Long time holdout Expedia Inc is finally getting on the TripAdvisor Instant Booking bandwagon.
Expedia will join about 70 partners on TripAdvisor’s Instant Booking platform including hotel groups and other OTAs like main rival Priceline Group.
The partnership will begin with select hotel listings bookable via TripAdvisor’s US site.
TripAdvisor shares gained more than 7% on the news.
"Adding Expedia to the instant booking platform nicely complements TripAdvisor’s existing hotel inventory and helps users shop for a great deal on a hotel," said Robin Ingle, senior vice president of global sales, TripAdvisor.
The Instant Booking feature allows users to simply click the ‘Book Now’ button to make a reservation which is handled by the respective hotel or OTA.
"With this new agreement, we are interested to see how we can drive additional customer acquisition given the product and customer experience enhancements instant booking has made," said Aaron Price, senior vice president of global marketing at Expedia, Inc.
