Tripadvisor Transforms to Booking Channel: Don’t Miss Out

There has been alot of tweeting, blogging and facebooking about Tripadvisor´s new service recently. It is sheduled to start in September. Here a summary of the facts:

Tripadvisor Connect will allow independent hotels and B&B´s to display real-time availability and online booking on their Tripadvisor profile and let them participate in the hotel price comparison search.

So far these  services have been only available to major online travel agencies and hotel chains while independent accommodation owners had no direct connectivity.

What does it mean for independent lodgings??
Connect give accommodation owners the ability to manage their online promotion on themselves. BUT if you don’t accept direct online bookings you will miss out.

What do accommodation owners need to participate?
To use it you will need to be a registered and verified owner on Tripadvisor, subscribe to a Tripadvisor business listing and use a certified internet booking engine. Beds24 is a certified premium launch partner. If you don’t already have an account you are welcome to join for a FREE trial.

How will it work?
The higher the CPC bid, the higher the rank in the hotel price comparison search results. A link will send travelers directly to the hotel online booking page.

Tripadvisor announced to give owners access to simple online tools to analyse their advertising results as well as to encourage more user reviews through automated post-stay emails.

What will it cost?
Tripadvisor Connect will be a cost-per-click (CPC) solution. Lodgings will be charged each time a user clicks on their URL link in Tripadvisor and is redirected to their own booking page. The cost will be determined via a bidding auction.

When will Tripadvisor Connect be available?
Launch is scheduled for Q4 2013.