Last year, it was talked about that Amazon was preparing to enter the travel business. With the Amazon Local channel, they have offered several travel deals but not regular hotel offerings. As of yesterday, that has changed.
Amazon Destinations Offering Hotels
The hotel offering by Amazon, Amazon Destinations
The new Amazon Destinations is a move by Amazon, in sync with their Local channel, to offer hotel rooms at discounted rates and to offer them to the masses. As suspected, these hotels are non-chain locations that are located in the Pacific Northwest, the Northeast, and Southern California.
If you are wanting to visit one of these areas, this could be a great way to hit hotels that may have more local charm than a chain hotel. Amazon’s benefit from the deal is a 15% commission of the price of the room in exchange for serving up hotels to its vast audience.
Several hotels I checked on various dates did not reflect a decrease in price from what Amazon offers to the hotel itself. But, the big difference is you are able to find these hotels that have been hand-picked by Amazon for inclusion in their Destinations list. Some of these hotels one may never find or consider with Amazon Destinations. Of course, you could still find these locations on TripAdvisor but it helps that Amazon has partnered with these locations.
It will be interesting to see what kind of deals or specials that Amazon runs with this new section of their empire. Also, it will be neat to see other hotels that are included as the program develops.
*Disclosure: I included an affiliate link for the Destination link above. I honestly do not know if I get credit for it or not but thought I would put it there anyway. Either way, thank you for your support of the blog!
HT: Engadget
When I go to this site it gives me only hotels in Texas and South Central US so I’m assuming there is a regional element at play with the selections that are highlighted to each customer.
Is that in the Sales and Deals section or at the top part? That would be strange because all reports showed what I found for destinations as well. I will try with a VPN and see what it shows. Thanks!