👋 Hey !

As the Talewind launch approaches, the pace of AI innovation is only accelerating.

There’s a seemingly endless stream of new startups, and new tools and pilots being launched by industry incumbents. Less than two weeks ago Kayak entered the fray, launching it’s new AI booking tool.

This pace of change presents some challenges, but it also opens up some incredible new opportunities. Our goal is to make sure AI works for you, helping you build sophisticated booking businesses which previously required large teams to manage.

Enjoy the newsletter, and keep your eyes open for more info on the coming launch!

Matt Stevens

Talewind Co-Founder & CEO

In today’s newsletter

1. Product Updates: Sharing Your Talewind Profile

2. How to Sell Travel: How do I make money from bookings?

3. In the News: Top stories for travel creators

4. Events: What’s on your calendar?

5. Fun Stuff: This week’s quote, and your trivia answer

🤔 Trivia Question

Which passport offers the most visa-free travel as of April 2025?

_{(read on to find out…)}

How do I make money from bookings?

Selling travel can be confusing. 🤔 

Most creators start by joining affiliate programs, like Viator for Experiences, or Booking.com for Stays.

This is the easiest way to sell travel, and you typically earn a fixed commission on each booking. Viator, for example, pays 8% on all bookings.

More established travel agents, however, don’t earn commissions from affiliate programs. Instead, they plug directly into B2B and wholesale suppliers, and build direct connections with boutique and local suppliers.

This generates much higher margins, but also requires a full-service platform with features like payment processing and customer support.

We’re building this infrastructure into the Talewind platform, so you can sell like the pros. At first, you’ll earn 8% on all Experience bookings, like an affiliate program. But as we grow, we’ll add more supply, and you’ll earn higher margins, upwards of 20% on some products!

We need your help to get there.

To get those margins, we need to drive volume, and that’s where you can help by sharing your Talewind profile!

How to optimize websites for AI

The Story:

The travel industry must shift from traditional SEO to optimizing web content for AI systems, which now play a major role in how travelers discover information online.

The Details:

• AI systems process content differently: Unlike Google, large language models (LLMs) don’t render JavaScript, ignore structured data like schema, and may not attribute content to specific domains, making traditional SEO methods less effective.

• New content strategies are needed: AI prefers conversational, Q&A-style content; frequent brand mentions and simplified internal linking improve visibility in AI responses.

• Text mentions over backlinks: Since AI ingests raw text rather than link structures, brand visibility in responses may rely more on textual mentions than on backlinks or domain authority.

Why It Matters:

Many of you have great blogs, in addition to a strong social presence. As traditional SEO becomes unpredictable, building AI-friendly versions of travel websites and blogs will become critical. Talewind is AI-native, and will be optimized for AI-discovery in addition to traditional search from Day 1.

Read the full article on PhocusWire

TikTok takes on Google Maps

The Story:

TikTok is testing a new feature that adds user-generated reviews for tagged locations directly within the comments section of videos, furthering its push into search and discovery.

The Details:

• In-app reviews appear in comments tab: Users can view star ratings, written reviews, and photos for tagged locations via a new “Reviews” tab without leaving the app.

• Feature enhances search functionality: It reduces the need to use Google for place-related queries, positioning TikTok as a stronger competitor in search.

• Limited rollout so far: The reviews tab is only visible on select videos, and TikTok has not confirmed wider availability.

Why It Matters:

This is one of our core beliefs: Creators miss out on attribution when followers leave social platforms to search for additional place info. It’s great to see this idea validated by TikTok, but reviews are just one small piece of the info we’ll aggregate in Talewind to help creators increase engagement and attribution.

Read the full article on TechCrunch

Korean skincare brand uses creator deepfakes

The Story:

Creators Rich Roll and Arielle Lorre were deepfaked in an unauthorized AI-generated skincare ad, highlighting growing concerns over digital identity misuse.

The Details:

• Unauthorized AI use: Korean skincare brand Skaind used AI to create a fake ad featuring Roll and Lorre without their consent, simulating a conversation between them.

• Challenges in response: Roll was blocked from engaging with the brand and initially dismissed the incident, but later took action after Lorre raised awareness.

• Legal and digital protection needed: Roll emphasized the need for creators to have responsive legal support and work with digital security agencies to protect their identity.

Why It Matters:

As AI gets more advanced, the risk of deepfakes and IP infringement becomes more pronounced. Industry leaders like YouTube are taking action, supporting the NO FAKES Act which aims to ban unauthorized digital replicas. As a creator-centric business, Talewind will always ensure creators have control over their content.

Read the full article on The Publish Press

*I’ll be there! Send me an email at [email protected] if you want to meet up.

Missing an event? Let us know and we’ll add it to the list.

📣 Quote of the Week

🙋‍♂️ Trivia Answer

Which passport offers the most visa-free travel as of April 2025?

Singapore!

The Singapore passport offers visa-free access to 193 destinations, ahead of Japan and South Korea, which are tied for 2nd place with 190 destinations.

This is according to Henley & Partners’ Global Passport Ranking, which is updated monthly using official data from the International Air Transport Authority (IATA).