TripAdvisor's Metasearch To Power Hotel Price Comparison On Bing

NEWTON, Mass., Nov. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor®, the world's largest travel website, today announced two new experiences with Microsoft, through which TripAdvisor's reviews, ratings, photos and other content will be embedded into both the search engine results display on Bing.com and Bing Smart Search results on Windows 8.1 devices. These experiences will make it easy for people to move from thinking about where they want to travel to being ready to book in a matter of seconds.

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As a result of the partnership, TripAdvisor's price comparison tools, traveler reviews and photos are now embedded into the search engine results display on Bing.com for the first time.

This allows people to quickly and easily compare hotel prices and availability via Bing's search results page, which now displays live pricing information from a range of global booking partners, provided by TripAdvisor's industry-leading metasearch tool.

In addition, the new look features enable users to easily view TripAdvisor's more than 125 million reviews and opinions covering more than 3.1 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions worldwide within Bing search results.

It is the first time TripAdvisor has partnered with a search engine to provide traveler ratings and reviews with a live price availability tool within search results. As a result, Bing users will be able to quickly view the most relevant information needed to plan their next trip - 93% of travelers worldwide say online reviews have an impact on their booking decisions, according to the world's largest accommodation and traveller survey*.

"Research shows that hotel prices can differ by as much as 25 percent between different booking providers, and we are focused on helping travellers make an informed decision," said Nathan Clapton, vice president of global mobile partnerships, TripAdvisor. "By offering Bing users an easy way to find the best hotel prices and see reviews, rating and photos from other travellers directly on Bing, we are enhancing the search and planning experience, and hopefully saving them time and money."

"We are very pleased to welcome the resources of TripAdvisor," said Gurpreet S. Pall, Engineering Manager, Bing Local Search, Microsoft. "We developed special Bing search features to help customers find the best deals on hotels and flights, research global destinations, and find useful information to make informed decisions about their travel arrangements. We are confident TripAdvisor's offerings will be a valuable resource for Bing searchers."

In addition, TripAdvisor is introducing its first app for Windows 8.1. The app, available now for download through the Windows Store, includes a host of features designed to help travellers plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor's new app for Windows 8.1 is optimised for touch, and is among the first to integrate with Bing Smart Search, which enables you to tap or click directly into the app when it is relevant to whatever you're searching for.

By integrating directly into Bing Smart Search, the new TripAdvisor app will now show up as a result for relevant travel-related searches. Additionally, when you search in Windows 8.1, content, such as hotel ratings and reviews from within the TripAdvisor app, is presented within results to give people an at-a-glance view of what's available when they open the app itself. With just a single tap or click, consumers will then have instant access to the TripAdvisor app's content and features, including its Hotel Price Comparison search tool. 

Launched in June 2013, TripAdvisor's all-in-one Hotel Price Comparison search is the first to combine real-time pricing and availability with the more than 125 million original reviews and opinions of TripAdvisor travellers. The tool displays an easy-to-read layout of pricing and availability from multiple booking partners in one view.

Notes to editor

*Results taken from the TripBarometer study by TripAdvisor, published in March 2013. Research is based upon an online survey conducted in Dec. 2012 – Jan. 2013. A total of 35,042 people participated in the online survey from 26 countries spanning 7 regions. The sample is made up of 15,595 consumers and 19,447 businesses, making it the world's largest combined accommodation and traveller survey.

Additional information about the TripAdvisor Windows 8.1 app

The TripAdvisor Windows 8.1 app is now available to download in the Windows store.

The app contains a host of features to help you and plan and have the perfect trip, including:

• Access to the site's new Hotel Price Comparison (metasearch), enabling travelers to easily compare booking options at a glance with up-to-the minute hotel prices and availability
• A fast, easy-to-use touch experience
• A dynamic maps functionality that populates accommodations, attractions or restaurants in real-time, giving travelers the option to browse and seamlessly toggle between a list function and a synchronized map view
• High-resolution photos displayed in portrait and landscape mode
• The ability to see everything surrounding a specific point of interest
• New city pages to explore all the best things to do

TripAdvisor apps have been downloaded more than 69 million times to date, across Windows, iOS and Android platforms.

About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor^® is the world's largest travel site*, enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 260 million unique monthly visitors**, and more than 125 million reviews and opinions covering more than 3.1 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 34 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) manages and operates websites under 21 other travel media brands: www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.gateguru.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.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.virtualtourist.com, www.whereivebeen.com, and www.kuxun.cn. 

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, June 2013

**Source: Google Analytics, worldwide data, July 2013

©2013 TripAdvisor, Inc. All rights reserved. 

SOURCE TripAdvisor