NEWTON, Mass., Aug. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor®, the world's largest travel site*, today announced a new feature for its smartphone app and mobile website that allows travelers to easily reserve a ride with Uber to restaurants, attractions and hotels in more than 40 cities worldwide. TripAdvisor is one of the first sites to integrate Uber functionality into its mobile experience by using the new Uber API.
"We're excited to partner with Uber to help TripAdvisor travelers conveniently find a ride to their destination in cities throughout the world," said Adam Medros, senior vice president of global product, TripAdvisor. "Millions of travelers rely on the TripAdvisor app to help them plan and have the perfect trip during all parts of their journey, and our partnership with the popular technology platform makes our app an even more powerful travel-planning resource."
As TripAdvisor app and mobile website users visit the listings of restaurants, attractions and hotels, they will now be able to see an estimate of Uber car fares and the wait times for pickup. By tapping a "Ride there with Uber" button, TripAdvisor will seamlessly take them to the Uber app or mobile website to complete the reservation and send a car to their location. Users will only be charged if they get a ride, and fares vary by location, vehicle type and travel times.
First-time Uber users may create an account by going to the Uber mobile site. In order to create an account they will need to provide their name, email address, phone number and a valid credit card.
"TripAdvisor's integration with Uber's new public API puts requesting an Uber in context, right inside the TripAdvisor app," said Jeff Holden, chief product officer at Uber. "That's a big deal, because it saves people time and simplifies their lives: instead of having to exit the TripAdvisor app, run the Uber app and enter the destination address, your Uber is on its way with just a tap, ready to whisk you off to the venue you were looking
at."
At launch, the new Uber feature for the TripAdvisor app and mobile website will be available in English and Italian, with more languages and cities to be added in the future. The feature is available for both iOS and Android versions of the TripAdvisor app.
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, reaching nearly 280 million unique monthly visitors**, and more than 170 million reviews and opinions covering more than 4 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 44 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 24 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.lafourchette.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, www.virtualtourist.com, and www.kuxun.cn.
*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, Q1 2014
**Source: Google Analytics, average monthly unique users, Q2 2014; does not include traffic to daodao.com
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SOURCE TripAdvisor