Articles tagged “advertising”

Midway through 2020, Expedia Group and its Vrbo short-term rental unit took the high road by not wanting to appear to be taking advantage of host anger at Airbnb's early-pandemic refund policies. But when your new host recruitment plan targets "superhosts," it's clear those calculations are long gone.

China's Trip.com Group is entering the content and advertising spheres to address longstanding weaknesses in its transaction business. It joins a plethora of travel businesses that are remaking themselves, whether they are launching financial services or subscription offerings, during the pandemic.

The way people travel will undoubtedly evolve throughout the year ahead as the vaccination rollout continues and restrictions ease. Hoteliers that have a metasearch strategy in place now will be equipped to take on 2021’s rapidly shifting travel patterns and successfully grow bookings.

New data from AirDNA show that corporate hosts wield huge power on Airbnb's platform despite the fact that individual hosts make up more than 90 percent of hosting's ranks. Airbnb is empowering the growth of these property managers, but the result could be disenchanted hosts and guests.

Airbnb is going with huge brand marketing campaigns in 2021 to take hosting mainstream. But when travel recovers and rivals turn on their performance marketing on Google, will Airbnb de-prioritizing search engine marketing come back to haunt it?

In this Skift Online Travel and Distribution Summit video we hear from Ashley Robinson, SVP of customer success at Rokt, about how online travel agencies (OTAs) can develop successful marketing strategies and set themselves up for success as travel starts to recover.

Airbnb felt the heat in 2019, pre-Covid, when it leaned into performance marketing on Google, and didn't get the results it hoped to achieve. In its first major campaign of 2021, Airbnb is mounting a global branding advertising blitz on YouTube (owned by Google) and television in five countries. The campaigned is geared toward expanding the ranks of hosts.

Amazon bowed out of the hotel business a couple of times, is dabbling with flight bookings in India, and seems to have found a sweet spot in cheap, virtual experiences. With all of those tour operator partners now in the fold, post-pandemic, in-person tours and activities is likely on the to-do list.

Google's advertising revenue and profits skyrocketed during the fourth quarter — although travel industry spend didn't drive the results. As with other industries, travel advertisers will likely flock to YouTube for brand promotions when demand returns.

One plus one can equal three sometimes when it comes to spinoffs, especially during the current era where there appears to be an IPO and valuation bubble. Expedia Group seems to be resisting an impulse to spin off Vrbo, let alone Egencia, for now, but the pressure could be substantial.