Strategic Partnerships Team Overview
Last updated: July 1, 2025
Strategic Partnerships & Affiliates drives client growth by building and managing affiliate relationships that generate bookings through the FareHarbor Distribution Network (FHDN), API integrations, and direct partnerships with local, regional, and global affiliates. The team unlocks new revenue through channel expansion and partner demand, with the ultimate goal of growing the pie for everyone.
Strategic Partnerships Team Roles:
- Strategic Partnerships Managers – Focus on “growing the pie” through relationship building and growth of top partners.
- Strategic Partnerships Manager – API Connectivity – Develop deeper & stronger relationships with top global & regional External API partners
- Strategic Partnerships Operations – Enable the team by removing blockers, creating efficiencies and facilitating data driven decisions & insights.
You can watch a recording of the Strategic Partnerships Knowledge Session here.
Strategic Partnerships Slack Channel
Join the #strategicpartners-affiliates Slack channel and use one of the bookmarked workflows.
Strategic Partnerships Inquiry Form
To suggest potential API or FHDN partnerships, please submit the Strategic Partnerships Inquiry Form using this link.
Strategic Partnerships Responsibilities
Strategic Partnerships Manager – API Connectivity
The team handles the communication, relationship, and integration with potential and existing API partners (i.e.Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), Channel Managers) that help our clients grow and enhance their business. Expanding on the API connections, the team also manages FHDN API, a way for our clients to maximize their reach and make their items available to be sold by a growing selection of local travel platforms and industry-leading OTAs around the world, without having to make their own contracts. Day to day responsibilities include:
- Pursue new API opportunities globally.
- Point of contact for FareHarbor’s existing and potential API partners.
- Work with other FareHarbor teams like Sales, Account Management, Channel Specialists, and Connectivity team to help leverage API integration opportunities.
- Provide technical assistance to anyone connecting to our API for distribution purposes.
Please note: Tickets pertaining to new API Partners and non technical tickets pertaining to existing API Partners can be assigned as Open to Strategic Partnerships. Technical tickets pertaining to existing API Partners can be assigned as Open to API Connectivity, and will be handled by the Connectivity Team.
Strategic Partnerships Managers
The team supports the FHDN Referral Links side of the program, by adding clients and affiliates to the network in an effort to help our clients get more bookings through additional channels they wouldn’t find on their own.
- Manage partner inquiries in Zendesk and pursue new partners opportunities.
- Point of contact for FareHarbor’s existing and potential FHDN partners.
- Grow, leverage, and promote the FareHarbor Distribution Network to existing clients and new distribution partners.
- Work with clients and affiliates to integrate FHDN book buttons on their existing sites, or offer a free or paid FH site depending on the qualifications listed here.
- Handle payouts and invoices for participants on the FHDN.
- Responsible for the development and growth of FareHarbor’s FareHarbor Activity Sites (FAS).
Please note: Zendesk tickets pertaining to FHDN can be assigned as Open to Strategic Partnerships.
Strategic Partnerships on Compass
FareHarbor clients can find more information about how to join the FHDN or learn more about our existing API partners on Compass. These are also great resources for FH Teams to consult and share with their clients.
- API Connections page allows our clients to tap into existing API connections with major online travel agencies (OTAs) and prominent resellers around the world to reach more customers and fill excess capacity with ease. This page shows both API partners part of the FHDN API program and those that are not but instead are having individual contracts with our clients. The page is a great resource for the Sales and Account Management teams to learn more about our existing API partners.
- The FareHarbor Distribution Network (FHDN) page explains the advantages of joining the FHDN to both clients and affiliates. Clients and affiliates can opt-in to the FHDN through that page.
Strategic Partnerships Quarterly Newsletter
Every three months, our team sends a newsletter to other FareHarbor teams across all regions (i.e. APAC, EMEA, AMER). The goal is to inform other FH teams about our team’s projects, initiatives, highlights and partner updates.
If you would like to suggest an idea, submit a topic to be featured in the next newsletter, please let us know by filling out this form.
Strategic Partnerships Lead Generation
What are Distribution Leads?
The Strategic Partnerships Team works with distribution partners through the FareHarbor API or the FareHarbor Distribution Network (online affiliate program). Distribution partners are companies that sell other companies’ tours, activities, and experiences online (e.g. OTAs, destination-specific sites, travel guides, blogs, hotels, concierge).
A company that does NOT distribute/sell tourism products online is a non-distribution partner. These are third-party software that helps our clients perform their business operations. Non-distribution partners, also called platform partners are waivers, CRMs, Photo Sharing Platforms, POS, accounting/invoice systems, chatbots, email marketing, review management, and many more. The Software Partnerships team is handling non-distribution leads.
Lead Generation Methods
One of FareHarbor’s Strategic Partnerships Team’s main goals is to expand our clients’ distribution networks through API connectivity.
Lead research
For new API connections, our team proactively researches new leads, whether it’s reading a new blog post or industry newsletter or listening to industry podcasts, the team is always eager to come across a great new lead. For potential FHDN resellers, the team researches new leads by looking at reports and utilizing the functionality of SemRush. Check out the Distribution Lead Research help page for more information.
Demo Requests
Another way we learn about new companies is by partners visiting our website and filling out our partnership demo request form, which is similar to how potential clients fill out a demo request. This form allows the Strategic Partnerships Team to learn more about an inquiring company. Once the form is submitted, the form goes through the Lead Generation team and then to our team, so we can learn more and reach out.
Client Referrals
Sometimes existing and potential clients request FH to have a connection to an OTA they receive significant bookings from and they pass this information to Sales, Support, or their Account Manager. These requests then come to our team when FH members submit our Strategic Partnership Inquiry Form.
Partner Referrals
Sometimes our existing partners are recommending other partners to us whether it’s because they have a close relationship with that company or when existing partners launch new platforms under a different brand name.