Advertising to travel agents with Expedia TAAP

Our mission is to help our advertising partners around the globe reach, engage, and convert audiences across our network of Expedia Group brands. As the industry continues to evolve, this mission has never been so important. Against that backdrop we are thrilled to share the Expedia Travel Agent Affiliate Program, or Expedia TAAP, and its benefits to advertisers.

Expedia TAAP is Expedia’s ready-built, web-based booking platform, used by thousands of travel agencies around the globe to help offline travel shoppers find and book the perfect trip. This means that our advertising partners can target campaigns to a highly engaged B2B audience. 

Travel agents hold a unique position within the travel ecosystem; they search and book travel for an audience that isn’t currently shopping for travel online and have the power to influence their decision making. The ability to engage with travel agents directly through advertising enables our partners to launch full-funnel campaigns that target all travelers, however they choose to book.

As B2B customers, Expedia TAAP agents are focused on booking. They make multiple purchases and spend more than other Expedia travel shoppers; Expedia TAAP agents make 16 times more purchases than an average travel shopper on a yearly basis. The average hotel booking value for an Expedia TAAP agent is 40% higher than typical Expedia customers and 53% of hotel bookings are 4 stars plus.

And because they are online with the express purpose of booking travel, they also have much higher conversion rates than consumer travel shoppers. The conversion rates for car and flight bookings are double the average of our consumer facing site, jumping to 7X for hotel bookings and 8X for activities.

Travelers looking to book a hotel use multiple channels to find their ideal place to stay, from social media to travel websites and more. This is why it’s imperative that you know when — and where — to reach the right traveler. Whether you’re trying to reach early bird or last-minute bookers, our targeting capabilities can help you connect with the right traveler at the right time.

Expedia TAAP includes a wide range of advertising placements to help partners capture attention. These include customized Expedia TAAP landing pages for maximum exposure, along with a bundle of optimized, highly visible placements on hotel results pages.

Partners have the ability to tailor advertising creatives to a B2B audience, with support, insights, and best practices from our in-house account management team, ensuring that messaging is optimized for Expedia TAAP agents.

While the pandemic accelerated the move online for many sectors, including travel, traditional offline agents still have a significant role to play. In this uncertain climate, many travelers will turn to agents for guidance, peace of mind, and booking security.

Research from the ABTA, the Association of British Travel Agents, claims that over a quarter of travel shoppers were more likely to use a travel professional, such as a travel agent, now than they were pre-COVID-19. Expedia TAAP represents a fantastic opportunity for our advertising partners to ensure they are front of mind with agents, as well as their offline customers.

From DMOs to hotels and airlines to activity providers, Expedia TAAP offers the opportunity for advertisers to connect with some of the world’s most prolific travel shoppers, right at the point of intent.