Accommodation-only bookings have emerged as the driving force behind the initial success of Expedia’s Travel Agents Affiliates Programme (TAAP), launched in the UK three months ago. Tamer Tamar, managing director-vice president for Expedia Affiliate Network’s operations in EMEA, said that nearly 200 agents in the UK had signed up, “slightly ahead” of where it expected to…
Hotel bookings boost Expedia affiliate scheme
Accommodation-only bookings have emerged as the driving force behind the initial success of Expedia’s Travel Agents Affiliates Programme (TAAP), launched in the UK three months ago.
Tamer Tamar, managing director-vice president for Expedia Affiliate Network’s operations in EMEA, said that nearly 200 agents in the UK had signed up, “slightly ahead” of where it expected to be at this stage.
“We launched TAAP in Italy four years ago, and we were still in single digits after three months,” he said. Around 30% of agents in Italy are now signed up.
Tamar also revealed that German travel agents had also taken to the recent launch of TAAP, with more than 100 agents in Europe’s biggest travel market signing up in the first ten days.
While the UK agents have access to a range of Expedia inventory , it is accommodation-only bookings that are leading the way. “In terms of product, standalone hotel bookings are a clear favourite, with our ATOL=protected dynamic packaging inventory also proving popular.”
Tamar’s brief covers all Expedia’s affiliate activity, including its private label business. Tamar said that affiliates were a “double-digit growth area” for Expedia Inc, and that there had been a “perceptible increase in interest” over the past six months from non-travel web sites. “Travel is a channel any web site can earn supplementary revenues from,” he said.
In general terms, web sites with a strong brand in their own field were using a white-label version of Expedia, while smaller niche operations were opting for a co-branded version.
Recent signings include green lifestyle portal click4carbon, Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus and car hire giant Avis
