TripAdvisor launches new tools for hotel marketers

March 18, 2009 | Hospitality Industry

TripAdvisor today launched a new owners' center, built to help management teams from hotels, restaurants and attractions manage and optimize their properties' presence on TripAdvisor.

Each of the more than one million businesses on TripAdvisor has its own individual page with tools personalized for that business. Instant email alerts of new reviews for their property is just one of the many tools available to registered managers and owners on the new owners’ center.

“Innovative leaders in the hospitality industry are searching for new ways to manage and market their businesses in today’s troubling economic times, so we’re helping them connect in more ways with our community,” said Nathan Clapton, vice president of partnerships for TripAdvisor. “We give owners the tools to manage their online presence and engage the community just when the community is searching harder than ever for the most relevant information and the best values.”

Know instantly what’s being said about you

The first step to being part of any online community is to listen to the conversation, and then to join in. Once owners register on the site, they can sign up for emails of any new review of their property as a simple customer relationship management tool. It’s a quick transition over to engaging the community, with links to management response tools, as well as instructions for updating property listings, uploading videos and photos, and much more.

Promote, simply and quickly

Travelers trust other travelers, so owners can benefit by displaying what they’re saying on their own websites. In a 2007 survey of 360 e-commerce companies, sites that added user reviews reported very positive results:

— 56% lifted conversion
— 77% raised traffic
— 42% increased the average shopping basket

TripAdvisor launched this feature in beta version earlier, and already more than 5,000 hotels, restaurants and attractions are featuring the badges and widgets on their own websites. Property owners can now quickly and easily put a TripAdvisor reviews panel or an award badge for their specific property on their website. The reviews panel or widget can be customized to include snippets of the most recent guest reviews, ratings and photos of the property or destination from TripAdvisor’s world-leading resource of more than 20 million reviews and opinions.

Related Link: TripAdvisor Owner’s Center