In this lesson
A clear review and referral process that protects trust and measures useful introductions.
A recommendation carries a different kind of credibility from an advert. It comes from someone who has experienced your service. You earn that recommendation through the holiday planning and support you provide; a referral scheme cannot repair poor service.
Keep three activities distinct: asking for an honest review, recognising a customer introduction, and encouraging a repeat booking. Each has a different purpose. A reward for an introduction must never become payment for a positive review. Rewards and staff time also cost money, even though the resulting traffic is usually described as referral traffic.
Before you start
Who this suits
Travel businesses with satisfied customers, repeat booking opportunities and reliable follow-up.
Have these ready
- A consistent customer service process
- A website page explaining any referral arrangement
- A way to record referral sources
- Permission for any testimonial you publish
Keep the three routes separate
Each route builds trust in a different way.
- 01Good serviceThe foundation for every recommendation
- 02Honest reviewIndependent feedback without a reward
- 03Customer introductionA new traveller chooses to contact you
- 04Repeat visitUseful help for the customer’s next trip
What this looks like in practice
Read the example, then use the numbered notes to see why each part is there.
A passive customer introduction page
Illustrative page for a fictional non-reward introduction arrangement; no forwarding tool or invitation is included.
Customer introductions
1Your introduction reference: EXAMPLE-247
If a new customer chooses to give us this reference when enquiring, we can record the introduction. We will speak directly with them about their own travel plans.
A new traveller can enter it in the enquiry form if they wish. It is not required to ask for help.
We do not share another traveller's enquiry or booking information with the person who introduced them.
This introduction reference records how someone heard about us. It does not create a discount or reward.
- 1Show the reference plainly
The page supplies a code without instructing customers to send marketing to friends.
- 2Explain the arrangement
The example makes privacy and the absence of a reward clear, avoiding invented commercial terms.
- 3Information, not forwarding
The action explains the scheme. There is no prewritten email, send-to-a-friend button or request for someone else's contact details.
Maldives photograph by Arif Rasheed / Unsplash. Photograph is illustrative, not a specific advertised trip.
Your step-by-step guide
Choose the moment that makes sense
Map the customer's experience from enquiry to return. A request for feedback should follow a meaningful experience of your service, not arrive while a complaint is unresolved or before the promised work has happened. Make it easy to raise a problem privately, but do not restrict public review invitations to customers who first say they are happy. Ask fairly for honest feedback and use the answers to improve the service.
Keep reviews independent
Use the review platform's own permitted request process and check its policy. Google prohibits incentivised reviews and selective solicitation of positive feedback. Do not offer a discount, prize entry or upgrade for a review, and do not ask someone to change a negative review in return for a benefit. When quoting a review on your website, reproduce it accurately and obtain any permission needed for the text, name or photograph.
Design an introduction people can initiate
Create a clear page explaining any referral arrangement and let a new traveller contact you themselves. Do not collect friends' email addresses from customers and send them offers. The ICO warns that actively encouraging people to forward your marketing by email or text can make you responsible for those messages. Avoid pre-written forward-to-a-friend emails or automated referral invitations. A passive code page is a more appropriate starting design, subject to your own compliance review.
Write straightforward referral terms
If you offer a benefit, state who qualifies, what counts as a new customer, when it is earned, any exclusions and what happens if a booking is cancelled. Price the benefit against the margin you actually retain, not the customer's holiday value. Make significant restrictions easy to find before someone takes part. Keep the scheme simple enough for staff to explain consistently and honour without manual guesswork.
Give returning customers something useful
Create a useful reason to revisit your site: a new destination guide, a planning checklist or a relevant holiday collection. Use an appropriate, lawfully permitted contact channel if you promote it directly. Do not assume every previous customer wants the same trip again. Record preferences they choose to share and ask a sensible question about their next plans. The best repeat-booking prompt often begins with remembered service, rather than a blanket discount.
Record sources and resolve issues
Add an optional 'How did you hear about us?' field or ask naturally during the enquiry. Record a referral code where the new customer chooses to supply one. Track whether introductions produce suitable enquiries and completed bookings, then deduct rewards and handling costs when assessing value. Check for duplicate or abusive claims. Thank customers appropriately without disclosing another traveller's private booking information.
A referral page without unwanted messages
Illustrative design; any reward and terms must be approved for the actual business before use.
A customer can view a referral code in their account or request one from the agency. The page explains that a new customer may enter the code when making an enquiry. It does not tell the customer to send emails, texts or social direct messages, and it does not provide a forwarding tool. The new traveller makes their own decision to contact the business and receives separate information about any future marketing choice.
Your customer introduction code: [CODE]. If a new customer chooses to give us this code when enquiring, we can record the introduction. Any referral benefit is subject to the eligibility, booking and cancellation terms shown here: [terms link].
Thank you for booking with [Agency]. If you would like to describe your experience of our service, you can leave an honest review here: [review link]. We value feedback of every kind.
Your action checklist
Ticked items are saved in this browser. Download your checklist to keep a separate copy.
Avoid these common mistakes
- Combining referral rewards with review rewards: keep them separate.
- Asking only happy customers for public reviews: invite honest feedback fairly.
- Giving a friend’s details to the agency: let the friend choose to contact you.
- Judging value by booking revenue alone: deduct reward and servicing costs.
Measure what matters
New enquiries by recommendation
Record the source the traveller gives you.
Referral-to-booking rate
Review whether introductions become suitable, completed sales.
Contribution after rewards
Compare retained booking margin with rewards and handling costs.
Repeat enquiries
Track whether previous customers return with new travel plans.
Sources and updates
Reviewed 20 October 2026. These official resources support the platform and policy guidance in this lesson. Worked examples illustrate the method; they are not promises of results.