A DMO promotes a product it has no direct control over. Every hotel, attraction, restaurant and experience operator inside the destination runs as a separate commercial enterprise pursuing its own goals. That leaves the DMO with a difficult task: pulling these varied interests together into a single, compelling destination story, and doing so through partnerships that genuinely reward both sides.
The strongest partnership models work because they trade fairly. Businesses put in money, content or capacity, and in return the DMO supplies marketing reach, training, data and brand strength that no single operator could generate by itself.
Structuring Partnership Tiers
A Three-Level Approach
| Tier | Contribution | DMO Benefits Provided |
|---|---|---|
| Basic (All businesses) | No fee; participation in destination marketing | Listing on DMO website, inclusion in general marketing, access to visitor data, basic training access |
| Enhanced (Contributing partners) | Annual fee (£500-£5,000 based on business size) | Featured listings, inclusion in campaigns, trade training mentions, access to content assets, quarterly performance reports |
| Premium (Strategic partners) | Higher annual fee (£5,000-£25,000+) or significant in-kind contribution | Co-branded campaigns, priority PR inclusion, trade programme featured partner, exclusive event access, dedicated account management |
Pricing the Tiers
Fees work best when they reflect both the value a partner receives and what the business can realistically afford:
| Business Type | Basic | Enhanced | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small B&B (1-5 rooms) | Free | £500-£1,000 | N/A (typically) |
| Boutique hotel (6-30 rooms) | Free | £1,000-£2,500 | £5,000-£8,000 |
| Large hotel (30+ rooms) | Free | £2,500-£5,000 | £8,000-£15,000 |
| Small attraction | Free | £500-£1,500 | £3,000-£5,000 |
| Major attraction | Free | £2,000-£5,000 | £10,000-£25,000 |
| Restaurant | Free | £300-£800 | N/A (typically) |
| Activity provider | Free | £500-£1,500 | £3,000-£5,000 |
| Tour operator (local) | Free | £1,000-£3,000 | £5,000-£10,000 |
Building a Balanced Value Exchange
What the DMO Brings to the Table
Marketing exposure:
- DMO website listings with link to partner website
- Social media features (frequency based on tier)
- Email newsletter inclusion (frequency based on tier)
- PR opportunities (media visits, press releases)
- Campaign inclusion (seasonal, thematic)
- Content creation featuring partner products
Trade engagement:
- Inclusion in agent training programmes
- Featured in FAM trip itineraries
- Listed in trade selling guides
- Access to trade enquiry referrals
- Partner programme branding
Data and insight:
- Visitor research data and market intelligence
- Performance analytics relevant to their sector
- Competitive benchmarking data
- Trend reports and market forecasts
Training and development:
- AI-powered training for partner staff on destination knowledge
- Selling skills development for partner sales teams
- Hospitality standards training access
- Assessment and certification programmes
What Partners Contribute in Return
Financial contribution:
- Partnership fees (annual)
- Campaign co-funding
- Event sponsorship
Content and assets:
- Photography and video content for DMO use
- Product information for DMO marketing
- Guest stories and testimonials
- Social media content sharing
Capacity:
- FAM trip accommodation and activities
- Media hosting
- Event venue provision
- Trade rate access for agent training incentives
Data:
- Occupancy and booking data for DMO analytics
- Guest demographics and behaviour
- Event attendance data
- Customer feedback
Approaches to Co-Marketing
Shared Campaigns
Here the DMO and a partner pool the costs of a particular campaign and each take a share of the upside:
Example: "Winter Getaways" campaign
- DMO provides: Campaign creative, social media promotion, PR, trade training on winter programme
- Partner provides: Special winter packages, campaign co-funding (30-50%), content
- Shared: Campaign results, booking attribution, learnings
Revenue split: Not applicable — each party benefits through their own bookings/metrics Cost split: Typically 50-70% DMO / 30-50% partner (DMO brings infrastructure and reach; partner brings product)
Content Collaboration
In this model the DMO produces destination content that puts partner products in the spotlight:
- Blog articles featuring partner restaurants, hotels, or experiences
- Social media content showcasing partner offerings
- Video content produced at partner venues
- Trade training modules including partner product knowledge
Value exchange: Partner gets exposure; DMO gets content assets and authentic destination stories.
Referral Arrangements
Visitors on the DMO site who are ready to book get directed straight to partner websites:
- "Book accommodation" links to partner booking sites
- "Book activities" links to experience providers
- "Find a restaurant" links to partner listings
- Trackable referral links enable measurement
Measurement: Track referral traffic volume, bounce rate from referral, and booking conversion (where partner shares data).
Partnerships Powered by Technology
Using the AI Training Platform to Strengthen Partnerships
AI-powered training delivers value to the DMO and its partners alike:
For the DMO:
- Scale trade engagement across thousands of agents
- Include partner products in training (featured accommodation, experiences)
- Track training impact on partner bookings
- Demonstrate measurable value to partners
For partners:
- Their products featured in agent training reaching thousands
- Better-informed agents selling their products more effectively
- Performance data showing training-to-booking correlation
- Access to roleplay scenarios featuring their specific products
Partnership integration: For premium partners, their products are written directly into AI training modules — agents study what makes the partner hotel distinctive, rehearse recommending it through roleplay, and have their grasp of product knowledge, partner offerings included, assessed.
Judging Whether Partnerships Are Working
| Metric | What It Shows | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Partner retention rate | Are partners finding value? | >80% renewal |
| Revenue from partnerships | Financial contribution | Growth year-on-year |
| Partner satisfaction score | Quality of relationship | >4/5 |
| Referral traffic to partners | Marketing value delivered | Growth quarter-on-quarter |
| Campaign co-funding attracted | Partnership leverage | Matching or exceeding DMO contribution |
| Content assets from partners | Content value received | Sufficient for marketing needs |
| Trade training partner features | Trade channel value | All premium partners included |
| Data quality from partners | Intelligence value | Sufficient for analytics |
Fold partnership value into your stakeholder communications, showing that the DMO's reach and influence stretch well past its own budget thanks to partnerships that work hard.
Build your partnership programme with TravAI →
This article is part of our DMO Marketing series. Related reading:
- DMO Stakeholder Management: Reporting Marketing Impact
- DMO Trade Partner Training: Getting Agents to Sell Your Destination
- DMO Marketing: The Complete Guide to Destination Promotion
