By Justin Quirk
October 2024
With Expedia’s new Travel Shops, you can recreate social media stars’ like-worthy vacations at a click. So go on: Make 2025 the year you stop scrolling and start exploring
For most of us, the “research” part of a trip—that period of going down the rabbit hole on TikTok and Instagram in pursuit of your favorite influencers’ latest travel recommendations—starts a long time before you actually travel. Maybe even while you’re still on your way home from your previous trip.
2025: the year you go from inspiration to destination
Getting ideas for hip bars and hidden beaches from people you trust on your feeds has been a thing for a few years now—but actually following through? Not so much. But in 2025, that all changes: Thanks to Expedia’s Travel Shops, traveling like an influencer is within reach.
In the simplest terms, Travel Shops let you browse and book hotels, tested and recommended by some of the most well-traveled influencers out there. Just as you might buy an item of clothing you’ve seen on someone you follow, you can do the same with a whole vacation. According to Expedia’s Unpack ’25 data, 49% of travelers asked say they’ve previously wanted to book an entire trip they’ve seen on social media, from flights and activities to restaurants and car rental. Now you can.
Discover your planning type, transform your trip
What kind of travel planner are you—TikTokcationer, Optimizer or Set-Jetter?
By visiting your favorite influencer’s Travel Shops page, you can check out their personalized travel recommendations, either showcasing individual properties or grouped into collections around destinations or themes. These hot itineraries can be shared at a click, with whomever you want to take along for the ride.
It all makes for better recommendations, less time organizing, more inspiration, and a lot more travel. And it’s why 2025 is going to be the year that travelers go from following influencers to traveling like them.
Traveler type: Travel YouTuber based in New York City, exploring a mixture of big-city boutique hotels and far-flung relaxation destinations.
In-store now: Select hotels from Santorini to Tulum, plus collections including “Balling in Bali” and “A European Summer.”
Browse now
Traveler type: Emmy Award-winning journalist, “perpetual explorer,” and presenter for the Travel Channel and NBC, who has “traveled to 120 countries and paid rent in seven.”
In-store now: Luxury tented camps in Jordan and Morocco, plus collections of her favorite Parisian hotels, South Beach Miami stays, and the best budget hotels in NYC.
Browse now
Traveler type: Australian-born, Seattle-based traveler and photographer, with a strong focus on the great outdoors.
In-store now: Her favorite local hotels in Seattle, camps in Patagonia, Greek boutique hotels, plus adventure destinations and “epic National Park stays.”
Browse now
Justin Quirk is Associate Creative Director of Editorial at Expedia Group, as well as a writer and editor who has worked for titles including The Sunday Times, The Guardian and Esquire covering music, design, and current affairs. He is also the author of Nothin’ But a Good Time, an acclaimed cultural history of 1980s heavy metal.
Influencers are paid by Expedia and can earn commissions. Third-party research was conducted by market research firm OnePoll on behalf of Expedia Group from August 5–September 2 2024, counting 25,000 respondents across 19 countries among adults who have traveled for leisure or plan to in the next three years.