Co-Op or No-Op: 7 Steps to Evaluate Partnerships with Big Travel Brands

When a big name like Expedia or Travelzoo comes knocking with a glossy co-op proposal, it’s tempting to say yes. Their decks boast audience numbers, slick mockups and past “success stories.”

But as a destination, your job is to buy results, not exposure. Visitor arrivals, room nights and spending are what convince board members and stakeholders.

Here’s a practical framework to evaluate co-op marketing partnerships with OTAs and deal platforms so you can decide if opting in is right for you.

1. Start with the Most Important Question

Ask yourself, “Can they reach my travelers?” Be clear on audience fit. Expedia, Hopper, Travelzoo and similar brands all have reach. but not always to the audience you need.

Look for data showing audiences come from priority markets. Demographics and spend data reveal if they’re reaching budget hunters or mid/high-value travelers. Be sure you can find out how and when they’re booking, like what devices they use.

If you’re a long-haul destination looking to grow high-yield stays from the U.S. and Canada, a co-op program that over-indexes on bargain European city breaks for domestic travelers is a mismatch

Opt in or out? If you’re seeing clear benchmarks by market and segment that align with your destination strategy, go for it. But lots of generic “global audience” language and a lack of segmentation means you should probably decline.

2. Be Crystal Clear on the Sales Objective

Co-ops can be great for awareness, but big brand platforms are best when treated as sales channels, not just media. Decide up front what success looks like.

Agree upfront if you seek increases in room nights or bookings from target markets over certain periods. Once you know your bottom line, ask the platform to prove their campaign structure maps directly to that goal with click-to-book paths and on-site conversion tools to make sure everything aligns. 

Opt in or out? If the proposal keeps drifting back to “brand visibility,” push it back toward measurable sales outcomes, otherwise take a pass.

3. Check Discoverability Mechanics

A lot of co-op campaigns fail because your destination gets lost in the shuffle. Analyze how your brand will appear on the homepage and category pages of their site. Push for “takeover” formats to be the destination of the week alongside evergreen tiles to create sustained interest.

Demand clarity on traffic drivers like appropriately targeted emails and paid search and social ad buying. Knowing how your competition will appear alongside you is a determining factor that could make or break the co-op.

Opt in or out? Being live on their platform is good, but the partner needs to communicate a plan to concentrate attention on your destination. If you’re going to be just another on a list of choices, it may be wiser to bow out.

4. Demand Transparent, Sales-Focused Reporting

If post-campaign reports focus on impressions, clicks and brand engagement, you’ve bought an ad campaign, not a sales partnership.

Before signing, request clarity on available booking metrics to get the most detailed reports possible. A debrief on which markets converted best and which hotel partners or experiences performed strongly is essential to assessing the vitality of your co-op. Include behavioral insight like device breakdown and most-clicked imagery to help flesh out the picture.

Opt in or out? Ideally, you want access to a dashboard during the campaign, not just a PDF two months later. If they can’t provide deep, real-time insight, you can’t effectively adjust your offer performance as needed. That’s a red flag.

5. Look for Long-Term Value, Not a One-Off Spike

A good co-op can teach you something useful about your destination’s demand curve. Ask each platform what long-term value they can provide.

Expect them to build audience segments for your destination that you can retarget later. Negotiate access to ongoing tools like loyalty offers after the main campaign. Demand category insights to isolate your performance against competitors.

Opt in or out? Co-ops with major brands open up troves of booking data you don’t have. If they share directional insights, that can inform your broader marketing strategy. But if they close the door to any of it, you may be better off skipping it.

6. Ensure Partner Readiness and Alignment

A sophisticated co-op can yield mediocre results if partners aren’t aligned. Verify you have enough product on the shelf and a diverse mix of hotels and experiences participating at different price points.

Align with key partners on inventory and blackout dates so you don’t drive demand into a wall of “sold out” messages. Prepare your partners for higher-intent traffic and last-minute queries, especially if the campaign is deal-driven or time-sensitive.

Opt in or out? A co-op is only as strong as the on-the-ground product that backs it up. If your partners’ operational capacity can’t meet increased needs, the co-op will frankly be a waste.

7. Compare Co-Op to Your Next-Best Option

If everything seems solid, ask one last question: “Can we do this ourselves and get the same results?”

Sure, you need resources to run your own performance campaigns with a metasearch engine or DSP. You’ll need to invest in better conversion tools on your destination site and double down on travel advisor incentives or B2B campaigns. But if it’s less expensive than a co-op, and you maintain control, it might be worth it.

Opt in or out? If the co-op can’t clearly outperform those alternatives or teach you something uniquely valuable, it’s not the right co-op. Look past the flattery of being approached for a co-op and drill down to the net good it’ll do. If you don’t see revolutionary outcomes, maybe keep it in-house for now.

Brands like Expedia, Hopper and Travelzoo can move the needle for destinations, but only if you evaluate them as sales partners, not just big-name media buys.

Assessing audience fit, sales-first objectives, offer strength and long-term value require internal reflection among your DMOs team. Practical matters like platform mechanics, transparent reporting and partner readiness will help you better understand the co-op’s true potential.

It’s a strong power play to say “yes” to the right co-ops, and even stronger to confidently say “no” to programs that won’t deliver the bookings, room nights and revenue your destination needs.

For support evaluating co-op proposals, negotiating deliverables and setting up sales-focused measurement, get in touch with Karyl Leigh Barnes at karyl.barnes@aboutdci.com.