A New Way to Reach Travelers: Tripadvisor Enables Hotels to Participate Directly in Travel Membership Program for First Time

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Tripadvisor has launched Tripadvisor Plus, a new membership program allowing hotels and B&Bs to enhance visibility and reach a premium traveler audience without upfront costs or commission fees. Hotels in the program gain special badging and increased exposure on the Tripadvisor platform, enabling cost savings as they recover from COVID-19. Travelers enjoy perks like discounts and exclusive benefits for an annual fee of $99. Tripadvisor Plus aims to attract ready-to-book guests, offering hotels a direct marketing channel and valuable customer insights.

NEEDHAM, Mass., March 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Tripadvisor^®, the world's largest travel guidance platform*, announced today that - for the first time - hotels and B&Bs can expand their visibility and reach to a ready-to-book, high spend traveler audience by participating directly in Tripadvisor Plus, a new membership program for travelers.

Tripadvisor Plus hotels receive special badging and increased visibility on the Tripadvisor platform, helping them to stand out from the competition and increase bookings at a lower cost than traditional channels - providing a crucial cost saving to hotels as the hospitality industry recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is free for hotels to join, with no upfront costs and zero commission rates.

For travelers, Tripadvisor Plus offers the ability to up-level their travel by unlocking insider savings, personal service, benefits and perks (such as a free bottle of wine upon check-in, room upgrades when available or spa credits), all available for an annual membership fee of $99.

How it works

Tripadvisor Plus offers an innovative alternative to the traditional online model of room distribution for hotels. Rather than spend as much as 30% per booking on commission fees, hotels can now significantly reduce their third-party costs and pass on some of those savings to their guests via discounts and perks, increasing room demand and enhancing the guest experience at the same time.

By offering these savings and perks to Tripadvisor Plus subscribers, hotels increase their visibility on the world's largest travel platform, among both subscribers and non-subscribers alike. Tripadvisor Plus accommodations receive special badging and enhanced placement within the Best Value sort order reflective of the strength of their offering to travelers.

Discounted room rates available via Tripadvisor Plus can only be viewed by Tripadvisor members and can only be booked by Tripadvisor Plus subscribers, ensuring those rates are not widely available on the open internet, thereby preserving a hotel's rate integrity.

Furthermore, by participating directly in the program, Tripadvisor Plus hotels get full access to all of the customer information from each reservation. 

"Tripadvisor Plus is a game changer for both travelers and hoteliers," said Kanika Soni, chief commercial officer, Tripadvisor. "Travelers get to enjoy a memorable experience thanks to special perks and discounts - and hotels have a brand new way to attract valuable guests while avoiding hefty third-party commissions."

Why hotels should participate in Tripadvisor Plus now

While travel restrictions remain in place in many countries, the speed of national vaccination programs has raised the prospect of a sustained recovery in travel demand, potentially as early as this summer - and for hotels that means taking action now to capture this demand.

Tripadvisor Plus offers an innovative new channel through which to do just that, unlocking a host of benefits that help hotels attract ready-to-book guests:

• More visibility, more demand - Participating hotels get extra visibility (higher placement in the Best Value sort order as well as special badging) on Tripadvisor, whether a traveler books through Tripadvisor Plus or not
• Lower spend, more bookings - Tripadvisor Plus is free to join and operates as a less expensive pay-for-performance demand channel than traditional online channels
• Total flexibility - With no annual commitments and no last room availability requirements, participating hotels can opt in and out of discounting at any time as occupancy levels change
• Stronger customer relationships - Hotels can market directly to guests after their stay
• More engaged travelers - Tripadvisor Plus reaches a highly valuable customer segment. On average, Tripadvisor Plus subscribers spend more and stay longer than non-subscribers
• Better guest experience - Tripadvisor Plus enables hotels to pass some of their third-party cost savings to their guests, increasing guest satisfaction and customer loyalty

Tripadvisor Plus launched in beta in December 2020 to a small slice of Tripadvisor's traffic in the United States, and will soon become available to all U.S. travelers with additional markets to follow later. Hotels worldwide interested in capturing pent up demand from U.S. travelers are encouraged to join the program now. 

For more information on how to join, please visit: https://www.tripadvisor.com/business/plus.

Notes to editor

*Source: Tripadvisor internal log files, Q4 2020

About Tripadvisor
Tripadvisor, the world's largest travel guidance platform*, helps hundreds of millions of people each month** become better travelers, from planning to booking to taking a trip. Travelers across the globe use the Tripadvisor site and app to discover where to stay, what to do and where to eat based on guidance from those who have been there before. With more than 884 million reviews and opinions of 7.9 million businesses, travelers turn to Tripadvisor to find deals on accommodations, book experiences, reserve tables at delicious restaurants and discover great places nearby. As a travel guidance company available in 49 markets and 28 languages, Tripadvisor makes planning easy no matter the trip type. 

The subsidiaries of Tripadvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP), own and operate a portfolio of online travel brands and businesses, operating under various websites and apps, including the following websites:
www.bokun.io, www.cruisecritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.thefork.com  (including www.lafourchette.com, www.eltenedor.com, www.bookatable.co.uk, and www.delinski.com), www.helloreco.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.housetrip.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.seatguru.com, www.singleplatform.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com, and www.viator.com.

* Source: SimilarWeb, unique users de-duplicated monthly, December 2020
** Source: Tripadvisor internal log file

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SOURCE Tripadvisor

FAQ

What is Tripadvisor Plus and how does it benefit hotels?

Tripadvisor Plus is a membership program that allows hotels to increase visibility on the Tripadvisor platform at no upfront cost, enhancing bookings while reducing commission fees.

What perks do travelers get with Tripadvisor Plus?

Travelers receive exclusive benefits such as discounts, room upgrades, and special services like a free bottle of wine at check-in for an annual fee of $99.

When was Tripadvisor Plus launched?

Tripadvisor Plus was launched in beta in December 2020, with broader availability to U.S. travelers expected soon.

How can hotels join Tripadvisor Plus?

Hotels can join Tripadvisor Plus for free, with no upfront costs or commission rates, to capture demand from travelers.

What financial advantages does Tripadvisor Plus offer to hotels?

Hotels using Tripadvisor Plus can reduce commission fees, potentially saving up to 30% per booking compared to traditional online channels.

What does Tripadvisor Plus mean for Tripadvisor stock (TRIP)?

Tripadvisor Plus could positively impact Tripadvisor's stock (TRIP) by increasing revenues and market share as it attracts more hotels and travelers.