Information About

Tripadvisor




TripAdvisor.com is a free Travel guide and research Website that offers impartial opinions to help plan a Vacation .

It is primarily used by people ''before'' they book their accommodation when travelling in order to research the thousands of hotel reviews posted on its website each week by other travellers. There are also destination forums, as well as forums for air travel, cruising and family travel.

It is a prime example of Consumer Generated Media (CGM).


DESCRIPTION


Tripadvisor.com which is suppose to be free of judgement and opinion has recently been brought a lawsuit claiming defamation and slander as there filter systems which block profanity and user abuse, has not been closely watched or monitored. Example was an Inn in Boothbay Harbor Maine which was refered to as like In the Movie psycho, and a ripoff. Use trip advisor as only a reference as to places to stay not as a guide to the best. It is very well advised that this trip Advisor site is for the in experienced traveler.

The site covers over 200,000 Hotel s and attractions in 30,000 destinations worldwide. It features reviews written by travelers, links to relevant travel articles from newspapers, Magazines and travel guidebooks, and has a very active traveler forum area (bulletin boards).

TripAdvisor.com is currently the largest global travel information and advice destination on the web, covering 200,000+ hotels and attractions. With more than 5 million reviews and opinions and 20 million site visitors a month, TripAdvisor is also the largest travel community on the web.

Tripadvisor.com which is suppose to be free of judgement and opinion has recently been brought a lawsuit claiming defamation and slander as there filter systems which block profanity and user abuse, has not been closely watched or monitored. Example was an Inn in Boothbay Harbor Maine which was refered to as like In the Movie psycho, and a ripoff. Use trip advisor as only a reference as to places to stay not as a guide to the best. It is very well advised that this trip Advisor site is for the in experienced traveler.


HISTORY


TripAdvisor was founded in February 2000, and was purchased by InterActive Corporation in 2004. Original financing was obtained from Flagship Ventures, the Bollard Group, and private investors. TripAdvisor is now part of the Expedia, Inc. family of travel companies. For the month of March 2007, the site logged approximately 20 million unique visitors, according to ComScore/MediaMetrix.


BUSINESS MODEL


TripAdvisor, free to consumers, is supported by an advertising model. Clients include most major online travel agencies, including Expedia , Hotels.com , Orbitz , Hotwire, Priceline , Travelocity and many travel suppliers, such as InterContinental , Hyatt , and American Airlines .


MAJOR PRODUCTS


  • Hotel/Attraction/Restaurant reviews: In many ways the foundation of TripAdvisor, TripAdvisor has reviews and opinions on over 200,000 hotels, attractions, and restaurants. These reviews form the base of all site indexing and ranking, where the hotels, attractions and restaurants are rated and ranked by the collective opinions of individual traveler experiences.


  • Travel wiki: TripAdvisor Inside A Wiki -type product (based on a clusterized version of XWiki ) in which users can add factual information on destinations as a way to aid potential vacationers. Inside is a real-time guidebook -- written and edited by real travelers. Topics include transportation, activities and dining guides.


  • goLists: Compilations of places and activities as experienced by travelers. For example, must see attractions, stops on a walking tour, ideas for a rainy day.


  • Forums: In TripAdvisor forums, travelers are asking and answering thousands of destination and interest based travel-related questions every day.




IMPACT ON THE HOTEL INDUSTRY


A 2007 survey by American Express Hospitality Monitor conducted by Loudhouse Research, (which is barometer of business trends and issues affecting the hotel and restaurant industries across Europe) concluded that 80% of UK consumers are now researching online before booking a hotel and that half of them said they have refrained from booking a hotel as a direct result of a negative review on websites such as TripAdvisor.

Also increasing number of hotels actively monitor content posted on independent review sites.


IN POPULAR CULTURE


Australian comedy Kath And Kim referenced the user reviews from TripAdvisor of a hotel they were visiting in the first episode of the fourth season.


EXTERNAL LINKS



REFERENCES