Global marketplace for experiences Viator has announced the worldwide launch of Viator Accelerate. The programme participants can expect an average of 15% bookings growth, with many pilot participants experiencing growth beyond 200%.

In exchange for raising commission above the minimum rate by as little as one percent, the Accelerate program allows eligible operators to reach a larger audience through highly-contextual, highly-targeted advertising placements on Viator.

“Our industry has seen extraordinary growth since the mid-2010s.  Where travelers once had two or three options for a cooking class, or three or four for a sunset cruise, they now have ten, twenty, or maybe even thirty choices,” said Ben Drew, president, Viator.

“Viator Accelerate exists to help operators stand out from the crowd – on their terms, under their control, and where it matters.  It was built with operator feedback at its foundation.”

The programme:

Allows operators to reach more travellers: In exchange for raising the commission above the minimum rate by as little as one percent, eligible operators receive more exposure on Viator.

Delivers highly contextual ads to a highly targeted audience: Display ads show the participating product to travelers shopping for similar, nearby experiences.  The ads are designed to deliver key decision-making information quickly — an image, product name, rating, and price.

Meaningfully grows bookings: Programme participants initially can expect bookings to be 15% higher than they would be without Accelerate – and the benefits may become deeper over time.  Our marketing algorithms, including those which determine our sort order, tend to award highly-booked products with greater visibility.  This, in turn, delivers even more exposure and bookings.

It enables data-based decision making: Our ‘Visibility Score’ tool helps an operator determine the value of Viator Accelerate; it measures a product’s current visibility relative to its competition on Viator, and how participation can impact this.  The program’s ongoing impact is trackable through the ‘Viator Accelerate Insights’ dashboard, which shares key metrics including visibility, bookings, and page views versus the competition.