Amazon has launched a new brand called Amazon Destinations, advertising local weekend getaways within driving distance from major metropolitan areas in the US. This service is an expansion beyond the existing Amazon Local product, which advertised heavily discounted stays at local hotels – like a hotel deals site.

Amazon Destinations works with hoteliers directly and on an ongoing basis. While the site doesn’t advertise flight options and has a long way to go in terms of reaching the number of reviews available on TripAdvisor, Amazon Destinations is beginning to collect user reviews for each property.

Five properties in the Pacific Northwest, four in Southern Carolina and eight in the Northeast of the US all feature as ‘destinations’ on the site.

“We created Amazon Destinations to solve a problem most travellers face: how to easily plan and book a local getaway trip,” said spokesperson Tom Cook. “Interestingly, more than 40 per cent of all domestic US leisure trips are short-term getaways of 1-3 nights, and many of these trips are to nearby, drivable destinations.”

“However, travellers often have a hard time planning local getaways,” Cook added. “It’s difficult to know where to go, the process is labour-intensive, and people often miss out on finding great places to stay.”

According to Skift, Amazon wanted more flexibility to work with hotels on an ongoing basis – not just when operators need to fill some rooms at rock-bottom prices. This means the Amazon Destinations service now uses published rates with standard commissions.