Does The Lowdown Guide earn commissions from Cottonwood hotel bookings?

Yes. When you click an Expedia link on our Cottonwood page and complete a booking, we earn a small referral commission at no additional cost to you. The price you pay is identical whether you book through our link or go directly to Expedia. Our recommendations are based on editorial research, not on which properties happen to pay a commission.

Are the Viator tour links on the Cottonwood page affiliate links?

Yes. Links to Viator tours and activities on this page are affiliate links. If you book a Verde Valley wine-trail tour, Jerome day tour, or another Viator activity through our links, we earn a small commission. This does not affect the price you pay.

Affiliate Disclosure

Last updated: July 2026

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 Verde Valley wine-trail and Jerome day-tour excursions.
Expedia — Hotel and lodging reservations and travel packages. We earn a commission when you book accommodation through our Expedia links, including hotels in Cottonwood and the wider Verde Valley.

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 Cottonwood Hotel Prices")
Tour and activity recommendation sections (e.g., "Browse Verde Valley Tours")
Comparison guides and seasonal-timing sections

What Is Not an Affiliate Link

Dead Horse Ranch State Park's day-use and camping fees, Tuzigoot National Monument's National Park Service admission, and Old Town Cottonwood's wine tasting rooms and restaurants are all paid directly to those parks, agencies, or 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 free stop 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, hotel, or attraction solely because it offers an affiliate commission. If we feature something, it's because we believe it provides real value to visitors planning a Cottonwood or wider Verde Valley trip — and we say plainly when a free or direct-booked option is the better fit for a given trip.

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.