Affiliate Disclosure

First of all, thanks for visiting romewise.com and for your interest in my site policies. If you have any questions about these policies, please don't hesitate to contact me. 

What is this page about?

My name is Elyssa Bernard, I am the owner, creator and sole writer here at romewise.com. 

I decided to make a page specifically about Affiliate Disclosure, which is separate from my Legal Disclaimer page, because I want to be clear with my readers about how I make money with this site, and what it means for you when you see ads and some links on my site.

This site is my personal site. It accepts advertising and other forms of compensation. Such compensation does not influence the information in this site. I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences.

“Ads by Google” are not selected by me, so if you see a Google ad and a website about the same product or service, it is a coincidence. 

I only accept non-Google sponsorships from providers of high-quality goods or services. I appreciate their recognition and support of this site.

Please do support my sponsors and recommendations. This site takes time and effort to deliver original content, free, to you. Supporting my sponsors is a WIN-WIN-WIN for you, me, and them.

Rest assured that the actual content on pages is independent of any sponsorship or affiliate relationship. To avoid the appearance of any conflict of interest and in the spirit of full disclosure, I identify all sponsored content to you.

If I claim or appear to be an expert on a certain topic or product or service area, I will only endorse products or services that I believe are worthy of endorsement, based on my experience. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, grower or provider.

What is does "affiliate marketing" mean?

An affiliate is an individual or company that may sell products or services of another company, and who makes a commission from that sale. Another term for this might be "sales rep", but that seems from another era at this point.

The bottom line is that a website, individual or company (in this case, me, Elyssa Bernard at Romewise), is an affiliate of a company they create a relationship with, and who has agreed to compensate that website, individual, or company for any sales of their products or services made through them.


IMPORTANT: The product or service never costs more if you buy it through Romewise, than if you buy it directly, bypassing my links.

It's the seller of the product or service who pays commission, but you the customer always have the same price regardless.

Why do I have affiliate links on Romewise?

I created this website in the first place as a challenge to myself. I wanted to see if I could convey all the stuff I know and love about Rome, in a way that helped people, and made a difference. I have loved every minute of it and want to continue to do so. 

If you have spent any time reading my website, especially if you have done so between 2009 and 2015 when I was just writing, writing, writing, then you know that I pour a lot of myself into this website, and also spend a lot of time cultivating relationships through my newsletter and on social media.

Again I love it, but it takes way more time than I ever imagined. And running this website has costs, which include but are not limited to hosting, and investing in activities and visits, in part for my own enjoyment but also to improve and update the information you find here.

Frankly, the goal of many people when they begin a blog or website is to make some money from it. And now that Romewise is growing in size, and in the amount of time and money I am investing in it, I am hoping it will earn me some money back. It's not likely to make me a millionaire! But it would be nice to not only cover expenses, but also earn something for all the work I put in.

That's where affiliate links come in. I choose affiliate links very carefully, and only suggest products I believe in and would buy myself. In some cases I recommend a product I already own, or a service I've tried. And in other cases, I suggest services or products that others have tried and given me good feedback about.

If you do buy any products or services through links on romewise.com, you will be helping me to continue to bring you this website. But you can ignore all of it if you like! You do not have to buy anything through any links or suggestions on this website.

Please always know that this website is and will always remain free to use and read and enjoy.

How do affiliate links work?

Affiliate programs may work in several ways. The usual way is that the marketer (in this case, Romewise), signs up for the program of a company whose products they'd like to sell or promote. That company will assign me a client number. I will receive links from that company, with my code in the link, so that I can place those links on my website.

If a reader clicks that link, they will be redirected to the page of that company, usually to a specific product or service, and with my client number in the link. If the reader makes a purchase while on the website they got sent to by me, then I will make a small commission.

What companies do I work with and promote?

Elyssa Bernard and RomeWise are participants in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Amazon, the Amazon logo, MYHABIT, and the MYHABIT logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Romewise pages also show ads through Google AdSense.

I promote Solo Build It Site Built It, because it's the product I use to build this website, and I believe in it so strongly. (You can read my review of this product here.)

I promote tours in Rome through various companies, some small and local, who I know personally, and others through Viator, Tiqets and GetYourGuide, 3 large companies with many tour options.

I have links to major travel companies such as Expedia, TripAdvisor, SkyScanner, and others, because I know they bring you a valid product, and are tried and true companies. 

You may find other examples of companies I promote throughout Romewise. When you do, you will know it, as FTC regulations require that I disclose it right before the link. But even if they didn't require it, I am happy to let you know this, because you should know why I am promoting any product or service here, and decide for yourself if you want to buy anything via this website.

Please do not use this website if you disagree with any of the terms outlined here.