Expedia commits $275 million for partners to bounce back

Expedia Group, one of the world’s largest online travel agencies, is committing $275 million to help partners rebound from the impact of COVID-19.

Research carried out by Expedia Group in April 2020 shows lodging partners want support from online travel agencies (OTAs) in four priority areas as they look to rebound from the pandemic: Demand trends insights on leisure and domestic travel, investments in marketing and demand generation for travel and destinations, increased visibility on sites and financial relief.

Expedia Group’s recovery programme is comprised of global initiatives to support industry recovery and property-level relief designed to help independent partners and small chains rebuild their business, attract high-value guests, and optimize cash flow.

“There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ plan for recovery. Restoring travel will take an unprecedented level of partnership across public and private sectors, and a deep understanding of what our partners need,” said Cyril Ranque, president, Travel Partners Group at Expedia Group. “This recovery program is the first step in our long journey to rebuild a more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable global travel ecosystem.”

For each property that participates in the programme, the company will reinvest 25% of the compensation earned in 2019 from the property into marketing credits for use with Expedia Group. The company is also reducing its compensation on all new bookings made within the three-month program period, regardless of the actual stay dates. It is also extending payment terms for hotel collect bookings to 90 days to provide additional financial relief. The marketing credits and financial relief measures will become available to partners based on recovery signals, including demand trends, from their specific markets. There are minimum requirements that partners need to fulfil to participate in the program. The company is currently piloting this program in select countries in Asia.