Here’s How TripAdvisor Is Gearing Up For A Better Performance
When TripAdvisor launched the Instant Booking platform, it might not have perceived that even after being the world’s largest travel review website and one of the world’s largest metasearch platforms, it would be so challenging for it to make travelers book hotels through its platform. And yet, Instant Booking is yet to gain a stronghold on the travel booking population and be a game changer for TripAdvisor. Though over the last few months, Instant Booking’s performance has shown signs of recovery in certain regions, it was mainly due to the lack of significant traction on Instant Booking that TripAdvisor’s financial performance has been dismal over the last year and so far this year. So much so, that recently after getting back to TV ads after a two year hiatus, TripAdvisor is not making Instant Booking a focus in its advertisements and rather talking about how TripAdvisor gives a perfect platform to plan trips and compare hotel prices before booking the lowest priced hotels from a vast array of options, matching the traveler’s requirements. In a conference last month, TripAdvisor’s CEO Stephen Kaufer spoke at length about how the company might try gaining more traction for Instant Booking and for TripAdvisor’s platform in general.
Instant Booking Will No Longer Remain The Prime Focus
While Instant Booking has been the focal point of TripAdvisor’s promotional attempts so far, this will not be the case anymore. While the booking option will still be available for travelers, Kaufer explained that the location and focus on the Instant Booking option might vary from one property to the other. For example, if a property on TripAdvisor has a list of prices from different OTAs, then the cheapest price will appear on top. If Instant Booking is offering the cheapest price then it will naturally feature on top, however, in case it’s a different OTA like, Priceline’s Booking.com or Expedia’s Hotels.com, then those sites will appear over Instant Bookings prices. Earlier, Instant Booking prices used to appear on top no matter who offered the cheapest deal but that won’t be the case going forward.
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Kaufer feels that this will increase Instant Bookings credibility in the eyes of the travel bookers. They’d no longer feel that TripAdvisor is pushing it on top, solely because it belongs to the company. They will book on Instant Booking, if it genuinely offers the lowest price and that will be a potent way to build up customer loyalty as well, for the future.
Instant Booking’s Host Of Hotel And OTA Partners Spells A Win-Win Situation For TripAdvisor
Instant Booking currently has the world’s top ten hotel chains and the two biggest OTAs, Priceline and Expedia, on its platform. Hence, with this wide array of selections, the platform can offer the best deals to its customers. Once the customer clicks into any of these hotel or OTA partner’s website and books a hotel through Instant Booking, TripAdvisor in turn can charge a higher price for cost per click from these partners. The users, too, might return to Instant Booking if they are satisfied of getting the best prices from all these hotels and OTAs on its platform.
A Sleeker Redesigned App
The company has worked on its booking app and made it much more simplified than its previous version. For example, now the lowest priced option for a hotel is shown on top. Also, a lot of pop-ups that distracted travelers from having a smooth booking experience have been removed from the site.
New Advertisements To Focus On The Money Saving Aspect
This year, the company is spending around $70 to $80 million on its new advertising campaign that will spread the message of how TripAdvisor, besides being a great website to research for trips and review trips, can also give a great value proposition in terms of booking trips. The focus of the message will not be the convenience of booking hotels, rather it will be the price saving aspect. The target audience will be made aware of how booking on TripAdvisor can save them money and that, Kaufer hopes, is a great way to monetize the platform further and, in turn, bring about a turnaround for the company.
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