Advertising and Affiliate Disclosure
Visit Seattle City earns affiliate commissions when you book through our links, at zero additional cost to you. This page explains exactly how that works — the mechanics, who we partner with, and how editorial recommendations stay independent from revenue.
Why This Page Exists
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission requires websites to disclose when they earn compensation from the products or services they recommend. We follow applicable advertising and endorsement disclosure requirements, including FTC guidance under 16 C.F.R. Part 255 regarding affiliate relationships.
We also believe a disclosure page should actually explain something — not just state that affiliate links exist. This page explains the mechanics clearly, names our partners, describes what earns a commission and what does not, and documents the editorial firewall that keeps recommendations independent from revenue.
How Affiliate Commissions Work
Visit Seattle City earns affiliate commissions primarily through the Booking.com Partner Program. When you click a hotel link on this site and book that hotel on Booking.com, we receive a percentage of the completed booking value. The commission comes from Booking.com, not from you. Your total price is identical whether you arrive at Booking.com through our link or directly.
We never receive payment from hotels in exchange for recommendations or placement. We may also earn commissions through affiliate partnerships with other travel services, including tour booking platforms and travel insurance providers. When those relationships exist, they operate under the same principles described here.
What Earns a Commission
Commission is earned when a reader clicks an affiliate link on this site and completes a qualifying booking. The standard qualifying action is a completed hotel reservation that results in a confirmed stay.
We earn nothing from a click alone. We earn nothing if you browse Booking.com through our link and leave without booking. A commission is generated only by a completed transaction.
Affiliate disclosures are provided in accordance with this disclosure page and appear where appropriate throughout the site.
The Editorial Firewall
Affiliate commission rates do not determine which hotels appear in our recommendations, how hotels are ranked, or how editorial coverage is framed. This is the part that matters most.
- Hotels are selected based on editorial criteria: guest review quality, location relevance, traveler-type fit, and booking platform availability.
- A hotel with a higher commission rate receives no more favorable editorial treatment than a comparable hotel at a lower rate.
- Commission potential is never a factor in whether a hotel is recommended or excluded.
- We do not accept payment from hotels, hotel groups, or tourism boards in exchange for coverage, placement, or a specific rating.
- We do not publish sponsored hotel content represented as editorial.
- Revenue reports and affiliate performance data are reviewed separately from editorial decisions whenever practical.
The credibility of this publication depends on recommendations readers can trust. An affiliate commission from a bad recommendation is worth less than the trust lost from making it.
AI Tools and Editorial Independence
Artificial intelligence tools — including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini — assist with research organization, data synthesis, and draft structure in our editorial workflow. Human editors review, verify, and approve all published content before publication.
Affiliate commissions do not influence the conclusions, recommendations, rankings, or final editorial decisions published on this site. AI tools are used to improve research quality, not to optimize for commission outcomes.
Affiliate Link Maintenance
We periodically review affiliate links and update them when we discover broken, outdated, or redirected links. When a hotel we cover closes or significantly changes, we update both the article content and the affiliate link together. A broken link and a stale recommendation are the same editorial failure.
What This Site Does Not Do
We list these explicitly because readers deserve to know the full picture.
- We do not receive free hotel stays in exchange for editorial coverage.
- We do not accept gifted experiences from tourism boards in exchange for coverage.
- We do not have paid partnerships with any hotel brand or chain that influences our editorial recommendations.
- We do not write sponsored content disguised as editorial content.
- We do not adjust editorial tone based on affiliate commission rates.
If that ever changes for any specific article, it will be disclosed clearly in that article.
Our Relationship with Booking.com
Booking.com is the primary affiliate platform used by Visit Seattle City. We attempt to verify that recommended hotels are active and bookable on Booking.com at the time content is reviewed or updated. Hotel status can change without notice, and listings should always be confirmed directly on the booking platform before purchase.
Booking.com does not review, approve, or influence any editorial content on this site before or after publication.
A Note on Prices
Hotel rates change constantly. Prices referenced in our articles reflect research conducted at or around time of publication. Live availability and current pricing appear on the Booking.com listing page. Always confirm the final price, including taxes, fees, and deposit requirements, on the booking page before completing a purchase.
Display Advertising
Visit Seattle City does not currently run display advertising from ad networks. If that changes, this page will be updated to reflect it, and any advertising that appears on the site will be clearly labeled and will not influence editorial content.
Have a question about a specific recommendation?
We will explain the editorial reasoning behind any specific recommendation you ask about.
Disclosure last reviewed: July 2026. Next review: Oct 2026. Maintained in compliance with FTC guidelines under 16 C.F.R. Part 255.