The competition for effective affiliates by online travel agencies (OTAs) is heating up. Expedia has launched its Travel Agent Affiliate Program (TAAP), by which travel agents in the U.S. can access Expedia’s global inventory and earn commissions on hotels, dynamic packages and activities. The new Expedia program is comparable to the Orbitz agency program. Travelocity also has an established affiliate Branded Partner program.
Expedia says it is the only full-service online travel provider to offer such extensive inventory to travel agents. Participants can earn up to 10 percent commissions. A one-time $50 fee is required.
“Our Travel Agent Affiliate Program has been extremely successful in Europe and Asia and we are very excited to bring it to the travel agent community in our largest market,” said Tim MacDonald, senior vice president and general manager of Expedia.com. “We recognize that offline agents are a critical part of the travel landscape and TAAP provides the perfect way for Expedia to work with this community.”
To become a member of the program, travel agents can register online at Expedia.com by clicking on the travel agent access link in the footer of the site. As a TAAP member, agents will have direct access to Expedia’s global inventory and use the Expedia platform to check the availability of hotel rooms, flights, packages and more to make and confirm bookings in real time.
Affiliates will benefit from the same site functionality that Expedia customers experience, enabling them to research, plan and book the best possible trips for their clients, while earning commissions for doing so.
Expedia is waiving the one-time membership fee for all agents who sign up by June 30. Agents who sign up before that date will have a chance to earn an enhanced commission on tailored reservations departing until August 30. Beginning in July, agents who join the program can do so for a one-time membership fee of $50.
Expedia’s Travel Agent Affiliate Program was first launched in Italy in 2002 and has since expanded to the UK, France, Germany, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The program currently has more than 8,000 members worldwide.
Visit www.expediaaccess.com/us.
What's Your Opinion?
We've created a discussion thread at AgentNation about the Expeida move as well as the recent trends of OTAs reaching out to agents. We want to hear from you. Join the discussion at AgentNation. Post a comment below. Send a tweet to our Twitter page. Write us at our Facebook page. We'll share your responses with our readers.