The New TripAdvisor Looks Like Evil Genius to Me

TripAdvisor has just unveiled a new site and mobile experience launching in late 2018. Currently in beta testing, the new TA looks like the evolution of the world’s biggest travel site by the further socialization of its already personalized and connected travel community.  The aim is to inspire and empower individuals with social assistive tools to plan and book more confidently with relevant advice and information from people and experts they trust. The presentation below reveals how the new TA will work, and the launch event here provides still more information. 

The news from TripAdvisor tells of the extension of the current platform beyond travelers to include brands, social media influencers, publishers and friends. In so doing, the travel site connects travelers with individuals or content creators who share information that is relevant to their interests. The video below offers a bit of a preview. 

Not only will TripAdvisor users be able to leverage more than 661 million reviews and opinions, but they’ll also be able to create and view inspirational, helpful, and dynamic content including photos, videos, and articles. TA users will also have the ability to create “Trips,” which can be in-depth travel guides, itineraries or simple wish lists of things to do while traveling. Trips can be made private and saved for personal use or shared with the community to inspire and help others, which really superpowers TripAdvisor content-wise. 

Also, TripAdvisor says its members will be empowered with the world’s first “travel feed,” for discovering more relevant information faster when planning travel. Assisted throughout the entire travel planning process, members can draw advice and inspiration from their friends, family and trusted experts.

When a member logs onto the TripAdvisor app or site, their homepage transforms into a personalized feed of information. When searching a particular destination, the feed automatically narrows the scope of the information displayed to that particular geographic location. For example, members planning a trip to Paris may see a food critic’s article on the best restaurant in the city, an influencer’s travel guide of “must do’s,” and a friend’s review of a new hotel near the Eiffel Tower.  Stephen Kaufer, CEO & co-founder of TripAdvisor, offered this via the company’s press release: 

“TripAdvisor is poised to disrupt the travel industry once again as we create a more personalized and connected community. The new TripAdvisor is the one travel site that brings together social-assistive tools, amazing content and our existing booking capabilities to merge the joy of planning and discovery together into a single experience. We are assisting our members at each step of their journey as we become a more personalized, inspirational and useful TripAdvisor.”

Leveraging Brands and Influencers

TripAdvisor solicited more than 500 social media influencers, famous brands, media publishers, and travel partners to join their own team of destination experts and TripAdvisor Media Group brands, including Smarter Travel, Cruise Critic and TheFork.com, will also contribute to the site experience through unique profiles. And while I was not asked (who is more into travel social than me?) the fact that names like National Geographic, Condé Nast Traveler, GoPro and others applied powerful input does say a lot about this new platform. I am not as subject to celebrity suggestions as the average person is, some names just stand out even in today’s hyped marketing atmosphere.  Chris Thorman, Vice President Community Products & Growth, National Geographic had this to say in TA’s press: 

“National Geographic wants to reach our customers wherever it is they are consuming content. We want to be available on all platforms allowing people to engage with our brand and content wherever and whenever they choose. We’re excited to be among the first publishers to join the new TripAdvisor, further expanding our travel footprint. As a global media company, we’re always seeking new opportunities to share our awe-inspiring articles, photos and video content, and a partnership with TripAdvisor allows us to do just that.”

Even though the quote contained specificclear public relations vibe (We’re excited…), what TripAdvisor is trying to do can indeed be “awe-inspiring.” But the end result will be proof in the pudding. 

My Takeaway 

Sifting through the PR fluff of this TripAdvisor launch event (linked above) the real power of the company  Stephen Kaufer and his partners founded back in 2000. Put simply, mega success does not last on PR and marketing alone, there has to be a value for the customer/user. I found the value toward the end of the Kaufer presentation in the way TA is making “inspiration actionable” on mobile. No, TA is not the first to offer mobile bookings etc., but bonding sales to inspiration turns travel into a gigantic advertisement – which is brilliant (if a bit evil).  

Excuse me, but I cannot help liking geniuses even if they are sometimes evil. With this move, Kaufer and his team will effectively take over a huge market share of digital travel game. Not only does this new interactive travel hub turn vacation dreams into real-time native ads, but it’s also mostly powered by user-generated content, which makes the new site even more economical and powerful. I’ve not tested the new TripAdvisor, though God knows why since I’m a top TA contributor (frowny face). I will, however, do a full-scale test of the site when it is finally released (or when Kaufer’s PR people invite me). All sarcasm aside, it looks like TripAdvisor has done it again. Too bad for Google and some others.