Expedia Group's Advertising Solutions Boost Hotel and Airline Visibility and Revenue During Biggest Global Cultural Moments

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Apr 09, 2024, 09:00 ET

Hotel revenue and bookings increased during Taylor Swift's hometown Nashville concert
Hotels in Super Bowl host cities see revenue boost both last year and this year

SEATTLE, April 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Expedia Group has revealed new data highlighting the impact of its advertising tools in boosting travel partners' visibility on Expedia Group brands and increasing partner revenue during popular cultural events.

TravelAds and Flight Sponsored Listings are Expedia Group's sponsored listings tools, allowing lodging and airline partners to appear in a premium placement in search results on Expedia Group brands. Overall, globally, properties running a TravelAds campaign see 90% more visibility and 120% more bookings versus non-enrolled properties.¹ Company data shows hotels and airlines saw significant boosts in bookings and revenue during major events last year when enlisting the help of these tools.

Looking specifically at major cultural events in 2023:

The ball is in your court: Hotels using TravelAds in the surrounding area of Wimbledon, London, saw an average boost in revenue of almost 30% last summer,² an event that draws thousands of spectators each year. Imperial London Hotels used TravelAds to drive demand, resulting in almost 30% of their total Expedia-booked room nights during the tournament coming from the sponsored listing tool.³
Capturing Tay Tay hysteria: Taylor Swift mania has swept the globe, with local markets seeing a significant boost in their economies from her "Eras" Tour, including her homecoming stop in Nashville in May 2023. To capture travelers' attention during this highly competitive moment, Nashville hotels that ran TravelAds campaigns for stays during her Nashville concert saw an average boost of 5% in both revenue and bookings⁴
Racing to glory: When fans of Formula 1 traveled to Las Vegas, a U.S.-based regional airline saw an opportunity to promote its Dallas to Las Vegas route via Flight Sponsored Listings to help harness Texan demand. The advertising tool drove almost a 30% increase in revenue⁵ and contributed to just over 20% of bookings for flights between November 15-19, 2023.
Helping hotel partners score a touchdown: During the 2023 Super Bowl, hotels using TravelAds in Phoenix saw an average boost in revenue of just over 15% over the weekend.⁶ This year, hotels in Las Vegas saw an average 5% boost in revenue during Super Bowl 2024 when enrolled in TravelAds over that weekend.

The tools can also be leveraged seasonally to boost airline partners' visibility and to capture important seasonal moments. Etihad Airways helped American tourists expand their horizons outside of their typical winter escapes to locations farther from home in both Abu Dhabi and the Maldives. Using Flight Sponsored Listings, Etihad saw bookings from the U.S. to both destination airports increase by almost 5%, totaling just over a 30% boost in gross bookings.⁷

"We've been offering our hotel partners the ability to boost their visibility on our sites for over 15 years with our industry-leading TravelAds tool and are now offering our airline partners the same with Flight Sponsored Listings. There is no doubt this latest data confirms the effectiveness of these advertising tools in helping our partners shine in the most competitive of moments throughout the year," said Jennifer Andre, VP of Business Development at Expedia Group Media Solutions. "We're excited to continue working with our partners during 2024's biggest cultural moments — from the Paris Olympics to major world music tours — to offer them our full suite of advertising options and to elevate their listing when they need it the most."

'Tour Tourism' is set to continue into 2024. According to a recent Expedia survey, over 40% said they'd travel for a concert as an excuse to visit a new place.⁷ When Taylor Swift's 2024 Eras Tour schedule was announced for Asia and Australia, travel searches increased by over 250% year-over-year for the corresponding tour cities.⁸ Similarly, when the 2024 European tour dates were announced, travel searches for May to August 2024 increased by nearly 65% for cities with corresponding tour stops.⁹

Advertising partners can maximize their use of these tools to ensure they're capturing demand when it makes the most sense for their business:

Target specific groups to reach specific goals: TravelAds targeting is based on real-time travel intent and demand data, helping partners identify the most valuable travelers for their hotel. Whether it's targeting remote workers for longer stays or last-minute bookers, Expedia Group works with partners to understand their unique needs. What's more, with the shift to a cookieless world, Expedia Group's first-party data means partners can continue to put their message to the right audience at the right point in a traveler's journey without the need to revamp ad campaigns or marketing strategies.
Take advantage of new features on TravelAds: TravelAds' newly launched automated bidding removes the guesswork from campaign setup and keeps partners competitive by dynamically adjusting their bids based on their market goal preference and budget. Through the opportunities feature, partners can access personalized and actionable data-backed opportunities and insights to help refine their advertising strategy and drive incremental room nights and revenue.
Leverage Flight Sponsored Listings: Airlines can drive ticket sales and promote strategic routes using Expedia Group's cost-per-click advertising tool. With over 300 million average monthly searches for flights on Expedia Group sites,¹¹ airlines need to stand out among the competition if they want to increase brand awareness and overall revenue. With Flight Sponsored Listings, airlines secure a premium position in search results and use custom copy to encourage travelers to book.

Find out more about Expedia Group's full portfolio of advertising solutions for hotels, airlines, destination marketing organizations, car rentals, cruise and more here.

About Expedia Group
Expedia Group, Inc. brands power travel for everyone, everywhere through our global platform. Driven by the core belief that travel is a force for good, we help people experience the world in new ways and build lasting connections. We provide industry-leading technology solutions to fuel partner growth and success, while facilitating memorable experiences for travelers. Our organization is made up of three pillars: Expedia Brands, housing all our consumer brands; Expedia Product & Technology, focused on the group's product and technical strategy and offerings; and Expedia for Business, consisting of business-to-business solutions and relationships throughout the travel ecosystem.

Expedia Group's three flagship consumer brands includes: Expedia^®, Hotels.com^®, and Vrbo^®. One Key™ is our comprehensive loyalty program that unifies Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo into one simple, flexible travel rewards experience. To enroll in One Key, download Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo mobile apps for free on iOS and Android devices. One Key is currently available in the U.S. and will become available globally soon.

For more information, visit www.expediagroup.com. Follow us on Twitter @expediagroup and check out our LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/expedia.

¹ 1st Party Expedia Group Booking Data. POS Brand: Expedia Group Global. Dates: July 2021 – July 2022
² Compared to hotels in the same market not using TravelAds
³ Stays at Imperial Hotels, London UK, between July 3-16, 2023.
⁴ Compared to year over year, May 5-7, 2023
⁵ Compared to non-FSL tickets sold
⁶ Compared to hotels in the same market not using TravelAds
⁷ Flights booked from Oct 1, 2023 – Feb 23, 2024 compared to Oct 1, 2022 – Feb 23, 2023
⁸ Expedia Unpack '24 trends report. Research conducted on behalf of Expedia Brands (Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo & Wotif) by strategic research firm OnePoll. September 12–October 5, 2023, 20,000 respondents across 14 countries
⁹ For February to March 2024
¹⁰ Expedia Group, Traveler Insights Q4 2023
¹¹ According to Expedia Group data