We’ve received a lot of questions surrounding Tripadvisor’s newest product, Tripadvisor Plus. We’ve reached out to Tripadvisor directly to provide answers. Just a quick reminder, Tripadvisor Plus is a membership service for consumers. Travelers pay $99 a year and get a10% discount on most bookable products offered through Tripadvisor, plus other benefits. This includes hotels and experiences.
Operators who are already working with Viator are automatically enrolled in Tripadvisor Plus and no additional steps are required. Operators won’t see any change in how they receive bookings or interact with customers. From a financial perspective, commission rates will remain the same and there is no cost to participate in Plus. Tripadvisor covers discounts out of their own profits, allowing the customer to receive the perks without affecting operators.
There are a handful of experiences that are not currently included in Plus.
If you were considering Plus as a potential promotional opportunity, this is not currently an option for tour and attraction operators, but it is for hotels. For hoteliers, Plus is a pay-for-performance solution and requires an application. The perks for consumers are based on additional amenities or other value-adds.
Plus is in beta and it’s still very early, so let’s see where it’s headed. Tripadvisor has tried to make a big push into OTA-like booking for hotels and experiences, but it has struggled to become a place where travelers book. We have our doubts, but if Plus does take off, expect TripAdvisor to expand options for operators to get in front of their members in a similar fashion.
