Online travel agency Hopper has said it makes more money by upselling customers with add-ons, such as trip cancellation protection, than it does from selling travel itself. Now the Montreal-based company has begun distributing these upsell products for airlines, agencies, and others to use, too. Amadeus, the world’s largest travel technology company, said on Tuesday it had become the first distributor of the startup’s products.
The deal between Hopper and Amadeus is part of a new frontier for the travel industry, as many companies invent more creative ancillaries. The underlying trend promises to unlock additional profits for travel suppliers and sellers, while also building traveler confidence to make purchases during an uncertain pandemic.
Amadeus has the right to deploy any of Hopper’s products that a partner requests. For now, it is starting with offering two policies an unnamed online travel agency has asked for in a pilot study. One product is “cancel for any…