TripAdvisor Plots Loyalty Program in Campaign Against Google
A loyalty program from TripAdvisor could be a strong incentive for unaffiliated travelers to drive business to the online booker. But TripAdvisor will need to offer a unique program to change established user habits.
Think of an online travel booking experience, such as wandering through Priceline.com, Expedia.com, or Booking.com, and the first thing that comes to mind may not be a loyalty program. But in the long campaign against Google Travel, it could be a differentiating tool for online travel agencies.
That's the thought at TripAdvisor at least, which in its most recent earnings reports hinted that it's "determining which type of loyalty program makes sense for our community." The concept, in this case, is that current TripAdvisor members already express deeper engagement with the platform. By adding a loyalty program on top, customers will have further incentives to stay in the TripAdvisor network and away from the claws of Google.
