NEWTON, Mass., June 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor®, the world's largest travel site*, today announced the launch of its instant booking feature on its mobile app and mobile website on smartphone. The new feature allows travelers to quickly and easily make a hotel booking through TripAdvisor booking partners without leaving the TripAdvisor site experience.

"TripAdvisor is launching the instant booking feature to remove 'friction' from the mobile booking process and improve the customer experience on mobile by allowing travelers to make a reservation without leaving the TripAdvisor environment," said Adam Medros, senior vice president, global product, TripAdvisor. "Instant booking not only provides a more efficient hotel booking experience for travelers, but also benefits our hotel and online travel agency partners with the potential for more bookings and improved downstream conversion."

More Travelers Planning Trips on Mobile
Instant Booking helps travelers book accommodations on-the-go - and more travelers are using their mobile phones as an in-market travel-planning resource. According to the latest TripAdvisor TripBarometer study¹, 90 percent of travelers report using their mobile phones on vacation, with more than a quarter (27%) using their mobile phones to look for hotels.

Instant booking is currently available in the U.S., with a gradual roll out to additional markets and with more partners expected later this year. Current instant booking launch partners include Choice Hotels, Getaroom.com and Tingo.

"We are extremely proud to partner with TripAdvisor on instant booking, making it easier for our customers to book hotel reservations," said Robert McDowell, senior vice president, marketing and distribution of Choice Hotels. "Choice Hotels wants to ensure that we provide cutting edge, flexible and mobile options for guests as the way hotel reservations are made constantly evolves."

¹ Methodology: The TripBarometer study, by TripAdvisor, is based upon an online survey conducted from February 14 to March 10, 2014, conducted by Ipsos, a global research firm. A total of 61,007 interviews were completed in 32 markets, spanning seven regions. The sample is made up of 50,637 consumers who are TripAdvisor website users and Ipsos online panelists who have researched their travel plans online in the last year; and 10,370 representatives from accommodations on TripAdvisor database, making it the world's largest combined accommodation and traveler survey.

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 260 million unique monthly visitors**, and more than 150 million reviews and opinions covering more than 4 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 41 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 23 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.virtualtourist.com, and www.kuxun.cn. 

 *Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, Q1 2014

 **Source: Google Analytics, average monthly unique users, Q1 2014; does not include traffic to daodao.com

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SOURCE TripAdvisor