While doing routine searches on TripAdvisor, we found a new experimental placement of Special Offers, part of the Business Advantage product that is available to hotel suppliers.

This change could be very impactful for TripAdvisor, as well as suppliers and OTAs, as they move Special Offers into a more prominent position on listing pages.

What’s New?

The new placement of the Special Offer is much more prominent on the listing, appearing at the top of the page as part of the metasearch auction.

TripAdvisor Special Offers experiment

Prior to this change, Special Offers received a placement lower in the TripAdvisor listing coupled with the hotel website link. This required consumers to scroll down past the metasearch auction, pictures, reviews, and amenities before reaching the link.

What Does This Mean for Advertisers?

With the UI change for Special Offers, advertisers will need to be mindful of how this changes the auction space within the listing as well as their current position within that auction. When a special offer is present, the auction space is reduced from three slots down to two slots, which will impact the visibility of ads, particularly those that live on the border of the fold.

Additionally, a hotel that has a high level of visibility that is consistently in the first or second position, could take up the additional real estate if they appear in the auction and have a special offer present.

This additional real estate and inline placement within the auction could lead to a higher level of engagement on Special Offers. We’ll be monitoring this experiment from TripAdvisor closely and its potential impact on the metasearch auction. If you have additional questions or want to talk to one of our metasearch experts, contact our team.