Tripadvisor has decided to discontinue its Tripadvisor Plus subscription program, which aimed to provide travelers with discounts while generating revenue for the platform and driving bookings for suppliers.
The program, which launched in beta in December 2020 and fully in June 2021, charged members a $99 annual fee and offered participating suppliers, such as hotels and car rental companies, the opportunity to provide discounts and perks to members for free.
After just three months, Tripadvisor shifted the program to a cash-back model in an effort to attract more large hotel chains. However, the program did not gain the traction the company had hoped for.
Tripadvisor’s CEO, Matt Goldberg, who took over in July 2022, expressed the company’s decision to focus more on the benefits of free membership. He explained this shift at the Phocuswright Conference in November, noting that asking consumers to pay for a new service felt out of line with the brand’s history.
The company stated, “Tripadvisor Plus was born out of our culture of innovation, and we now have a deeper understanding of our community’s preferences around benefits and rewards. Armed with this knowledge, we are better equipped than ever to innovate and refine our approach to membership.”
Former Tripadvisor Plus participant Pablo Delgado Díaz-Pache, managing partner and CEO for America at hotel marketing company Mirai, acknowledged the effort Tripadvisor put into trying something different, despite the challenges faced in a market dominated by a few major players.
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