicely! Hope that the stay/reviewing goes well :)
It goes to show that if you write a good post that answers a question that a lot of people have then it will stay popular for a long time.
Thank you for this information Charlie, I am now at the point you were when you first wrote this post and am about to send off my first requests. It was great to read the ideas you present and so much more useful than others I found which basically say “copy this email template and hotels will be fighting over you to get you to stay”.
Not very likely but now I have a much better idea of how to approach them. Thanks again.
Thank you so much for this guide: was totally looking for something like this when I stumbled on your article! :)
Thank you Charlie! This is great! I am also just finding the nerve to approach hotels and was looking for some guides. Glad I stumbled upon your site. @globetrottingfilipina.com
Thanks Charlie, I am just starting out as a spa reviewer and although it is different than hotel stays, I found this article helpful. It’s tough at the start, when you are just building up social media, but I think politeness with a sprinkle of confidence helps when approaching businesses. Nice article.
A very detailed and helpful post. Thanks for sharing, Charlie!