Saying that 46% of U.S. travelers prefer to book their flight and hotel separately, Expedia will enable customers to book discounted hotels after they purchase their airfare on Expedia.
Expedia has introduced Expedia Add-On Advantage, enabling customers to essentially create a travel package without having to buy the components at the same time. The hotel can be booked any time before their trip begins.
Aaron Price, senior vice president of global marketing for Brand Expedia, calls booking a package "a great way to save," but that booking the components at the same time "requires more planning and money up front than adding on a hotel at a later date."
"We want to alleviate that pressure so travelers can take their time researching neighborhoods, comparing hotel amenities, reading guest reviews, etc. So our rationale for the Add-On Advantage is really an adjustment to our current offering with the aim to better serve travelers," he says.
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Price says that Add-On Advantage customers will save an average of 43%.
Expedia's television campaign this summer will feature Expedia Add-On Advantage, and it will also be highlighted in digital marketing.
Price said the program creates a competitive advantage for Expedia.
"The travel industry is a very broad landscape, and I would say through the research that I've done, it doesn't seem like anyone else has [a program like] this," he says.
* This article originally appeared on Travel Weekly.