NEWTON, Mass., Aug. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor^®, the world's largest travel site, today announced the appointment of Marc Charron as President of TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division of TripAdvisor that provides the tourism industry access to millions of TripAdvisor's monthly site visitors. Charron reports to CEO and co-founder, Stephen Kaufer.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080902/TRIPADVISORLOGO)

Charron, who will be based in London, will be responsible for the continued growth and innovation of TripAdvisor for Business as it expands its services for the hospitality sector and travel industry.  Since the division launched in 2010, it has seen rapid growth in the adoption rate of Business Listings and Partnerships services for hospitality businesses around the world. There are currently over 50,000 Business Listings subscribers and review collection services like Review Express have proved tremendously popular with business owners.

"Marc is taking on the role of President of TripAdvisor for Business with a wealth of global experience and fantastic leadership abilities," said Kaufer. "TripAdvisor for Business is a critical part of our business model, and with Marc at the helm, I have no doubt it will continue to thrive and provide resources and tools to businesses wanting to leverage their presence on TripAdvisor."

Charron joined TripAdvisor in 2006 as Managing Director for TripAdvisor Europe. As the company's first international employee, he led the rollout and growth of TripAdvisor Europe including local language sites, operations and expanding the team to more than 100 employees in his first four years.  In 2010, Charron moved to Singapore where he set up the regional TripAdvisor headquarters for Asia Pacific, consistently growing revenue and driving traffic, before heading to Beijing to accelerate TripAdvisor's growth in China.

"I'm delighted to be joining the TripAdvisor for Business team, especially at such an exciting time for the industry," said Charron. "TripAdvisor for Business has been instrumental in helping property owners transform inspiration into reservations. In my new role, I look forward to continuing to move TripAdvisor for Business forward and innovating to bring positive change to the industry with ideas such as our upcoming TripConnect platform, which connects independent hotels and B&Bs with the world's largest online travel community.

Prior to joining TripAdvisor, Marc served as Vice President of product marketing at SquareTrade in San Francisco and before that, as Managing Director of QXL.com, Getz International Travel and Danube Travel, all based in London.

For more information about TripAdvisor for Business, visit www.tripadvisor.com and www.tripadvisor.com/tripadvisorinsights.

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 260 million unique monthly visitors**, and over 100 million reviews and opinions covering more than 2.7 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, June 2013

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

©2013 TripAdvisor, Inc. All rights reserved. 

SOURCE TripAdvisor