The Tripadvisor Plus hotel subscription plan the company launched in beta in December 2020 as part of its strategy to become a direct-to-consumer service is now open to hotels and bed and breakfasts worldwide.

Hotels that sign up for the program get enhanced visibility on the Tripadvisor platform, which the company claims produces 20% incremental clickthroughs to their property page on Tripadvisor.

Participation in the program is free for hotels - but discounts to members of 15% or more are expected - and annual membership fee for consumers is $99.

Tripadvisor's pitch to prospective consumer members is basically:

• Discounts on every hotel stay in the next 12 months
• Member-only offers from participating hotels
• 10% discount on tours and experiences booked through Tripadvisor

And the pitch to hotels is:

• You get an additional marketing channel which potentially reaches a new audience composed of Big Spenders.
• You pay no commission, reducing distribution costs.
• Only consumer members can see the Tripadvisor Plus rates, preserving rate integrity.
• You own your customers' personal data.
• And, at least implied: hotels that don't participate will be getting less business from Tripadvisor.

Skeptics point out:

• It may be difficult to get large numbers of consumers to pay $99 to join.
• On the other hand, one major trip could provide consumer members payback of the entire annual fee, making them free riders for the rest of the year.
• Tripadvisor will still have to compete against Google in metasearch for the foreseeable future.

Amazon Prime for hotels? Will it work? Stay tuned for updates.