Expedia unveiled a Travel Agent Affiliate Program (TAAP) through which agents in the United States can access Expedia’s global inventory and earn commissions on hotels, dynamic packages and activities. Expedia claims it is the only full-service online travel provider to offer such extensive inventory to travel agents.

“Expedia is committed to providing the most comprehensive, efficient and flexible service to our customers and partners,” said Tim MacDonald, senior vice president and general manager for Expedia.com. “Our Travel Agent Affiliate Program has been extremely successful in Europe and Asia and we are very excited to bring it to the travel agent community in our largest market. We recognize that offline agents are a critical part of the travel landscape and TAAP provides the perfect way for Expedia to work with this community.”

To become a member of the program, agents can register online at Expedia.com by clicking on the travel agent access link in the footer of the site. As a TAAP member, they will have direct access to Expedia’s global inventory and use the Expedia platform to check the availability of hotel rooms, flights, packages and more to make and confirm bookings in real time. Affiliates can benefit from the same fast and simple site functionality that Expedia customers experience, enabling them to research, plan and book the best possible trips for their clients, while earning commissions for doing so.

Expedia is waiving the one-time membership fee for all agents who sign up by June 30, 2010. Agents who sign up before that date will have a chance to earn an enhanced commission on tailored reservations departing until August 30, 2010. Beginning July 2010, agents who join the program can do so for a one-time membership fee of $50. Expedia’s Travel Agent Affiliate Program was first launched in Italy in 2002 and has since expanded to the UK, France, Germany, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The program currently has more than 8,000 members worldwide.

Commission levels for TAAP are 10 percent for Expedia Special Rate hotels, $6 per booking for Agency Hotels, 5 percent on vacation packages (flight and hotel, flight and car rental, flight and hotel and car rental). There is a minimum three-night/three-day land content requirement. Expedia pays 3 percent on vacation packages (flight and hotel, flight and car rental, flight and hotel and car rental) that are less than three night/three days land content. It pays 10 percent commission for activities. The program is open to travel agents in the US. Expedia accepts IATA, ARC, CLIA or all four of the following: A letter of request an agency’s letterhead declaring why the agent is seeking this direct relationship, copies of an agency’s state or local business licenses, federal employer ID number, and proof of errors and omissions insurance.

While Expedia claims it is the only online travel site to provide such a service to agents, Orbitz launched its Orbitz for Agents (www.orbitzforagents.com) program in February giving travel agents the opportunity to earn commissions on hotel reservations and customized travel package bookings. Orbitz claims its program gives travel agents a broad range of hotel options around the world, including promotional rates on thousands of properties. It also allows travel agents to create customized travel packages (flight and hotel; flight, hotel and car; and hotel and car), as well as access to highly discounted rates on airline tickets, hotel rooms and car rentals. Orbitz offers standard commission rates of 10 percent for hotel reservations and 4 percent for travel package bookings.

Expedia’s program also isn’t the online agency’s first foray into the retail agency business. The company also owns its own host travel agency, Expedia CruiseShipCenters (www.cruiseshipcenters.com), which has several hundred affiliates. For more information Expedia’s new program, call 914-630-8905 or visit: www.expediaaccess.com/us.