NEEDHAM, Mass., April 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) today announced the official launch of Sponsored Placements, a new advertising solution enabling accommodation businesses to capture the attention of travelers and drive quality, targeted traffic to their property by advertising in high visibility placements on the world's largest travel site*, including above users' search results.

According to a recent "Path to Purchase" study, TripAdvisor is the number one most-visited site prior to booking travel, with 60 percent of all online travel purchasers globally visiting TripAdvisor before booking a hotel¹. The new Sponsored Placements solution allows accommodation businesses to capitalize on TripAdvisor's influence over consumers' buying decisions by significantly increasing their property's visibility and driving booking referrals. 

Customers can quickly set up a Sponsored Placements campaign by selecting from three monthly cost-per-click budget options, allowing owners to set their maximum spend threshold, with customizable budgets coming soon. The ads are then automatically targeted to highly qualified traffic searching for relevant accommodation options in the area. Businesses are only charged for the clicks their ads receive.

"Given the influential role TripAdvisor plays in the Inspiration, Shopping and Decision phases of a traveler's planning and booking experience, we decided to build a product to help accommodation business owners reach potential guests at this critical stage of the path to purchase journey. Sponsored Placements is the smarter advertising solution the sector has been waiting for – developed to increase a property's exposure on TripAdvisor and reach highly-qualified travelers with high booking intent," said Martin Verdon-Roe, vice president B2B product and marketing, TripAdvisor.

Sponsored Placements is the latest offering from TripAdvisor designed to help hospitality businesses capitalize on their presence on the world's largest travel site. As the most visited site by travelers prior to purchase¹, TripAdvisor has become the essential marketing platform for accommodation providers, with products to help them showcase their properties, differentiate themselves from competitors, and drive traffic and booking referrals.

The launch of Sponsored Placements follows a 3-month beta period in which over 10,000 accommodation owners have already begun using Sponsored Placements, launching thousands of ad campaigns across over 5,500 destinations.

Gianfranco Acamparo, owner and General Manager of the Grand Hotel Aminta in Sorrento was an early adopter and said, "TripAdvisor is currently our most effective marketing tool. With the new Sponsored Placements, we can appear above search results and people are able to contact us directly via our Business Advantage links. It's saving me commission costs because people are contacting us directly or booking on our website. So far we've seen a 20% increase in direct bookings in 40 days."

Access to Sponsored Placements is available to all accommodation providers with an active Business Advantage subscription who share rates and availability through TripAdvisor. Business Advantage is an evolution of TripAdvisor's popular Business Listings product and empowers accommodation businesses to impact booking decisions, differentiate from competitors, and measure and strengthen their online reputation.

Sponsored Placements is a perfect complement to Business Advantage - together, they enable owners to increase exposure, drive high quality traffic and make their property more appealing for booking-ready travelers.

¹Worldwide Path to Purchase study, conducted by comScore on behalf of TripAdvisor, 2017

About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel site*, enables travelers to unleash the full potential of every trip. With over 600 million reviews and opinions covering the world's largest selection of travel listings worldwide – covering approximately 7.5 million accommodations, airlines, attractions, and restaurants -- TripAdvisor provides travelers with the wisdom of the crowds to help them decide where to stay, how to fly, what to do and where to eat. TripAdvisor also compares prices from more than 200 hotel booking sites so travelers can find the lowest price on the hotel that's right for them. TripAdvisor-branded sites are available in 49 markets, and are home to the world's largest travel community of 455 million average monthly unique visitors**, all looking to get the most out of every trip. TripAdvisor: Know better. Book better. Go better.

The subsidiaries and affiliates of TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) own and operate a portfolio of websites under 20 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 and www.dimmi.com.au), www.gateguru.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.housetrip.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.onetime.com, www.oyster.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com and www.viator.com.

* Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, October 2017
** Source: TripAdvisor log files, average monthly unique visitors, Q3 2017

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SOURCE TripAdvisor

Kevin Carter, kcarter@tripadvisor.com