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Upcoming changes to Trivago CPC campaigns - FAQs

Frequently asked questions about Trivago new CPA bidding model

What is Trivago?

Trivago is a global metasearch engine that allows users to compare hotel prices and deals from hundreds of different booking websites and hotels (same as Google Hotel Ads, Trivago, Kayak and Skyscanner). It acts as an aggregator, presenting a wide range of options for accommodation in one place, helping travelers find the best prices quickly without having to visit each site individually.

What is changing with Trivago and from when?

Trivago will terminate the current Cost-Per-Click (CPC) campaigns and will be moving campaigns to a Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA) only bidding model.
This sudden change affects all agencies and hotels across all markets.
Effective date from September 1, 2025.

Can hotels decide to continue running CPC campaigns?

No, the CPA bidding model will be the only bidding model available on Trivago from September 1, 2025.

What are the main differences between Trivago CPC vs Trivago CPA bidding model?

Trivago CPA model works completelely differently from the CPC model.

  • CPA: hotels pay to Trivago a minimum 10% commission when a user books a property through Trivago platform;
  • CPC: hotels allocate a monthly budget to pay every time a user clicks through a hotel ad, regardless of whether a booking occurs. 
Main pros of CPA :
  • Reduced risk: hotels only pay when a user completes a booking after clicking on their listing on trivago;
  • Advertisers only pay for successful bookings (Net CPA model), mitigating the risk of paying for clicks that don't result in revenue.
Main cons of CPA:
  • Potential increase in marketing costs: costs will be a direct percentage of the revenue you generate through Trivago campaigns. It's a distribution cost, same as with OTAs. 
  • Low control and flexibility of your official website ad: Trivago will manage the bids to maximize conversions at your set commission rate (minimum 10%). 
    Therefore, we won't have granular control over your bids and we'll not be able to adjust your strategy in real-time to increase visibility, optimize campaigns for a lower effective commission.

Is Trivago applying a minimum commission?

Yes, CPA starting from the 1st of September, Trivago will require a minimum 10% commission when a user will make a booking on Trivago.

Would it be possible to increase the commission to get better visibility?

Yes, it will be possibile to apply higher commission percentages in order to increase visibility and maximize impression share.

Would Trivago apply a Gross or a Net CPA model?

Starting from the 1st of September, Trivago will be applying a Net CPA model.

Will the CPA model affect the marketing costs?

Costs will be a direct percentage of the revenue you generate through Trivago campaigns. It's a distribution cost, same as with OTAs.
That means that if your hotel generates €5.000 from Trivago campaigns (confirmed bookings), hotels will pay €500 commission to Trivago (based on a 10% commission), plus the Booking Engine commission agreed in the Bookassist contract. 

What about Trivago Sponsored Listing (Destination ads)?

Trivago Sponsored Listing won't be affected by these changes and will continue to run with the Cost-Per-Click (CPC) bidding model

Will the ads stop running or automatically switch to the CPA model?

Starting from the 1st of September, the existing CPC campaigns on Trivago will stop running as Trivago will deprecate this bidding model. 

Should we reallocate spend to maintain direct booking performance?

Yes, as part of the hotel direct booking strategy, we recommend hotels to reallocate the budget in other marketing channels to increase visibility and drive direct bookings without incurring in any commissions costs. 
Hotels can contact their Client Success Manager or Digital Media specialist to evaluate together the best opportunity for each hotel.

Are also the other Metasearch channels planning to move to the CPA bidding model?

No, Trivago's recent decision goes into a completely opposite direction compared to the biggest player in the industry. Google definitely deprecated the Commission-based model for hotel ads and shifted to the CPC model only.
Also the other Metasearch channels, such as Tripadvisor, Kayak, Bing hotel Ads, are continuing focussing on a CPC model. 
Tripadvisor might align with the broader industry trend away from commisson-based models, as Google did.