Expedia teams up with creators, celebs to launch curated Travel Shops

Online travel agency Expedia is teaming up with creators, celebrities and key partners to launch 'Travel Shops', shoppable storefronts for creators to share and save their travel recommendations on the Expedia app.

To kick off the initiative, Expedia has launched an exclusive, invite-only wave of Travel Shops ahead of its wider, all-access launch set for 2025. Currently, Expedia is partnering with travel influencers Brett Conti, Renee Roaming and Oneika Raymond where travelers can explore, and book hotel collections curated by these influencers. 

At the same time, Expedia is partnering with well-traveled partners, travel experts, media publications and brands such Jane the Virgin actor Jaime Camil who shares his favorite hotels and heritage travel, as well as celebrating Dia de Muertos in Mexico and Liverpool FC captain Virgil van Dijk's favourite family getaways and his top hometown haunts in the Netherlands. 

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Meanwhile, Arsenal FC is the first sports franchise to integrate with Travel Shops and is inviting its global fan base to book stays on Hotel.com inspired by away games and players' favorite hotels. 

Expedia is also partnering with media publishers Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and Variety to create Travel Shops for their readers and social followers to discover new and noteworthy places to go and stay.   

Finally, Expedia is working with tourism boards Travel Alberta, Visit Orlanda, Visit USA and Go Dominican Republic to attract travelers by highlighting the must-see experiences and accommodation options their destinations have to offer. 

Expedia partners can easily create link to their Travel Shops and earn commissions too. Next year, any traveler can create their own Travel Shop and monetise their social content. 

Travel Shop Beta launched in May with more than 100 partners who have created Shops that represent their personal taste, preferences and style. Travelers can explore collections of boutique hotels in the city, relaxing luxury resorts or soon-to-be-available adventurous excursions hand-picked by a diver group of trusted global creators. 

“Every day, people are liking and buying products recommended by influencers they trust, but until now there hasn’t been a simple way to shop travel recommendations. Travelers are already getting inspiration through Instagram and TikTok, so creating a path to go from looking to booking is a natural evolution that meets travelers where they’re at,” said Lauri Metrose, SVP of global communications at Expedia Group.

“Our invite-only launch phase includes more than 100 influencers and partners who can now monetise and share their travel picks with millions of followers. In 2025, Travel Shops will expand even more, so anyone can create their own Shop," added Metrose. 

In May this year, Expedia launched its first-party data led travel media network.

The travel media network builds on the advertising experience from Expedia Group Media Solutions and offers offsite capabilities for advertisers to expand their reach to travellers wherever they are online such as YouTube and Connected TV.

Advertising partners will also benefit from an in-house creative team to collaborate on shoppable campaigns and Expedia’s TravelAds onsite advertising tools that connects its audience across 200 booking sites in over 70 countries.

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