How the Referral Flow Works

Once you have turned on referrals, it helps to understand exactly what happens behind the scenes. This article walks through the full four-step flow and explains how TrailerBase links a click to a completed rental so rewards land with the right person.

Step 1: The renter shares their link

Every existing renter has a unique referral link inside their profile. They find it under Account > Refer a Friend in the customer portal. From there they can:

• Copy the link directly.
• Share it by email, text, WhatsApp, or Facebook with one tap.
• Open their personal referral dashboard to see clicks, signups, and earned rewards.

The link carries a unique referral code (something like ?ref=JANE24X7) plus UTM parameters so it shows up cleanly in your analytics.

Step 2: The friend clicks and signs up

When their friend clicks the link, three things happen simultaneously:

1. A cookie is dropped on the friend's browser. This cookie holds the referral code for the duration you set in Settings (typically 30-60 days).
2. The UTM parameters are captured and stored against the session.
3. The discount code is pre-applied to any booking flow they start, so they see the discount right away rather than having to enter a code.

When they create an account, the referral code on the cookie is attached to their new user record permanently. This is called account linking — it is how we still credit the referrer even if the friend clears cookies later.

Step 3: The friend books and completes a rental

Creating an account is not enough. To protect you from gaming, the referral only qualifies when the friend:

• Books a rental that meets your qualification rules (first-rental only, over $X, etc.), and
• Actually completes the rental — picks it up, returns it, and the booking closes successfully.

If the friend cancels or no-shows, the referral stays in "pending" and no rewards are issued. If they rebook later and complete, the reward fires at that point.

Step 4: Both parties get rewarded

As soon as the qualifying rental closes:

• The referrer gets their reward (account credit or payout, per your settings) and a thank-you email.
• The referee already used their discount on the booking, but also gets an email confirming their savings and inviting them to share their own link.

Both rewards show up in your Settings > Referrals > Activity log so you can audit exactly what happened.

Why three attribution methods?

TrailerBase uses UTM parameters, cookies, and account linking together on purpose:

• UTM survives copy-paste sharing and shows up in analytics.
• Cookies handle same-device, same-browser journeys.
• Account linking persists across devices and cookie clears once the account exists.

Together these three give you near-perfect attribution without requiring the friend to manually enter a code.

What you do not need to do

You do not need to enter codes, match up rewards manually, or chase payouts. Once set up, the referral engine runs on autopilot. Your only job is to keep the offer attractive and monitor the numbers, which we cover in the tracking guide.