An introduction to Tripadvisor
With almost one billion reviews, Tripadvisor combines digital marketing and distribution efforts, acting as a metasearch provider (a search tool that sends user requests to several other search engines and aggregates the results into a single list). Connecting to Tripadvisor can help you reach more properties all over the world.
💡 Our connection wizard can guide you through the process; however, as Tripadvisor doesn’t have an extranet, more setup than usual is required within your property platform.
Updates supported by Tripadvisor
Rates and occupancy
Rates shown on the Inventory page
Extra adult rate
Extra child rate
Availability
Restrictions
Minimum stay
Stop sells
➕ Did you know that channels that accept stop sells can also accept your property platform’s release period?
CTA (closed to arrival)
CTD (closed to departure)
Maximum update period: 365 days, which is equivalent to a year.
Connect to Tripadvisor
💡 Once you connect to Tripadvisor, you can activate either Tripadvisor Plus or Tripadvisor Instant Booking to complete the connection.
⚠️ You will need to have a Tripadvisor account before connecting to this channel.
Step 1: Contact our support team
Our support team needs to fill in basic information about your property to be sent to Tripadvisor. You can contact them here.
Make sure to state that you want to connect to Tripadvisor and fill in your property’s distribution information to be synced with the channel:
Name
Address (including number, street, city, post code, state, and country)
Phone number
Latitude and longitude
💡 Latitude and longitude are very important for Tripadvisor users to see your property accurately on a map. There are tools on the Internet that can use your property’s address to find its latitude and longitude.
⚠️ If you are signing into an existing Tripadvisor account, please make sure that the information provided to our customer support matches exactly with the one displayed on Tripadvisor. A mismatch in information will result in a delay on the self sign up process through Tripadvisor.
Step 2: Request a SiteMinder connection from Tripadvisor
48 hours after Step 1, contact Tripadvisor to request a connection with SiteMinder.
⚠️ If Tripadvisor shows you a "Your property doesn’t show up in Siteminder’s inventory" error message, it means the information required in Step 1 hasn’t reached the channel yet. Make sure to wait 48 hours between Steps 1 and 2.
Step 3: Add Tripadvisor to your channel manager
💡 As Tripadvisor has no extranet, all the information is completely controlled by your property platform; this means that these channel settings will include an extensive number of fields.
Log in to your property platform.
Go to Distribution > Channels tab > All channels sub-tab.
Look for Tripadvisor Plus / Instant Booking in the list or search by the channel’s name using the magnifier field.
Once you have located Tripadvisor, click on it. A sliding window will open.
Follow the steps on the channel connection wizard.
For Channel settings, fill in the following fields:
Hotel description: a summary of your property’s history, amenities, culinary expertise, nearby tourist attractions, and public transport options. If you already have content about your property on its website, booking engine, or a channel extranet, you could reuse it here.
Hotel website URL: your property’s website address.
Reservation e-mail address: the e-mail where reservation notifications will be sent by your property platform for all reservations booked on Tripadvisor.
Guest support phone number: a phone number your guests can use to contact your property for assistance.
Guest support e-mail address: an e-mail address your guests can use to contact your property for assistance.
Guest support web address: if you have a specific "help" page for guests, add it here; if not, just add your property’s contact page website address.
Check-in/check-out policy: your property’s allowed check-in/check-out times and if there is any fee for early check-ins or late check-outs.
Check-in time: the earliest check-in time in the format HH:MM.
Check-out time: the latest check-out time in the format HH:MM.
Currency code: the 3-letter ISO code that represents the currency you use when setting rates in your property platform. For example, if you set your rates in Australian dollars enter "AUD".
Prices include tax and fees: select Yes if the rates on Distribution > Inventory include taxes and No if they don’t.
Accepted credit cards: select as many as you want from Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.
Payment policy: inform guests what needs to be paid upfront and what will be due later.
Smoking policy: select from the following:
All rooms non-smoking
Non-smoking room (generic)
All public areas non-smoking
Smoking permitted in designated areas and rooms
Terms and conditions: the information given here sets guest expectations and helps them understand your property's guidelines. Guests must agree to your property terms and conditions to complete a booking on Tripadvisor.
Continue with the steps of the channel connection wizard.
Step 4: Channel activation
This is handled by our team who start activating your connection to Tripadvisor after you add this channel in Step 2. We will confirm your property credentials.
Step 5: Map your rates to Tripadvisor
Once our team has activated the connection, you will be able to map your room rates to Tripadvisor.
💡 As Tripadvisor has no extranet, all rooms and rates information is completely controlled by your property platform; this means that more information than usual will be required in the mapping with the channel in order to advertise your rates on the channel.
⚠️ A "Could not connect to Tripadvisor" error message may mean the hotel code and/or password you entered may be incorrect. Please, contact Tripadvisor to request valid credentials.
Step 6: Check your inventory and enable Tripadvisor
After the mapping is completed, you should:
Check whether your inventory information is correct.
Enable Tripadvisor to start sending all updates.
After you have completed this process and enabled Tripadvisor in your property platform, you then have the option of activating the connection as either Tripadvisor Plus or Tripadvisor Instant Booking.
Step 7: Activate either Tripadvisor Plus or Tripadvisor Instant Booking
Finally, you will need to decide which type of Tripadvisor connection you will make. Please follow the guide Activate Tripadvisor Plus or Tripadvisor Instant Booking to complete this setup.
Map to Tripadvisor
There are some specific features and considerations to be aware of when mapping to the Tripadvisor channel.