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How to Tell Whether a Travel Recommendation Was Paid For

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A free night, a hosted dinner, a commission on every booking: none of these makes a recommendation false.

They do change how much weight it can carry, and the law in both the United States and the European Union treats that change as something the reader is owed. Knowing what the rules require tells you where to look on the page.

What the rules say

In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255, revised on 26 July 2023) say that when a connection between the person recommending and the business "might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement", and the audience would not expect it, it "must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously" (§255.5).

The same section spells out what counts. Money, obviously. But also "the provision of free or discounted products", a business, family or personal relationship, and benefits like early access or the chance of being paid. A hosted stay is a free product. So is a comped tasting menu.

In the European Union, the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (2005/29/EC, as amended in 2019) lists practices that are unfair in all circumstances.

Among them: paid editorial content that does not make the payment clear (Annex I, point 11), search results that hide paid placement or payment for a higher ranking (point 11a), and false or misrepresented consumer reviews (points 23b and 23c).

A site that shows reviews must also say whether and how it checks that they come from real customers (Article 7(6)).

Five places to look

These follow directly from what the rules require, so they are where a careful writer puts the information and where a careless one leaves a gap.

1. Near the recommendation, not only in the footer

The FTC standard is "clearly and conspicuously". A disclosure that lives only on a separate page, or below the fold at the end of a long article, is easy to miss.

Look for it next to the place being praised: "I was hosted by", "this stay was provided free", "we earn a commission if you book".

2. The way the list is ordered

The FTC gives the example of a review site whose rankings are set by payments from manufacturers; a general disclosure is not enough when the payments "actually determine" the order.

The EU rule on search results says the same about paid ranking. So ask how the list was sorted. A site that tells you, and says whether money moves anything up, has told you something useful.

3. The links

A booking link that pays the writer a commission is a material connection under the FTC's own example of an affiliate blog. It does not make the advice worse.

It is a reason to check whether the places recommended happen to be the ones with a bookable link, and whether anything good but unbookable made it in.

4. The reviews and how they are checked

Under Article 7(6) of the EU directive, a site that publishes reviews must say whether and how it makes sure they come from people who used the service. If there is no such statement, you cannot know. If there is one, it tells you how much the star count is worth.

5. What the writer says they paid for themselves

The mirror image of a disclosure is a statement of independence: "we pay for our own stays", "no business can pay to be included". It carries weight when it is specific and when the rest of the page is consistent with it, for instance when it also includes places that sell nothing.

A short test to run on any page

Read the recommendation and answer three questions in writing.

  • Who went, and did they say how the visit was paid for?
  • How was the list ordered, and could money move a place up it?
  • If you clicked the main link and booked, would anyone be paid?

If you can answer all three from the page, the writer has done what the rules ask and given you what you need. If you cannot answer any, the recommendation may still be good, but you are taking it on trust.

Where this leaves the reader

None of this is about suspicion. Plenty of the best travel writing is hosted, and the best writers say so in the first paragraph. The rules exist so that you can weigh a recommendation with the same information the writer had. The pages worth following are the ones that make that easy.

Sources

Questions

Do travel writers have to disclose free stays? In the United States, yes, when the audience would not expect the connection: the FTC Endorsement Guides name "free or discounted products" as a material connection that must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously (16 CFR §255.5).

Is a commission on bookings a paid recommendation? It is a material connection that should be disclosed, according to the FTC's own example of an affiliate blog. It does not mean the advice is wrong.

What does EU law say about paid rankings in travel search results? The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive treats search results that do not clearly disclose paid advertising or payment for a higher ranking as unfair in all circumstances (Annex I, point 11a).