TripAdvisor Connect signs IBEs ahead of launch

210 Internet booking engines from across 48 countries have signed up with TripAdvisor ahead of the launch of the TripAdvisor Connect online platform later this year.

TripAdvisor claim that with the current level of committed booking engines more than 135,000 worldwide hotels and B&Bs will be able to participate in TripAdvisor’s hotel price comparison services.

TripAdvisor vice president of direct connect solutions Jean-Charles Lacoste said: “We’re delighted to have such an international range of Internet booking engines on board for the launch of TripAdvisor Connect. The enthusiastic response from over 200 Internet booking engines from 48 countries shows that they realize this will be a powerful new way for their clients to generate incremental bookings.”

“We anticipate signing up even more Internet booking engines over the next few weeks and we look forward to enabling so many independent accommodation owners to generate new bookings,” added Lacoste.

As part of the TripAdvisor Connect service, TripAdvisor has devised a tiered certification process for Internet booking engines to offer their clients:

• TripAdvisor Connect – hotels and B&Bs can bid for TripAdvisor meta search traffic
• TripAdvisor Connect Plus – hotels and B&Bs can bid for TripAdvisor meta search traffic and automate review collection efforts using TripAdvisor’s Review Express service, which will be integrated into the platform
• TripAdvisor Connect Premium – hotels and B&Bs can bid for traffic, automate review collection and track the results of their activity to measure their return on investment

As of today, TripAdvisor claims that close to 90 percent of the committed 210 Internet booking engines will be TripAdvisor Connect Premium partners. TripAdvisor Connect will also enable business listings subscribers to provide real-time availability and online booking to travellers researching on TripAdvisor via their booking engines.