Emerging Travel Group Turns ETG Marketing Hub Into a Travel Media Network

Another travel booking company is moving into advertising. Emerging Travel Group (ETG), the business behind RateHawk, ZenHotels and Roundtrip, announced on November 2 that it is expanding its ETG Marketing Hub into a travel media network with hundreds of providers and channels.

Advertisers will be able to reach audiences beyond ETG's own platforms, using its first-party travel data to target them. Channels include social media, display, video, connected TV, digital out-of-home and audio. Brands can target B2C and B2B audiences by travel interests and shown intent, and build lookalike audiences. ETG names hotels, tourism boards and airlines as intended users. The Hub covers media planning, targeting and post-campaign reporting, and ETG cites a network of more than 110,000 travel professionals across 180 countries.

The Hub launched in September and later added influencer marketing through a partnership with Rippla. ETG will show it at World Travel Market in London from November 3 to 5.

Anna Kladova, ETG's chief marketing officer, said the wider network combines the company's insights with more media to help brands reach goals such as occupancy, route promotion and destination visitor growth. In her words, "By connecting brands with relevant audiences across the right channels, we aim to turn travel intent into meaningful results."

ETG says it was founded in 2010, is based in the UAE and serves travelers in over 190 source markets. It offers more than 3.3 million hotels, including over 250,000 directly contracted properties, along with flights from 450 airlines, transfers in 150 countries and car rental. It employs more than 3,900 people.

The move follows the pattern set by larger platforms, which earn growing income from media sales built on booking data. For hotels, it means one more intermediary that wants a marketing budget as well as a commission. Properties should ask what performance data they would actually get back before buying.