NEEDHAM, Mass., Feb. 04, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TripAdvisor^®, the world's largest travel site*, today announced it has expanded instant booking for hotels to nine English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and South Africa. Travelers in these markets are now able to conveniently book a hotel on all of TripAdvisor's platforms, desktop and mobile, without leaving the site.

TripAdvisor instant booking is now fully rolled out across 11 countries, following the launch of instant booking in the U.S. and U.K., with a global rollout expected in the first half of 2016.

"We're excited to help even more travelers around the world conveniently plan and book the perfect trip on our site as we roll out instant booking to more global markets," said Stephen Kaufer, president and CEO of TripAdvisor. "The momentum we're building is remarkable and we look forward to continuing our expansion throughout 2016 with the help of our trusted partners."

TripAdvisor's partnership with Priceline Group, announced in October 2015, and subsequent integration of its Booking.com inventory have helped accelerate TripAdvisor's instant booking expansion due to the online travel agency's extensive global property listings, localized content and quality customer care. TripAdvisor is working to integrate inventory from its other valued instant booking partners so that their supply is available to book on the platform in the near future.

TripAdvisor now works with 8 out of the top 10 hotel brands in the world and these respected suppliers have joined a growing list of more than 70 hotel chain, groups and online travel agency (OTA) partners that will power bookings on the platform. TripAdvisor's instant booking partners include Accor, Best Western International, Carlson Rezidor, Choice Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, Langham Hospitality, La Quinta Inns & Suites, Mandarin Oriental, Marriott International, Priceline Group, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Wyndham Worldwide.

How TripAdvisor Instant Booking Works
TripAdvisor allows users to not only compare prices, but now through its instant booking platform, book through hotel and online travel agency partners without leaving the TripAdvisor site. Hotels available for instant booking have a prominent "book" button and users that click this button can easily complete their reservation on TripAdvisor, with the transaction and customer care provided by the partner.

About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor^® is the world's largest travel site*, enabling travelers to plan and book the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers advice from millions of 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 350 million unique monthly visitors**, and more than 290 million reviews and opinions covering 5.3 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 47 countries worldwide.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) through its subsidiaries, manages and operates websites under 23 other travel media brands:

www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.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.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: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, July 2015

**Source: TripAdvisor log files, average monthly unique users, Q3 2015

Kevin Carter
(781) 800-5237
kcarter@tripadvisor.com