Affiliate Disclosure

How We Earn Revenue

The Lowdown Guide is an independently operated travel resource. To keep our content free for readers, we participate in affiliate programs with select travel partners. When you click certain links on our site and make a purchase or booking, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Our Affiliate Partners

We currently work with the following affiliate programs:

  • Viator — Tours, activities, and experience bookings. We earn a commission when you book a tour or activity through our Viator links, including Sonoran Desert jeep tours and Carefree gallery-district walks.
  • Expedia — Hotel and lodging reservations and travel packages. We earn a commission when you book accommodation through our Expedia links, including desert resorts near Carefree.

How Affiliate Links Work

Affiliate links look and function like regular links. When you click one, a small tracking code tells the partner that you came from our site. If you go on to make a purchase, the partner pays us a referral fee. The price you pay is exactly the same whether you use our link or go directly to the partner's website.

On our site, affiliate links are typically found in:

  • Lodging booking call-to-action boxes (e.g., "Check Desert Resort Prices Near Carefree")
  • Tour and activity recommendation sections (e.g., "Browse Cave Creek & Carefree Tours")
  • Comparison guides and seasonal-timing sections

What Is Not an Affiliate Link

Bar tabs, saloon cover charges, museum admission at the Cave Creek Museum, gallery purchases in Carefree, and golf tee times at desert resort courses are all paid directly to those businesses and are not affiliate transactions. We earn nothing from any of them, and we will always tell you plainly when a direct booking or a walk-in is the better call.

Our Editorial Independence

Affiliate partnerships do not influence our editorial content. Our recommendations are based on published source research and independent editorial judgment, not on which affiliate program pays the highest commission.

We will never recommend a tour or lodging option solely because it offers an affiliate commission. If we feature something, it's because we believe it provides real value to visitors planning a Cave Creek & Carefree trip — and we say plainly when one town, not both, is the better fit for a given visitor.

FTC Compliance

In accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, we disclose that this site contains affiliate links. This page serves as our comprehensive disclosure, and we also include brief disclosure notices near affiliate links throughout the site.

Questions?

If you have any questions about our affiliate relationships or how we fund this site, please contact us. We're happy to be transparent about how The Lowdown Guide operates.