You Can Book Your Next Hotel Room on Instagram — Here's How

Instagram has long been a source of trip inspiration, but starting Thursday, you can actually book a hotel on the app by sending a direct message to @Hotel.

The account, which is part of travel inspo company Tripscout, has launched a booking platform within the social media app, allowing users to get access to exclusive private rates, which are about 25% to 75% less than those available publicly, according to the company.

"You may only travel a few times a year, but if you love to travel, you think about it every single day," Tripscout CEO Konrad Waliszewski said in a statement to Travel + Leisure. "We wanted to be the first company that embraces that and builds a genuine relationship with our customers every step of their journey, from inspiration to planning to booking."

Calling itself the first online travel agent for Instagram, users can start by sending a DM with the word "hotel" to @Hotel on Instagram. In return, the company says the chatbot will send a private booking link with access to the steepest discounts available, which it likens to getting a 5-star hotel for the price of a 3-star.

The reason they're able to pare down the pricing so much is that rates listed publicly have to meet certain rules of parity. Since it offers special prices via chat, it's able to come in at a steeper discount. Additionally, the company has amassed a following of nearly 30 million across its many travel-related brands (like @WeLiveToExplore, @Outdoor, @Best_Airbnb, @NewYorkCity.Explore, @London.Travelers) and that volume helps them score better deals.

Tripscout hopes that by engaging directly on Instagram to book hotels, it will find a way to reach users where they already are.

"Social media is the new SEO, yet the legacy travel industry has been built on transactional interactions, driven by billions of annual advertising spend," Waliszewski added. "We've built a large, passionate, and loyal audience of frequent travelers, and we're excited to launch these game-changing private offers on Instagram, so they can travel more, travel better, and spend less in a post-pandemic world."