Almere, Netherlands – 1 September 2026 — NextPax today launched the Distribution Preferred Partner Program, a framework under which NextPax awards preferred and elite status to booking channels within its distribution network. The first cycle runs from 1 September 2026 to 1 September 2027, after which every partner is reassessed and can move up a tier or down one.
Distribution has become the defining commercial decision for professional property managers. Adding another channel is straightforward. Knowing which channels genuinely convert, connect reliably and keep growing year after year is not. The Distribution Preferred Partner Program exists to answer that question on the accommodation partner's behalf, and to reward the channels doing the work.
Rather than treating every connection as equivalent, NextPax assesses its distribution partners across two pillars and multiple dimensions:
Commercial Performance: reservations, revenue and sustained growth in both for accommodation partners, and the number of accommodation partners that participate.
Technical Performance: API adoption: how much of the connectivity NextPax builds a channel actually implements; API success rates — how reliably that connection performs in day-to-day operation.
Taken together, the pillars reinforce each other. Adoption without demand is engineering for its own sake. Demand on a connection that fails under load is growth a manager pays for in operational work. Reliability on a minimal integration eventually hits a ceiling in onboarding, content quality or commercial tooling.
Status is earned for a cycle and reassessed at the end of it. A channel that invests can move up; a channel that stalls can move down. NextPax's intent is a standard that stays live rather than a logo awarded once.
For channels, status is intended to be a commercial advantage. Preferred and Elite partners get earlier access to new NextPax connectivity capabilities and a direct line into how they are shaped; closer technical and integration support; joint visibility with NextPax across its partner base and in market; and preference within NextPax Matchmaking, the intelligence layer accommodation partners use to decide which channels fit their portfolio.
NextPax Matchmaking already scores the network against a manager's properties, markets and growth plans and explains the reasoning behind every recommendation. Program status weighs in that recommendation, and it scales with tier: preferred partners are weighted, and elite partners carry additional preferencing on top. A channel that builds deeply, connects reliably and converts consistently is surfaced more prominently to exactly the supply it is built to serve.
Channels who are not meeting the Preferred or Elite thresholds, remain fully connected, and NextPax will continue to expand its network. Alongside the program, NextPax is introducing minimum partnership requirements for maintaining connectivity. The reasoning is straightforward: every connection in the network carries accommodation partners' inventory, content and reputation, and every partner is expected to contribute to the ecosystem it draws supply from. A connection that is maintained, reliable and commercially accountable is the baseline, the program is what sits above it.
"Our accommodation partners have never had a shortage of places to list their properties. What they have lacked is a credible signal about which of those places are worth their inventory and their time," said Lennart Kok, VP of Distribution and Marketing at NextPax. "We are looking at what a channel builds, how reliably it runs, and whether it keeps delivering reservations and revenue growth year after year. The partners who do all three are the ones our accommodation partners should be distributing to, and we back that judgement where it counts, including in NextPax Matchmaking, where managers decide who gets their inventory. Status is earned for a year at a time, in both directions. If that pushes the wider ecosystem to raise its game, it is exactly the outcome we want."
For accommodation partners, the practical benefit is confidence and time saved: clearer guidance on where to distribute, and the assurance that the connections carrying their inventory are actively maintained, technically current, commercially accountable and demonstrably growing.
The first group of Distribution Preferred and Elite Partners will be announced in the coming months. In the first year, Distribution Partners can roll into a Preferred and Elite status during the year. From 2027 onwards it’s an annual cycle, with a one time review process at the end of the cycle. Channels interested to know more about the program can get in touch via nextpax.com/contact.
NextPax is a global leader in hospitality connectivity and distribution technology, enabling vacation rentals, resorts, city apartments, and holiday parks to simplify operations and maximize commercial results. Utilizing the NextPax platform and Supply API, property managers and software providers access over 100 global booking channels, such as Booking.com, Airbnb, and Expedia Group, through high-performance, automated synchronization of inventory, pricing, content, and guest communications.
By eliminating manual overhead and providing dependable, real-time links across a diverse distribution network, NextPax solves the complexity of modern channel management. Built on a foundation of scalability and partner success, the company empowers hospitality brands to expand their global footprint, enhance visibility, and drive consistent revenue growth across every market they serve.
Media contact: marketing@nextpax.com