Press
Some of my favourite articles from notable publishers: Rolling Stone, Variety
Background
Creator-driven travel content had become a real booking driver. Travellers, especially younger ones, were turning to people they followed on social media for hotel recommendations over traditional brand content. Expedia wanted to capitalise on this by giving creators their own platform to meet that demand.
Problem
We interviewed 10 high-profile travel creators and 5 travellers and found the same issue from both sides. Travellers would see a hotel recommendation from a creator they followed, but if they didn't save it immediately, it was gone, buried in social feeds with no way to find it again.
Creators dealt with the other end of this. Their audiences constantly asked them to reshare the same recommendations, because the content disappeared as quickly as it was posted. Creators were answering the same questions over and over just to earn a commission.
Solution
Travel Shops gives each creator a shoppable storefront on Expedia where they can curate hotels into collections and share them through bio links or posts. Travellers get a permanent place to browse recommendations from people they trust, and book through a brand they already know.
Role
I designed and developed several features across the Travel Shops experience:
- The Travel Shop page, where creators curate recommendations and showcase their personal brand
- Collections, curated lists of hotels travellers can discover and book
- The shop onboarding flow, which guided creators through setting up their Travel Shop
Results
At open beta, 8,000 creators built storefronts, and shops began generating commission revenue within weeks. Travel Shops became a revenue-generating channel that scaled word-of-mouth at a lower cost than paid ads, and helped position Expedia as a platform for experience-led travel.
Favourite Travel Shops
Here are a few of my favourite Travel Shops: