Travel review site TripAdvisor has just announced that 4,000 of the hotels on its website have taken up its offer of a Business Listing since its launch in October 2009. A Business Listing entitles hoteliers and B&B owners to add information such as website links and contact details to their property listing on TripAdvisor.
Business Listing on TripAdvisor
Without a Business Listing, for which the owner has to pay a fee, users of TripAdvisor have to fish around on Google or Bing (other search engines are available) in order to track down a hotel they’ve seen on the review site. The exception to this is if it happens to be a hotel listed on one of TA’s own hotel booking sites, such as Expedia or hotel.com, where the company takes a booking fee. In those cases people can click through to book directly on TripAdvisor.
4,000 hotels amounts to about 0.8% of the 450,000 properties on TripAdvisor. TripAdvisor’s Business Listing service met with mixed reviews when it launched so critics of the scheme may be encouraged to see that it has not been more widely adopted by hoteliers, despite TripAdvisor’s half-price Business Listing offer when it launched. The half price offer was initially offered until the end of 2009, with full prices due to come in on January 1st 2010, but this deadline was extended and continuing heavy discounts are available on the claimed “regular” price. At present a 30% discount is being offered, perhaps due to the disappointing uptake.
TripAdvisor recently unveiled a similar service to Business Listings aimed at tourist organisations. It has not revealed how many have taken up that offer.
TripAdvisorWatch: Hotel Reviews in Focus 
Unfortunately it is just an other con from Trip Advisor to get more money out of Hotels and such like. I am sure they have done their numbers and set up the fees structure ro compensate for the lesser commission.
I wouldn’t actually call it a con, although paying TA for a business listing is (almost) the only way that places who aren’t affiliated as part of a group/chain to hotel.com, expedia etc. to be able to get their contact details over to people consulting the TA site. But I don’t think it’s good value, even at a 30% or 50% discount, unless you’re a US hotel targeting US consumers – TripAdvisor’s core market.
I see the latest TA press releases say listing numbers are up but the discounts are continuing … may as well make them permanent, as they’ve been at the “special” rate for 7 months now! It’ll be interesting to see how many renew, especially if the prices do eventually rise to the “normal” level. My guess is they’ll discount to encourage renewal.
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Just another example of the insidiousness that pervades TA!
It’s too expensive. It’s too heavily weighted in favour of TA with the way they operate their website, and especially the dubious ‘reviews’ system they have in place. Anything to do with TA is immediately suspect in my eyes, so I use the listing that I have on there (through no fault of my own) to my own advantage. I won’t pay a penny for it, and as soon as law becaomes available whereby I can ask them to take down any information pertaining to my business, I will.
Looks like you’re not alone in questioning the value for money of a paid listing on TripAdvisor, but the vampire octopus (to borrow a phrase) now has so many tentacles that it’s a disadvantage to some businesses not to feature there (unless their reviews are pants, of course!).
Did you know that vacation rentals now have to list with Flipkey if they want to feature on TripAdvisor? TripAdvisor does not accept new free listings for vacation rentals, so holiday rentals are forced to pay Flipkey if they want appear on TA.