TripAdvisor Plus: everything you need to know

In 2021, TripAdvisor launched a new annual subscription program for travellers. The new membership approach is innovative for the hospitality market. It resembles the experience proposed by other sales giants such as Spotify or Netflix. The benefits are many, both for the client and for the hotel. Let’s find out now in detail.

What is TripAdvisor Plus and how does it work?

TripAdvisor Plus is an annual subscription service that offers exclusive rates and benefits to customers who book in one of the hotels participating in the program. Travellers pay USD 99/year and accumulate points in their wallets for each booking. They can decide whether to spend the accumulated bonus to discount next bookings or use it during their stay. For example, obtaining discounts at the hotel bar/restaurant, for room upgrades, at local attractions and much more. Basically, all ancillary services that the individual hotel will make available for the program.

In the beginning, the service was based on an “immediate saving”, in the sense that the traveller Plus obtained a discounted rate of 15% compared to the standard price. But now, the service is based on a “reward”. This means that the hotel does not have to guarantee a discounted rate. It will have to pay a minimum of 10% commission to Tripadvisor, but 15% is recommended. With this commission, the metasearch can offer the traveller a bonus to spend on future bookings.
Please note that TripAdvisor search rankings are influenced by the benefits offered to the traveller. In other words, the higher the commission paid, the greater the benefit to the customer and so the higher the ranking in the search results.

What are the TripAdvisor Plus benefits for the hotel?

The program provides benefits for both the traveller and the property. The customer can enjoy discounts and rewards for a relatively low cost. By joining the program, the hotel will have the opportunity to:

• get reservations from quality travellers. According to metasearch, Plus travellers book early, spend more and stay longer.

• Improve visibility in general destination searches (for example “hotel Rome”).
• Take advantage of a lower commission rate than that of traditional OTAs.
• Collect the data of travellers who book through the program. This possibility is not available for bookings with Instant Booking or OTAs. It allows the hotel to work on customer loyalty before, during and after the stay.
• Increase your ranking in the Tripadvisor search.
• Use a special badge that highlights your profile.

What are the conditions for joining Tripadvisor Plus?

Metasearch essentially asks for two requirements to enrol in the program.

1. The hotel must have Instant Booking active through a certified partner. RoomCloud is and you can read the details here.
2. The property must have a minimum score of 3.5 “bubbles” (the famous green dots of TripAdvisor).

For the rest, the portal has not defined a maximum number of eligible structures. All hotels with these requirements are eligible to take part.

How can a hotel subscribe to Tripadvisor Plus?

The subscription to the program is free for the properties. As we said above, all you need is an Instant Booking connection. RoomCloud, as an IB certified partner, is able to send rates and availability for the Plus program too. To activate your subscription through RoomCloud, write to us at sales.romcloud@tecnes.com.

How do users view the new Plus program?

On the search page for a destination, for example “hotel New York”, travellers identify the Plus hotels with a purple badge. Please note that sponsored resources still take precedence anyway.

On which markets is the program active?

From a facility point of view, TripAdvisor Plus can be activated from all hotels around the world. At the moment, however, only travellers from the United States can join the program on the customer’s side.