TripAdvisor Announces Instant Booking Agreement With Expedia, Inc.

NEEDHAM, Mass., Dec. 20, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TripAdvisor TRIP announced an agreement to begin adding hotel inventory from select Expedia, Inc. brands to the TripAdvisor instant booking platform. As part of the initial test, select hotel inventory from Expedia brands will be available to book on TripAdvisor's U.S. desktop site.

TripAdvisor's instant booking feature enables users to simply tap or click the "Book Now" button to initiate a hotel reservation, powered by the hotel or online travel agent. Both the transaction, as well as customer service, will be handled by the partner.

"Adding Expedia to the instant booking platform nicely complements TripAdvisor's existing hotel inventory and helps users shop for a great deal on a hotel," said Robin Ingle, senior vice president of global sales, TripAdvisor.

"With this new agreement, we are interested to see how we can drive additional customer acquisition given the product and customer experience enhancements instant booking has made," said Aaron Price, senior vice president of global marketing, Expedia, Inc.

TripAdvisor Instant Booking
Launched initially to U.S. consumers on mobile devices in June 2014, hotel instant booking is now available to users around the globe, providing travelers a seamless and efficient hotel booking experience.

TripAdvisor continues to add hospitality partners to its instant booking marketplace, including, Accor, Best Western International, Carlson Rezidor, Choice Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, Langham Hospitality, La Quinta Inns & Suites, Mandarin Oriental, Marriott International, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Wyndham Worldwide. These respected suppliers have joined a growing list of more than 70 hotel chains, groups, and online travel agency (OTA) partners that will power bookings on the platform.

About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor^® is the world's largest travel site**, enabling travelers to unleash the potential of every trip. TripAdvisor offers advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools that check hundreds of websites to find the best hotel prices. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, reaching 390 million average monthly unique visitors, and reached 435 million reviews and opinions covering 6.8 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 48 markets worldwide. TripAdvisor: Know better. Book better. Go better.

TripAdvisor, Inc. TRIP, through its subsidiaries, manages and operates websites under 24 other travel media brands:
www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.citymaps.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.thefork.com (including www.lafourchette.com, www.eltenedor.com, www.iens.nl, www.besttables.com and www.dimmi.com.au), www.gateguru.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.housetrip.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.onetime.com, www.oyster.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.travelpod.com, www.tripbod.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com, www.viator.com, and www.virtualtourist.com.

*Source: TripAdvisor log files, average monthly unique visitors, Q3 2016

**Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, July 2016