Nearly one year after TripAdvisor launched Sponsored
Placements for accommodations that subscribe to its Business Advantage program,
the platform is opening the opportunity to all accommodation providers.
Now any hotelier or accommodation provider that shares rates
and availability on TripAdvisor can pay for better positioning.
With a paid ad, properties that have availability and match
a guest’s search criteria are displayed in high-visibility areas such as above search results,
on local competitors' pages and on other high-profile shopping pages across all
devices.
“Sponsored Placements has been a game-changer for hotel
owners, increasing their visibility to travelers researching their next trip. Now
that we have made it available to all accommodation businesses that share rates
and availability, there’s a great opportunity to influence potential guests
during a critical phase of the customer purchase path,” says Martin Verdon-Roe,
vice president of B2B hotels for TripAdvisor.
“And because an advert only appears when your hotel has
availability, you can be sure you’re spending your advertising budget on a
channel which will make a real difference to your business.”
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While TripAdvisor has not shared usage and revenue data from
its Sponsored Placement program since it launched in April 2018, in the company’s
prepared remarks regarding fourth quarter and full-year 2018 financial results, it
says, “Flat Q4 2018 revenue growth was driven by hotel media ad growth, offset
by softer year-over-year performance in other areas, including a tough
year-over-year growth comparable from display.
"Zooming out from near-term results,
TripAdvisor’s nearly half-a-billion monthly users are a unique media asset that
creates ample - and largely untapped - long-term growth potential. In 2019,
we’ll start to lay important groundwork for driving more advertising
opportunities and activating a bigger and broader advertiser base."
New features
Along with opening the opportunity to all providers, TripAdvisor
is adding new features to Sponsored Placements.
Now hoteliers can target their ads by weekday or weekend stays,
which is intended to drive better ROI for their campaign spending.
The ad platform also has a new “pause” function, allowing hoteliers
to schedule a future restart date for their campaign.
“We have listened to feedback from early adopters of
Sponsored Placements and continue to invest in our advertising product for
accommodation businesses with these recent enhancements,” Verdan-Roe says.
“Sponsored Placements, when combined with Business
Advantage, is proving to be a great way to help accommodation owners drive
direct booking referrals and build customer loyalty.”
TripAdvisor first launched Sponsored Placements for restaurants
in October 2017, and it introduced the option for its Experiences division in
January.