Tripadvisor Forced by Hotel Chains to Reverse Course on Subscriptions to Cash-Back Model
Skift Take
We said all along that major hotel chain buy-in would go a long way toward determining the trajectory of Tripadvisor Plus. Now it appears that big hotel brands may participate, but the subscription program is scaled back and much less compelling.
In a stunning reversal, just three months after officially launching the Tripadvisor Plus subscription program in the U.S., Tripadvisor bowed to hotel chain concerns and will transition the offering from immediate discounts on hotels when subscribers book an accommodation to cash-back after check-in.
The change, which begin to take shape in the fourth quarter, seemingly takes the wind out of the program. Consumers obtained an average $350 savings on initial hotel bookings, according to the company, after signing up for the program for a $99 annual subscription fee.
The issue with the current version of the program, which had hotels providing Tripadvisor with discounted rooms at rates lower than the publicly available ones on their websites, and not paying commissions on bookings, is that Tripadvisor was openly displaying these rates to site visitors to entice them to sign up for Tripadvisor Plus.
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