Trivago says goodbye to CPC: CPA takes over

The hotel distribution landscape keeps evolving, and Trivago has just taken a major step.

Since September 1, 2025, the metasearch platform has phased out Cost-Per-Click (CPC) bidding and will now operate exclusively under a Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA) model

In practice, this means hotels will no longer pay for clicks or canceled reservations. Instead, they’ll only pay a commission once the guest has actually completed their stay. Trivago has also introduced a global minimum net CPA of 10%, applicable across all markets.

Why the change?

This move reflects a growing industry trend: performance-based marketing models that focus on real results. According to Trivago’s own data, CPA has already outperformed CPC in recent months:

• +49% booking value per click.
• +31% increase in average booking value.
• +32% higher conversion rate.

In short, more efficient campaigns, stronger ROI, and better access to high-intent travelers.

What hotels need to know

If you were already running CPA campaigns, you’ll hardly notice the change—your settings will have been automatically adjusted to the new 10% minimum.

If you were still on CPC and didn’t transition in time, your Trivago visibility will have dropped off completely. CPA is now the only bidding option available on the platform.

How Paraty Tech is managing the transition

For Paraty Tech, the transition has been smooth, since most of our clients were already operating under CPA. Still, we’ve taken some steps to ensure a solid start under the new framework:

• Starting at 10%: While Trivago recommends setting CPA at 12%, we’re beginning with the minimum 10% and will monitor performance before making adjustments.
• Market adjustments: Campaigns previously set at 8.4% or 9.4% were automatically raised to 10%. Our team has already informed affected hotels.
• Ongoing monitoring: Our marketing and account teams are closely tracking performance to optimize campaigns by client and market.
• No billing changes: As always, only stays that are actually consumed will be invoiced, after proper reconciliation.

In summary

Trivago’s move to a CPA-only model may not significantly impact most hotels, but it does bring the advantage of greater efficiency and a closer link between investment and real results.

At Paraty Tech, we’ll continue guiding our clients through the transition to make sure they maximize both visibility and profitability in this new model.