Skift Take

Experiences aren't a financial game-changer for most online travel companies, but they are a must-have regardless.

Priceline added aquarium tickets and guided tours to its longtime roster of hotels, cars, flights, vacation packages and cruises through an experiences partnership with TUI Musement.

The tie-up means Priceline, a Connecticut-based Booking Holdings brand, can offer some 80,000 activities in 100 countries or more, the company said.

“We strive to provide a seamless booking experience for our customers through our connected trip strategy,” said Priceline CEO Brett Keller. “Priceline Experiences is a natural extension of our broad set of existing offerings and dynamic packaging solutions. By embedding activities into our platform, we’re able to further engage with our customers throughout the booking funnel to help deliver against all of their travel needs, all in one place.” 

Priceline appears to be getting all of its tours and activities inventory from the Musement partnership. Beyond economic factors, Musement’s customer interface, the quality of the products, and integration capabilities were among the factors that drove the two companies to team.

Sister brand Booking.com partnered with Germany’s Musement in 2020 to source its activities deals, and also has a relationship that started in 2021 with U.S.-headquartered Viator.

Priceline said its own research shows that its customers are particularly interested in booking experiences on their vacations and often select trips that include more than one such activity or attractions visit.

Experiences, also known as tours and activities, have become must-have offering for online travel agencies as they try to service customer needs within a destination after they arrive. Airbnb plans to revamp its own experiences offering with increased investment in 2023 after a two-year pandemic-induced pause.

Priceline Experiences include a best price guarantee, user reviews, Covid-19 protocols, and information and what’s included and what isn’t for the booking.

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Tags: attractions, booking holdings, Musement, online travel newsletter, priceline, tours and activities, tui, viator

Photo credit: A tour guide at the 9/11 memorial. Priceline partnered with TUI Musement to offer experiences. 9/11 Tribute Museum

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