The travel industry is nuanced, pick a retail media solution that accommodates this

In our previous article, we explored what’s driving the resistance to transforming co-marketing and travel partnerships. In this piece, we delve deeper into why retail media solutions built specifically for travel are critical for OTAs and tour operators looking to scale.

Retail media might be booming, but for OTAs and tour operators, travel is anything but standard retail.

With more retail media solutions entering the market, it’s tempting for OTAs to consider tools that have succeeded for supermarkets, fashion retailers, or electronics stores. Yet travel is fundamentally different.

“To be blunt, OTAs can’t afford to bolt on a retail solution designed for groceries or FMCG businesses. Our industry has variances, unique commercial models, partnership dynamics, and storytelling requirements,” says Roy Stratford, Director of Retail Media at Platform 195.

These differences commonly include:

  • Longer consideration cycles: A holiday purchase might take weeks or months of research.
  • Emotion-driven choices: Travel sells dreams, not just products.
  • Destination marketing partnerships: Tourism boards, hotel groups, and cruise lines bring unique demands.
  • High-value customer journeys: A single trip can unlock huge downstream value, from insurance to excursions.‍
  • Revisiting content: Once a holiday is booked, customers will continue to revisit the webpage to see their hotel, share it with friends

Generic retail solutions, often called industry-agnostic, usually fall short because they’re not built with the travel industry’s unique needs in mind.

Why generic retail media tools don’t work for OTAs

According to Roy, generic retail media tools often fail OTAs for several reasons, including:

  • They lack travel-specific ad formats.
  • They can’t manage tourism board partnership complexity.
  • They don’t support multi-channel storytelling.
  • They struggle with travel’s unique booking data and conversion windows.
“Travel deserves technology that understands its nuances. That’s why Platform 195 built Uplift, to help OTAs transform media inventory into measurable revenue without sacrificing efficiency or partner relationships,” says Roy.

Uplift: A unified retail media solution built for travel

Platform 195’s Uplift ecosystem was designed for one mission: to empower travel brands to build scalable retail media networks.

Designed and built by travel industry veterans and experienced partnership professionals, Uplift consists of three core products:

Uplift Hub

Manage your entire ecosystem from one intuitive platform; sales pipeline, inventory, campaign planning, activation, reporting and finance. Uplift Hub gives your team a unified view with built-in tools to collaborate, optimise, and scale.

Uplift Ads

Run flexible native formats; sponsored listings, banners, video, and in-store screens across all owned channels. With full targeting, server-side integration, and your choice of commercial model (CPM, CPC, Auction), Uplift Ads protects CX while maximising value.

Uplift Ads+

Unlock new ancillary revenue streams with Uplift Ads+. Reach high-intent customers through curated partnerships with global media owners across premium digital channels.

The Uplift ecosystem is uniquely suited to OTAs thanks to its features and proven results.

  • Centralised control: Manage proposals, inventory, activation, and reporting in one unified platform, from on-site merchandising to connected TV.
  • Travel-ready formats: Serve flexible, native ad formats including sponsored listings, video, email, and digital signage tailored to travel storytelling.
  • Data-driven insights: Integrate seamlessly with your existing tech stack, gaining live reporting, AI-driven content creation, and robust inventory management.
  • Scalable partnerships: Manage complex tourism board campaigns and multi-channel rollouts.
  • Proven Success: Benefit from best-practice technology and development with a solution already in use with multiple OTAs across the globe.
Uplift Managed Service

OTAs looking to transform their partnerships can choose to implement Uplift as a self-service portal, or enlist specialist help and managed services from the Platform 195 team.

“If you are only just starting your retail media journey, our managed service offering provides valuable expertise across commercialisation, campaign management, ad design, production and operations as well as media buying and creative and research solutions,” says Roy.

Managed services are also available on a project basis, tailored to the specific needs of each OTA.

So, is your platform truly built for travel?

If you are already using a retail media platform, Roy recommends asking yourself the following three questions.

  1. Is your current retail media partner travel-specific?
  2. Can you scale to thousands of campaigns across multiple channels?
  3. Are tourism boards and suppliers choosing your competitors because they deliver better insights and faster results?

“Even if you have started your retail media journey, it’s worth sense checking your choice. OTAs deserve tools built for the sector’s unique dynamics,” says Roy.

Ready to see how Uplift can transform your OTA’s retail media revenue? Book a free consultation at www.platform195.com or email hello@platform195.com today.

About Platform 195

Platform 195 is a specialist in retail media, data science, and creative marketing for the global travel industry. Its proprietary platform, Uplift, is the industry’s leading data-fuelled retail media ecosystem, designed to deliver scalable, performance-led marketing for tour operators and OTAs worldwide.

Founded in 2019 by former Thomas Cook executives Stuart Adamson and Anthony Bridges, Platform 195 works with nearly 30 major travel brands including TUI, Travel Republic, easyJet Holidays, and Hays Travel.

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