Your hotel photos are the difference between winning and losing bookings. Studies show that people look at images on a website far more than any text. In order to meet the demands of the modern travel shopper and keep hotels converting, Expedia has updated the way they calculate their Photo, Content, and Quality scores.
In response to data and current trends, Expedia wants to ensure that they are showing customers what they want. Their data shows that the average travel shopper looks at 35 photos across a range of devices. This new update from Expedia increases the minimum photo quality & quantity requirements, as well as the importance of your Photo Score within your overall Content Score across Expedia Group.
As part of our ongoing partnership with Expedia, we have kept Content Manager up-to-date with this Content Score change. Images are more important than ever, and Content Manager is continuously adding functionality to reflect this down the line.
What has changed?
The increased Photo Score importance includes a number of changes to image requirements and sorting. To guarantee high quality images optimizable across devices, Expedia is increasing their minimum image size. Images smaller than 1000px on their longest side will be rejected.
Furthermore, one of the central updates is aimed at increasing the accuracy of how hotels appear on Expedia. They have added 65 new subcategories to help with further classification according to the amenities associated with each hotel. These subcategories will ensure that you have a photo available for each of your property’s amenities. Photos that put all of your amenities on display will not only help you meet Expedia’s requirements, but are proven to drive more bookings.
Those managing their content through Content Manager will now see these additional subcategories, and should begin to add this more granular data to each photo.
What do I need to do?
You have until January 8th to ensure that your photos meet the new quality requirements. Don’t wait until the last minute to update your image data. We recommend you make updates based on our Best Practices as soon as possible to be certain that your Content Score remains high:
- Categorize images with as much detail as possible. Avoid categorizing your images as “miscellaneous” or “other,” as this will not count toward your content score.
- Keep on top of Expedia’s quantity guidelines, which includes 4 photos per room type (including 1 of the bathroom), 1 exterior photo, 1 entrance or lobby photo, and 1 photo per key amenity
- Get granular with your hotel amenities: provide photos for all amenities listed and properly classify them with the new expanded subcategories
For any additional questions about Content Manager’s Expedia integration, don’t hesitate to contact your account manager for more information.