Will TripAdvisor’s instant booking option create tension between the review site and OTAs? The company’s CEO says the relationship is a work in progress.
Before I book any hotel, I will do a quick search on TripAdvisor to make sure I am not in for any surprises. The review site was not always my first stop on my journey to booking. In fact, I didn’t even know TripAdvisor existed until I started working for Hotel News Now in December 2011.
Fast forward to present day, and I am well aware of the platform and its effect on the hotel industry. And so is every hotelier. Hotel reviews have never had as much power as they do today. Sales and marketing departments are building entire strategies around the review site.
This fall, TripAdvisor decided to up the ante on its offerings, launching instant booking capabilities on mobile (coming soon to desktops and tablets).
In a recent interview during The PhoCusWright Conference, TripAdvisor CEO Stephen Kaufer discussed the future of TripAdvisor’s newly launched instant booking platform. He shared some interesting insights, namely that TripAdvisor “doesn’t want to be that full-service online travel agency.” The instant booking feature, he added, makes the platform a mix between a metasearch website and OTA.
