NEWTON, Mass., May 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor^®, the world's largest travel site*, today launched the $10,000 Peace of Mind Guarantee for travelers on TripAdvisor Vacation Rentals.

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Travelers can now pay securely through TripAdvisor for a growing number of vacation rental properties, while another new feature, the Rental Inbox, keeps track of property inquiries, communication with owners/managers and status of payments so travelers don't have to.

"We're thrilled to announce these new features, which make the process of finding, booking and paying for a vacation rental property even easier," commented Dermot Halpin, president, TripAdvisor Vacation Rentals.  "We know security is important to travelers and that's why we've launched the Peace of Mind Guarantee — it allows our users to focus on their travels and leave the details to us."

The Peace of Mind Guarantee
The Peace of Mind Guarantee is available on any TripAdvisor vacation rental listing where the new 'book online' badge appears in the search results. This badge identifies the properties where travelers and owners/managers can process payment securely through the TripAdvisor online payment system.  Payments made through this automated payment system entitle the traveler to the Peace of Mind Guarantee, which reimburses renters up to $10,000 in the events that (a) the home does not materially match the description, (b) the guest cannot enter the home and/or (c) payment was made properly but not received by the correct owner/manager.  

The systems behind The Peace of Mind Guarantee and online-bookable vacation rental properties are powered, provided and managed by FlipKey, a wholly-owned subsidiary of TripAdvisor. For more information, see here.

The Rental Inbox
The Rental Inbox eases the process of searching for and booking vacation rental properties. Accessed through the "Your TripAdvisor" drop down menu when logged into TripAdvisor (membership is free), it automatically tracks, stores and displays all property inquiries made by a traveler, communications with and full details of quotes received from owners/managers, and status of payments made and owed. Notifications of new messages or activity in the Rental Inbox are sent to the email address associated with the user's TripAdvisor account.

The Peace of Mind Guarantee, online-bookable vacation rental properties and the Rental Inbox are currently only available on TripAdvisor.com, but will soon be available on other TripAdvisor sites around the world.

For more information on TripAdvisor Vacation Rentals, or to list a vacation rental on TripAdvisor, go to www.tripadvisor.com/vacationrentals.

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 200 million unique monthly visitors**, and over 100 million reviews and opinions covering more than 2.5 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 30 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 20 other travel media brands: www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com,  www.onetime.com,www.seatguru.com, www.sniqueaway.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, March 2013

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

SOURCE TripAdvisor