This is an Iterable User Engagement Teardown comparing the user engagement strategies of three top online travel agents (OTAs) in the first 3 weeks post-signup: TripAdvisor, Travelocity, and Kayak. After evaluating all email and mobile messages received, we identify what these companies do well and where there is room for improvement. Everything shown in the slides (and any recommendations) can be implemented with Iterable's growth marketing platform. To view more User Engagement Teardowns, visit https://iterable.com/teardown

1. User Engagement Teardown:
Top Online Travel Agents
www.iterable.com

2. 2
A Quick Word on Iterable
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
• Iterable is the growth marketing platform that
powers world-class customer engagement with
unparalleled data flexibility.
• Create, execute and optimize campaigns across
email, push, SMS, in-app and more.
• Everything you see here (and more) can be done
with Iterable. You can see other teardowns at:
iterable.com/teardown

3. 3
What is a “User Engagement Teardown?”
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
• We analyze cross-channel user
engagement over a defined period
post-signup.
• We offer constructive evaluation and
feedback.
• We cover all types of B2C businesses:
e-commerce, marketplaces, media,
politics, etc.

4. 4
Background on TripAdvisor, Travelocity & Kayak
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
• TripAdvisor, Travelocity & Kayak are three leading
online travel agents.
• TripAdvisor, founded in 2000, is the world’s largest travel
website, generating revenues of approx. $1.5B in 2017.
• Travelocity, founded in 1996, was acquired by Expedia
Group in 2015 for $280M.
• Kayak, founded in 2004, was acquired by Booking
Holdings (formerly Priceline Group) in 2013 for $1.8B.

5. 5
What We Did
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
• We signed up and received messages over
three weeks between July & August 2018.
• We escalated our activity over time:
• Completed user profiles
• Downloaded mobile apps
• Browsed travel deals and abandoned carts
for San Francisco, Denver, and New York City

6. On to the User Engagement Timeline…

7. Message TypeActivity Type
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
MessagesUserActivity
We’ll show you what we (the user) did here…
Scheduled
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
…and the messages we received here.
Activities and message types are
color coded as shown in this key.
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
User Engagement Timeline

8. Now let’s look at each brand’s user
engagement. First, TripAdvisor…

9. The TripAdvisor User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
Scheduled

10. The TripAdvisor User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
After we signed up for a TripAdvisor account, we
received a welcome email, followed by 2
transactional messages (one to select a password
and another to confirm our screen name).
Scheduled

11. Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
The day after we completed our user profile, we
received a 2nd welcome email, this time to
Jetsetter, a TripAdvisor company for travel advice.
The TripAdvisor User Engagement Timeline
Scheduled

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Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
The next message of our onboarding series was
personalized by first name and shared the winners
of the Traveler’s Choice Awards.
The TripAdvisor User Engagement Timeline
Scheduled

13. The TripAdvisor User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
We then received 3 more messages: 2 for
weekly travel news from both Jetsetter and
TripAdvisor, and 1 promoting recommended
hotels. These were personalized by name
and/or preferred airport.
Scheduled

14. The TripAdvisor User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
A couple days later, we received a message
with the subject, “Action Required,” asking us
to update our home location.
Scheduled

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Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
We then received a series of scheduled emails,
similar to the previous week: 2 weekly newsletters
and 1 promotion of hotel recommendations.
The TripAdvisor User Engagement Timeline
Scheduled

16. The TripAdvisor User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
We also received 2 triggered messages, one to claim
our first Reviewer badge and another to see prices of
San Francisco hotels we had viewed before.
Scheduled

17. The TripAdvisor User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
On Day 16, we received our first and only mobile message: a
push notification triggered by our mobile cart abandonment:
“Your San Francisco trip: See today’s lowest hotel prices…”
Scheduled

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Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
The last 5 days of the analysis included the most personalized
messages: 2 identical cart abandon emails encouraging us to
“Complete your booking now” and 3 price updates of San Francisco
and NYC hotels we had viewed.
The TripAdvisor User Engagement Timeline
Scheduled

19. Now let’s look at Travelocity’s
user engagement…

20. The Travelocity User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
Scheduled

21. The Travelocity User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
Shortly after signup, we received a welcome email with
CTAs to connect with customer specialists, see member
discounts, and download the mobile app.
Scheduled

22. The Travelocity User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
We then received daily emails for travel deals with
little personalization beyond first name. Templates
and subject lines were often reused.
Scheduled

23. The Travelocity User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
On Day 15, we received a triggered message,
promoting San Francisco hotels we had
previously viewed.
Scheduled

24. The Travelocity User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
The next two emails were duplicates with the
same subject line: “IMPORTANT MESSAGE!
You lucked out with a San Francisco deal”
Scheduled

25. The Travelocity User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
The following triggered emails promoted
NYC hotels we had previously viewed.
Scheduled

