Fotopedia to offer in-app hotel bookings with Expedia

Now users can check out images of cool sites and find a list of nearby hotels

Part of me gets really mad when I’m swiping through the pictures in my Fotopedia Paris app and I realize that I don’t just want to sit here and stare at pictures.  I want to get my ass out there and actually see the damn Sacre-Couer Basilica in real life.  It’s a cruel tease.  So to appease mobile users like me, Fotopedia announced Wednesday that it has partnered with Expedia to start offering in-app hotel bookings.

Now, when you’re browsing through photos in Fotopedia’s Paris and Japan apps, you can tap a button on the side to pull up a list of nearby hotels.  For example, let’s say there’s a picture of the Tuileries Garden that catches your eye, and you want to find out where you can stay that will be within walking distance of that spot.  By tapping an Expedia icon on the left-hand side, you’ll pull up a list of nearby hotels.

Fotopedia SVP Christophe Daligault says that the company is starting with the Paris and Japan apps because they are the two most popular, making up 25% of Fotopedia’s audience and traffic. 

“If you see Expedia's brand new and hugely inspiring global ad campaign (‘Find Yours’), you get a taste of where Expedia is headed,” Daligault told me.  “Expedia has very impressive ambitions in the mobile space. They are doing great things and doing them fast. The Expedia Hotels app works on both iPhone and iPad, is optimized for the new iPad and available worldwide in many languages.”

Daligault added that 15% to 25% of all travel browsing is now happening on mobile devices, with the iPad in the lead as the fastest growing platform.

Fotopedia recently launched its own global advertising platform with campaigns for Flipboard, National Geographic, and Jetsetter.  The new ad platform and the partnership with Expedia should provide some beefy new revenue streams for Fotopedia, which makes money off of its paid apps.  Daligault says the company is on track to be cash flow positive by the end of the year.

The apps now have 12 million users worldwide and generate 200 million page views per month, 60% of which are on the iPad.  The company saw a 70% spike in traffic earlier this year, shortly after the New iPad was released.