Merchandising best practices

We’re gradually rolling out a new marketing section and merchandising tools in the partner portal. Once these features are available in your account, you'll be able to view upcoming campaigns, download deals lists, and access ready-made marketing assets - all from the portal.

This guide covers how to use these resources, including how to effectively market your campaign, best practices for copy and photography, and performance tracking tips.

New marketing tools coming to the partner portal

When the new tools go live for your account, you'll find the Marketing section in the left menu on the portal homepage. From there you can: 

• View and filter upcoming campaigns
• Filter and download current lodging deals anytime
• Access individual campaign details, deals lists, and marketing assets 

We're continuing to test and build new features that will roll out over the next year. Let us know what's working, what needs improvement, and what you want to see next. 
 

How to market your campaigns 

For each campaign, you’ll need a strong marketing strategy to reach the right travelers at the right time.Here’s how to effectively market your campaigns and best utilize our marketing assets:

1. Get to know your audience
   Look at your historical booking data and seek out your travelers online. Find out what they book, when they book, how much they spend, and how long they stay. Use this to tailor the destinations and hotels in your campaigns.
    
2. Define your offering
   Be clear in your copy about what sets you apart. If you’ve curated the deals to focus on higher discounts, be sure to mention it. Pairing your campaign with your loyalty program? Overlay your loyalty offering on your marketing assets.
    
3. Drive traffic
   Make it as easy as possible for your travelers to discover your campaigns. Promote them on your social media, your website, your app, and in your emails. We recommend a minimum of two highly visible marketing placements per campaign.
    
4. Report on your results
   Analyze the results of your campaign to see what worked and what needs improving. Look at how customers accessed your campaign, compare your results against your initial goals, and measure the ROI of any incentives you included in your campaign
    

Copy guidelines

The copy ideas for each campaign are yours to use and customize as you choose. Doing so will help you stand out from the crowd and strengthen your brand. If you choose to customize them, use the following guidelines to get started:

1. Edit to match your brand’s tone of voice
   Your tone of voice is how you create familiarity with your audience. Look at your audience communications and tweak our copy ideas to reflect how your brand speaks. As you do this, make sure your copy and messaging is consistent across all touchpoints to create a cohesive brand experience.
    
2. Refine your copy to fit your target audience
   Your audience is more likely to respond to copy that suits their demographic. Use your audience knowledge to adjust the tone and value proposition for maximum impact—such as highlighting discounts for price-sensitive customers.
    
3. Incorporate your loyalty program
   If you have a loyalty program and your travelers can earn points on your campaign, change the copy to reflect this and give them more reasons to book.
    
4. Upgrade your discounts
   Want that extra push to get your travelers over the line and making a booking? By only including stays that offer higher discounts than the campaign minimum, you can increase the discount percentages you mention in your copy.
   
    

Photography best practices

Each campaign also includes an image gallery for you to use.Want to use your own? Follow your brand’s imagery guidelines or use these tried and tested Expedia best practices:

1. Opt for natural, unposed scenes that feel like a moment captured. Avoid photos that seem staged or posed.
    
2. Look for natural lighting. Overuse of filters and overly-lit scenes make a photo seem contrived. Show real locations and moments that a traveler could experience themselves.
    
3. Include diversity in the subjects and consider your target audience. Include a range of ages, ethnicities, genders, etc.
    
4. Consider the framing and cropping. Look for interesting angles and placements of subjects. Notice focus, blur, and depth of field.

Notes on AI and photography

We discourage the use of AI-generated imagery.

In travel, we always seek to show real locations and celebrate genuine moments. AI imagery takes away that authenticity and replaces it with something artificial. AI-generated photos may look “normal” at first glance, but you quickly notice glaring issues, especially in people.

How to spot AI photography:

• Landscapes have odd perspectives and details or feel too perfect to be believed.
• People have an airbrushed, overly smooth look to their skin, and teeth and fingers can be distorted.
• Buildings show impossible architecture—objects and elements that connect in odd or impossible ways (e.g., staircases that lead nowhere).
• Text tends to be distorted and illegible.