The High-Stakes Battle for Travel Marketing & Vrbo's Loyalty Program Shakeup

Welcome Back to episode 189 of the STR Daily podcast, powered by Boostly, the industry's first aid driven podcast for short term rental professionals. I'm your host Bob back to bring you the latest news, trends and insights in the world of travel, AI and hospitality. Whether you're a host, property manager or industry expert, we're here to keep you informed and ahead of the game. Our goal is to provide you with actionable knowledge and updates to help you navigate this fast moving industry with confidence. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode in today's episode first up, the Marketing War Travel Giants Go all in the latest financial reports from from Airbnb Booking Holdings, Expedia Group and Trip.com Group show that these four companies invested a combined $17.8 billion in marketing in 2024, up by $1 billion from 2023. This massive spending underscores the intense competition among online travel agencies as they fight for travelers attention and try to outmaneuver direct hotel bookings and alternative accommodation providers. Booking holdings, which owns Booking.com and Priceline, spent the most $7.3 billion. That's 31% of its total revenue. But what's interesting is that instead of relying solely on traditional Google Ads, Booking holdings is now betting big on AI and social media. CEO Glenn Fogel highlighted that agentic AI models like OpenAI's operator are expected to change how travelers discover and book their trips. Expedia Group wasn't far behind, spending $6.8 billion on marketing, a 12% increase from 2023. CEO Ariane Goren emphasized the growing importance of AI powered search, making sure Expedia's brands appear in those new AI driven search spaces. They're also strengthening partnerships with major social media platforms, especially Meta, to target travelers more effectively. Meanwhile, Airbnb increased its marketing spend by 22%, reaching $2.1 billion. But the company has a different approach. Rather than purely performance based ads, Airbnb continues to focus on brand marketing, ensuring its name remains top of mind for travelers looking for unique stays. CFO Ellie Mertz noted that Airbnb's brand marketing strategy is more about long term positioning rather than short term conversions. And then there's Trip Dotcom Group, which increased its marketing investment by 29% to $1.6 billion. This push comes as the China based OTA aggressively expands its global presence. What does all of this tell us? Travel companies are no longer just competing against each other, they're competing against new ways of booking travel from AI powered search to Social Media Driven Travel inspiration the days of just bidding on Google search ads are fading and and OTAs are now investing heavily in AI driven marketing, social media partnerships and loyalty programs to keep travelers coming back. Next up, Varbo's One Key Fix A game changer for travelers and property managers While travel giants fight for marketing dominance, Vrbo is making a strategic move to improve its one key loyalty program. If you've ever tried to redeem OneKey Cash, Expedia's unified rewards currency, you may have noticed a frustrating gap. Travelers could earn one Key rewards when booking on vrbo, but they couldn't redeem them on most vacation rentals. The reason? Unlike individual hosts, most property managers on Virbo handle their own payments, making it impossible for Virbo to to process reward redemptions. That's about to change. Tim Rosolio, VRBO's vice president of vacation rental partnerships, revealed on the Alex and Annie podcast that vrbo is launching an optional program that will allow property managers to opt into VRBO's payment system, making it the merchant of record. This means travelers will finally be able to use their one key cash on more vrbo properties, a move designed to make VRBO more competitive against hotels and Airbnb. However, this change comes with some challenges. Many property managers value being the merchant of record because it gives them control over payments, refunds and customer service. By handing that power to vrbo, they risk losing some flexibility, which could make them hesitant to join the program. On the flip side, smaller property managers who don't want to deal with payment processing may find this option attractive. It could reduce chargeback risks, streamline operations, and make their listings more appealing to loyalty driven travelers. That's all for today's episode of STR Daily. Powered by Boostly. If you need help boosting your direct bookings, check out the Boostly website and if you'd like a shout out on the podcast, leave a review. We love hearing from our listeners and your feedback helps us improve. Also, don't forget to share this podcast with your industry peers. Tag Boostly UK on social media when you do and we'll be sure to share it too. Thanks for tuning in. And remember, Book Direct.