Trivago has unveiled a subsidiary which it says is aimed at helping hoteliers with online direct sales.
The subsidiary, called trivago Hotel Relations, will look to build up its salesforce in a bid to strengthen relationships with independent hotels.
A statement says the company has seen "significant success in its hotel direct business over the past two years."
Johannes Thomas, managing director and chief revenue officer adds:
"At the same time, we learned that scaling a sales organization requires a different culture, operating mode, and set of talents compared to a technology organization. We believe that being a dedicated company provides it with the necessary freedom to determine its own identity."
The company hopes the Hotel Relations entity will help more independent hotels embrace digital and the growth in online booking.
Trivago hinted at the move in its earnings Q2 earnings back in early august when it talked of the importance of those advertising relationships as well as the need for rates to be presented in a clear and simple way.
The metasearch company points to research showing half of online bookers are already using metasearch and says it believes that will grow further as more consumers book hotels online.
The subsidiary, which will be based in Düsseldorf, Germany, already has 160 employees and has plans to increase this number further next year.
The company already has a number of systems in place to help hoteliers attract business direct to properties including its Hotel Manager marketing platform and its Base7 property management system.
Trivago is not the only player to try and get into the hearts and minds of hoteliers. Expedia has been extending its technology to properties for a while and makes no secret of the desire to partner with hotels and share its technology.
Booking.com meanwhile has been quieter on this front although it too has made its strategy in this direction known.
Trivago recently acquired Tripl to help it drive personalisation. Tripl has developed an algorithm which aims to replicate how travel agents make recommendations.