26. The Travelocity User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
The last 3 promotions encouraged us to set deal alerts,
view $99 getaways, and check out hotels.
Scheduled

27. Finally, let’s look at Kayak’s
user engagement…

28. The Kayak User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
Scheduled

29. The Kayak User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
After signup, we received a welcome email asking us to
confirm our account and providing the latest deals for
several major cities around the world.
Scheduled

30. The Kayak User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
The first 2 scheduled emails we received included a
sponsored message for Bermuda and a standard
promotion for international travel packages.
Scheduled

31. The Kayak User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
After we updated our profile, we received a more
personalized email with the subject line: “Picked for
you, flights from SFO | Local road trip deals”
Scheduled

32. The Kayak User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
A couple days later, we received another
promotion for international travel packages.
Scheduled

33. The Kayak User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
On Day 11, we received our first and only
mobile message: a push notification with a
subject using only emojis: “! ✈ #”
Scheduled

34. The Kayak User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
We then received a series of daily emails: 3 triggered
messages based on our browsing history, 1 international
travel promotion, and 1 sponsored message by Cruises.com.
Scheduled

35. The Kayak User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Signed up for account
Signed up for push/SMS
Downloaded app
Abandoned cart
Completed profile
MessagesUserActivity
Days from
start:
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Message TypeActivity Type
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS/Push
Abandoned cart
Abandoned cart
The final messages received during our analysis
were another sponsored email by Sandals Resorts
and a 99-hour all-inclusive beach vacation sale.
Scheduled

36. 36
Frequency Takeaways
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
• Over the course of our 3-week study, all online travel agents relied
on email as the primary channel to communicate with users.
Company Email Mobile Push SMS
TripAdvisor 19 1 0
Travelocity 24 0 0
Kayak 12 1 0

37. 37
Differing Priorities
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
• TripAdvisor differentiated communications with the Jetsetter brand and
excelled at personalization based on cart abandonment and browsing history.
• Travelocity maintained a consistent daily schedule of promotions, with
occasional messages triggered by user activity.
• Kayak balanced triggered and scheduled messages, with its unique focus on
sponsored emails from its travel partners.

38. Now let’s look at the message content…

39. Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved 39
These are 5 standard TripAdvisor
messages (emails depicted in Gmail).
You’ll notice…

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Value-based CTAs that focus on content
rather than conversion.

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Preheader personalization by email
address prior to profile update, then first
name after completing profile.

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“Now that you’re part of our
community” extends the
conversation in the welcome series.

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Different email templates for its
Jetsetter weekly travel newsletter.

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Cart abandonment email and push
notification based on user activity.

45. Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved 45
These are 3 standard Travelocity
messages (emails depicted in Gmail).
You’ll notice…

46. Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved 46
Competing CTAs in welcome email to
connect with a travel specialist and see
member discounts.

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Non-animated header image
personalized by first name.

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A personalized content block among
standard blocks (we hadn’t specified
children or preferred airlines).

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Hotel recommendations
based on browsing history.

50. Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved 50
These are 4 standard Kayak messages
(emails depicted in Gmail).
You’ll notice…

51. Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved 51
Account confirmation CTA, followed by
hotel deals, in welcome email.

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Sponsored emails dedicated to specific
travel partners, like Bermuda.

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Hotel recommendations based on
browsing history that stand out with their
large images and use of amenity icons.

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Emoji-only push notification to express
searching for flight and hotel deals.

55. 55
Content Takeaways
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
• Each brand incorporates strong branding and streamlined
design, but differ in their messaging strategies to new users.
• TripAdvisor: Separates weekly travel news from personalized and
corporate content with its Jetsetter brand.
• Travelocity: Focuses less on message personalization but more on
appeal to the price-conscious consumer.
• Kayak: Prioritizes partner sponsorships and image-heavy templates
to entice travelers.

56. Iterable’s Recommendations

57. 57
Our Recommendations
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved
• All companies could optimize their cross-channel marketing by investing
more heavily into integrating push and SMS with their email program.
• TripAdvisor could build their Jetsetter brand with more personalized weekly
newsletters with dynamic content based on browsing history.
• Travelocity could increase its automation by triggering more messages off user
activity rather send generalized content.
• Kayak could improve its sponsored emails by integrating more targeted content
based on individual preferences and behavior.

58. 58
Iterable enables brands to build highly
personalized welcome & onboarding
campaigns that activate consumer interest
Targeted segmentation of new memberships
converted 40% of users to make 1st
purchase
Ongoing testing increased click rates on mobile
by 47% during early days of app launch
New user data is collected to curate
personalized fitness sessions
How Iterable Powers Customer Engagement

59. You’ll enjoy the others! View them all at iterable.com/teardown
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