Imagine aggressive 1.5X growth targets after a global disruption, across multiple verticals, in a fiercely competitive region. That was the challenge for Trip.com, a leading global travel company with over 400 million members. To not only meet but dramatically exceed its goals in the APAC region, Trip.com turned to the power of a sophisticated, data-driven partner program. This is the story of how a collaborative, forward-thinking strategy unlocked phenomenal growth, proving the affiliate channel’s power as a key commercial engine.
The Challenge: Aggressive Growth in a Complex Market
Following the COVID era, Trip.com set a primary objective to achieve aggressive growth targets in the APAC region, aiming for a 1.5X increase in gross merchandise value (GMV). The campaign’s success was tied to several key performance indicators (KPIs), including driving overall GMV and conversions across APAC.
Trip.com also aimed to expand into and scale new travel verticals, such as car rentals, cruises, and airport transfers. To manage this complexity, the campaign also required optimizing partner commissioning strategies and enhancing data utilization for both commissioning and reporting.
The Strategy: Technical Excellence Meets Commissioning Sophistication
Trip.com’s success was powered by a collaborative and forward-thinking approach using the Partnerize platform. The planning and execution focused on two core areas:
1. Technical & Data Integrity
Server-to-Server (S2S) Integration: The team implemented technical enhancements, including server-to-server integration, to ensure maximum data integrity.
Mobile-First Focus: A gap analysis prioritized the mobile app journey specifically within the APAC region, which led to an improved user experience and higher conversion rates.
Rich Metadata Utilization: Enhanced conversion postbacks were used to transfer rich metadata, a feature that was particularly valuable for optimizing and differentiating rates.
2. Streamlined Commissioning & Incentives
Sophisticated Commissioning: A sophisticated commissioning strategy was deployed, utilizing the rich metadata to differentiate rates and effectively incentivize partners.
Operational Efficiency: To save significant time and streamline operations, Trip.com co-developed a custom tool using the Partnerize API for the bulk uploading of commission rules.
Fraud Prevention: Partner-specific overrides were used to prevent the misuse of voucher codes, a practice known as “double-dipping”.
The Results: Outcomes That Beat Expectations
The campaign significantly exceeded its objectives between January 1, 2024, and July 9, 2025 , demonstrating remarkable commercial success. Trip.com achieved a phenomenal 157% Year-over-Year increase in GMV within the fiercely competitive APAC region. This aggressive growth was also reflected across the entire program, with approved order value climbing by more than 100% in the last 12 months.
Henrique Almeida, Global Head of Affiliate Marketing at Trip.com, underscored the partnership’s value: “We are incredibly happy with the Partnerize interface, and we’ve seen strong engagement and growth in our travel verticals. The ability to transfer metadata has been particularly valuable… Their support, even in specific markets with partner recommendations, has been instrumental to our success”. Learn even more about the results by downloading the full case study right here.
Next Steps: Fuel Your Own Affiliate Growth
Trip.com’s success story proves that with the right technology, sophisticated data utilization, and a collaborative approach, the affiliate channel is powerful enough to drive aggressive, multi-vertical growth in complex global markets.
Ready to see how you can achieve huge commercial outcomes by scaling your own partner portfolio?
To learn more about how Partnerize can help grow your affiliate program revenue, get in touch here.
