How much does booking, Expedia and trip.com spends on ppc ?
In their SEC filings and annual reports, major Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) categorize pay-per-click (PPC) and paid digital search under Performance Marketing or Direct Selling and Marketing.
Combined, the top global OTAs invest over $15 billion annually on performance advertising and PPC alone, with Google being by far the largest single recipient.
Annual Marketing & PPC Spend Overview
| Company | FY2024 Performance / Direct Ad Spend | FY2025 Performance / Direct Ad Spend | Total Marketing Spend (FY2025) | % of Net Revenue (Total Marketing) | Primary Paid Channels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Booking Holdings (Booking.com, Agoda, Priceline, Kayak) | ~$6.5B – $6.8B (est.) | ~$7.2B – $7.5B (est.) | $8.19 billion | ~30% | Google Ads (Search & Hotel Ads), Metasearch, Performance Social |
| Expedia Group (Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo) | $6.85 billion | $7.35 billion | $8.10 billion | ~50% | Google Ads, Metasearch (Trivago, TripAdvisor), Affiliate networks |
| Trip.com Group (Trip.com, Ctrip, Skyscanner, Qunar) | ~$1.1B – $1.2B (est.) | ~$1.4B – $1.6B (est.) | $2.13 billion (RMB 14.9B) | ~24% | Google Ads (international), Baidu, App Store Search Ads, Metasearch |
1. Booking Holdings (Booking.com, Agoda, Priceline)
- Total Marketing Expense (2025): $8.186 billion (up 12.5% from $7.278 billion in 2024).
- PPC / Performance Allocation: Booking divides marketing into brand and performance marketing. In its Form 10-K, management states that performance marketing represents the "substantial majority" of total marketing expenses.
- Where the money goes: Industry estimates and SEC disclosures place Booking’s performance marketing budget at 88% to 92% of its total marketing spend. Analysts estimate that Booking sends between $5 billion and $6 billion annually directly to Google for keyword auctions (Google Ads) and Google Hotel Ads.
2. Expedia Group (Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo)
- Total Marketing Expense (2025): ~$8.10 billion ($7.35B direct + $753M indirect).
- PPC / Direct Marketing Line Item: Unlike Booking, Expedia explicitly separates "Direct selling and marketing" on its income statement. In FY2025, Expedia spent $7.349 billion on direct marketing (up from $6.846 billion in 2024).
- Where the money goes: Direct marketing consists predominantly of search engine keyword bidding (Google), metasearch partner channels (such as Trivago and TripAdvisor), affiliate commissions, and digital acquisition campaigns. Direct marketing consumes nearly 50% of Expedia’s entire annual net revenue.
3. Trip.com Group (Trip.com, Ctrip, Skyscanner)
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Total Sales & Marketing Expense (2025): RMB 14.9 billion (~$2.13 billion USD), up 25% from RMB 11.9 billion (~$1.65 billion USD) in 2024.
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PPC / Performance Dynamics:
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Domestic China (Ctrip/Qunar): A majority of domestic bookings originate directly within the native mobile app ecosystem (over 90% mobile transaction share), which lowers traditional web-search PPC costs relative to Western peers.
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International Growth (Trip.com & Skyscanner): As Trip.com aggressively scales in APAC, Europe, and North America, its spend on paid search engines (Google Ads, Apple Search Ads) and partner referrals has grown rapidly. Direct advertising and digital promotions make up approximately 65% to 75% of its total sales and marketing line item (roughly $1.4B to $1.6B USD).
Key Takeaways on OTA Ad Spend Dynamics
- The "Google Tollbooth": Booking Holdings and Expedia Group together represent one of Google's largest single sources of search ad revenue, frequently bidding against both hotel suppliers and each other to capture top-of-funnel intent.
- The Push for App Directness: Because performance ad costs continue to rise with each keyword auction cycle, all three players are aggressively investing in loyalty tiers (e.g., Booking's Genius, Expedia's OneKey) and app download incentives to increase direct, non-PPC booking share.
Want an analysis of how Google Hotel Ads and metasearch bidding impact OTA unit economics?