The new travel site for AARP members has a new look, a new booking engine and, apparently, new deals for members, such as no-fee airline bookings.
After a four-year association with Travelocity, the organization recently launched the AARP Travel Center, powered by Expedia at www.aarp.org/travel.
A link midway down the home page enables users to find itineraries previously booked through Travelocity, but otherwise it's a clean break from the old AARP Passport site.
AARP counts about 40 million members, all age 50 or older, and said its websites, including travel, average about 2 million monthly unique visitors.
AARP's switch to Expedia for air, car, hotel, cruise and vacation packages followed members' complaints that Travelocity failed to provide much differentiation between Travelocity.com and AARP Passport.
In other words, AARP members expect discounts, and there was considerable chatter on the Web that the deals on AARP Passport at times were less attractive or, at best, on par with those that anyone could get through Travelocity.com.
But it's not clear how big a factor this was. One source, who declined to be identified, said AARP made the switch to Expedia because Expedia offered the organization a higher revenue share.
Travelocity spokesman Joel Frey said, "We were sorry to see AARP go in a different direction," but he declined to comment on the economics or AARP's motivation.
Asked why AARP switched, spokeswoman Elly Spinweber replied: "Expedia was prepared to support the key areas that we evaluate when we select providers, including bolstering member value -- for example, additional discounts and benefits -- and a commitment to helping raise market awareness of AARP's services and benefits."
Spinweber added: "The dedicated co-branded AARP member site incorporates the discounts available from our AARP travel providers and now some additional benefits from Expedia."
One of the key new benefits that Expedia brought to the AARP Travel Center is that there are no air booking fees when members book flights online or on the phone.
Thus, flights booked through AARP often cost about $5 to $7 less than they might on other sites.
"Often it is difficult to obtain discounts from specific airlines, and this is a benefit our members can use regardless of which airline they fly," Spinweber said.
Expedia.com charges airline booking fees to consumers on its own site, but Expedia Inc.'s Hotwire unit does not.
"When you look at the AARP deal ... that's a very specific channel, similar to the Hotwire channel as far as fees go," Expedia Inc. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said during the company's Q3 earnings call last month. "[We] believe those consumers are much, much more sensitive to ticket pricing fees, etc., and we've maintained our stance of having no fees on Hotwire, which has really helped out that business and helped us out overall."
Khosrowshahi added that AARP demographic "is pretty focused on fees, and we thought that going out with a no-fees solution would be a win-win. I'd say so far, so good." He said AARP was "a terrific partner to have, and we're very excited about bringing them on board."
Other new aspects of the AARP-Expedia relationship for AARP members include an onboard ship credit of up to $100 on select sailings and discounts of up to 10% when AARP members book activities, such as Las Vegas shows or tours, in Expedia brick-and-mortar locations.