Answers · Getting found by travellers
How do I get my place into the trips travellers plan?
Short answer
Travellers plan a route, not a single bed, so the surest way into their plans is to be a stop on a route they are reading. In Airflow you can write your own trip itinerary: a title, a summary of what the trip is and who it suits, and the route, where each location has a place name, a country, a number of nights, a reason to stop there and a pin on the map. At the location where your own listing is, you choose that listing. You press Check and publish, the itinerary is checked, and once it is clear it joins the trip ideas in the trip library on Airflow Stay, credited to your place by its listing name. A traveller can start their own plan from it. Airflow Stay is launching soon and is not open for bookings yet, so this puts your place inside a trip people can plan from; it is not a promise of bookings.
The host itineraries feature page: each step of writing one, and what the traveller sees →
Why a small place is missing from the plan
A small place is hard to find on its own. Somebody planning a longer trip is not searching for your village. They are working out where to go first, how many nights each stop needs and what comes next, and a place only matters to them once it is part of that route.
You already know the route, better than any website does. You know where guests should go before they reach you and after they leave, and how long each stop deserves. That knowledge lives in emails to one guest at a time, where it helps nobody who is still deciding.
How to do it with Airflow
- 1
Open My itineraries
In your Airflow account, the menu section Guest travel planning holds My itineraries, next to links to Airflow Stay and Airflow Guest.
- 2
Write the title and summary
The editor is drawn like the finished trip, and every piece of text on it is the field you type in. At the top is a large picture with your title on it, the kind of trip, and a summary of what the trip is and who it suits.
- 3
Add the route, location by location
The route is numbered down the page. Each location has a place name, a country, a number of nights and your reason to stop there. An itinerary can have up to 12 locations.
- 4
Place the pin for each location
Every location has its own map. Press "Place the pin" and drop a pin where the stop is. A Find box jumps the map to a named place and the pin can be dragged, so any place in the world can go on the route map.
- 5
Put your own place on it
An itinerary must include one of your own places. At its location, choose the listing under "Where to stay here" and see it as a card marked "Shown first". Tick which of its optional extras to show with the stop, at the price on the listing.
- 6
Check and publish
Press Check and publish. Every itinerary is checked before anyone else sees it: that it is a real route a traveller could follow, has no contact details or links, and makes no claims that cannot be true. The check takes a few seconds and is free, and most itineraries are live as soon as it finishes.
What each state of an itinerary means
Your account shows one of four states on every itinerary.
| Draft | You are still writing it. Nobody else can see it. |
|---|---|
| Being checked by Airflow | It needs a closer look before it is shown. |
| Live on Airflow Stay | It is in the trip library, with a "View on Airflow Stay" link on its card. |
| Withdrawn | You have taken it down. You can do this at any time. |
A change to a live itinerary is checked when you save it and usually stays live. You are emailed when an itinerary goes live.
What you need before you can publish
A title, a summary of a few sentences, at least two locations each with a country and a reason, at least two nights in total, and your own place at one location. Each place gets a picture from Airflow's library of licensed destination photographs when one exists. You can use your own pictures instead, for the top of the page and for each location, chosen from or uploaded to your media library.
Where your itinerary appears
A live itinerary joins the trip ideas in the trip library on Airflow Stay, which are already published. It is credited to your place by its listing name. In your account each itinerary is a card showing its picture, state, length, country and locations, with a "View on Airflow Stay" link when it is live.
How your own place is shown on it
On your itinerary, your listing will be shown first among the places to stay at its location. This is automatic, with one condition: the listing must itself be published on Airflow Stay. Until then the itinerary can be live without your place showing on it. Airflow Stay is launching soon; list now so that your place is included when it launches.
What a traveller gets from it
A route written by someone who lives there, with a reason and a number of nights for every stop, instead of a blank page. A traveller reading a trip idea can start their own plan from it: the locations are laid into their plan on Airflow Guest as a starting route they can change. Your account shows how many travellers have started a plan from each of your itineraries.
Which plans include it
Adding or changing itineraries is part of every paid plan, and the number you can keep grows with the plan. On the Free plan you can see how it works with an example; itineraries you already have stay, and you can withdraw or delete them. Current plans are on the pricing page.
Other ways to do this
Airflow is one option. These are the others, and when each is the better choice.
- List on the large booking platforms
- Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo reach travellers who are searching for a bed in a place they have already chosen. They bring reach and a commission, and they show your place as one result among many, not as part of a route.
- Write a guide on your own website
- A page describing the route you recommend is yours to keep and can be found by people searching for the area. It takes time to write and to be found, and it reaches people who are already on your site or searching for something close to it.
- Work with a local tour operator or travel agent
- Operators and agents build whole trips and choose where their clients sleep. A good relationship with one can bring guests, usually for a commission, and on their terms and their routes, not yours.
- Keep sending the route to guests yourself
- An email to a guest who asks what else to see costs nothing and is often the best advice they receive. It only reaches people who have already found you.
What Airflow does not do
- Airflow does not promise bookings, enquiries or traffic from an itinerary.
- Airflow Stay has not launched for bookings yet. Trip ideas are published; travellers cannot book a place there today.
- An itinerary is not shown until it has been checked, and one that needs a closer look waits for a person at Airflow.
- An itinerary cannot carry contact details or links.
- On the Free plan you cannot add or change an itinerary. Itineraries you already have stay, and you can withdraw or delete them.
- Your place shows on your itinerary only once its listing is itself published on Airflow Stay.
- An itinerary must include one of your own places and can have up to 12 locations. The number of itineraries you can keep depends on your plan.
- Airflow does not change your route. It may tidy the wording.
Common questions
Where do I write an itinerary in Airflow?
In your Airflow account, under the menu section Guest travel planning, open My itineraries. Host itineraries, step by step →
What is checked before an itinerary goes live?
Three things: that it is a real route a traveller could follow, that it has no contact details or links, and that it makes no claims that cannot be true. The check takes a few seconds and is free. Most itineraries are live as soon as it finishes; one that needs a closer look is read by a person at Airflow first.
Will Airflow change what I write?
Airflow does not change your route. It may tidy the wording. If a person turns an itinerary down, you are emailed the reason.
Can I include a place that is not on any map I know?
Yes. You place the pin yourself on the map for each location, and can drag it, so any place in the world can go on the route.
Does my place have to be on Airflow Stay first?
No. The itinerary can go live without it. Your listing will be shown first among the places to stay at its location once the listing is itself published on Airflow Stay. Airflow Stay for hosts →
Can travellers book my place from the itinerary today?
Not yet. Airflow Stay is launching soon and is not open for bookings. Trip ideas are already published, and booking will open when Stay launches. Airflow Stay for hosts →
What can a traveller do with my itinerary?
Read it on Airflow Stay and start their own plan from it. The locations are laid into their plan on Airflow Guest as a starting route they can change. Airflow Guest, the traveller's side →
How do I know if anyone has used it?
The card for each itinerary in My itineraries shows how many travellers have started a plan from it.
Can I take an itinerary down?
Yes. You can withdraw an itinerary at any time, on any plan.
Which plan do I need?
Adding or changing itineraries is part of every paid plan, and the number you can keep grows with the plan. On the Free plan you can see how it works, and withdraw or delete the ones you have. Plans and pricing →
Whose name is on the itinerary?
Your place's: the itinerary is credited to your place by its listing name.
Try it on your own bookings
Forward a few booking emails and look at what Airflow builds from them. A card is needed at sign-up.
Start with Airflow See plans and pricing