TripAdvisor launches new tech solutions for hoteliers to compete and repair confidence

Spotlight and Reputation Pro provide access to market insights and enhance reputation management

TripAdvisor has launched two new technology solutions for hotels to help their business strategy as COVID-19 continues to impact on the sector.

Spotlight and Reputation Pro have been developed to help partners make decisions based on forecast data and to repair customer confidence in booking and increase profitability.

TripAdvisor said it is offering something new to the market, “empowering hospitality businesses with the tools they need to increase customer confidence in their brand, forecast demand and set the most profitable nightly rates”.

The latest initiatives come after the launches of Travel Safe and Contactless Menus and the global rollout of Menu Connect earlier this year.

Martin Verdon-Roe, general manager of hospitality solutions at TripAdvisor, said: “Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve increased our focus on making the business of hospitality easier for hoteliers.

“Now more than ever, they need actionable insights and easy-to-use tools that help build their brand and maximize their profitability, all while saving them time.

“The launch of Spotlight and Reputation Pro, alongside our existig Business Advantage and Sponsored Placements solutions, marks a huge step forward in our efforts to help hoteliers navigate the pandemic in the short term and position their business for a return to profitable growth in the long term.”

Spotlight was built in partnership with hospitality data and market intelligence specialist OTA Insight.

TripAdvisor said it can be used to keep track of a rapidly changing market in which hoteliers can no longer rely only on historical data to forecast demand and set rates.

Spotlight subscribers will benefit from Rate Spotlight and Market Spotlight capabilities.

With Rate Spotlight, hoteliers can:

• Compare nightly rates to the competition on one dashboard across room types and length of stay;
• Adjust rates based on the most accurate, real-time intelligence;
• Drill into nightly rates by market and channel to identify parity issues, and monitor whether distribution partners are undercutting them on price.

With Market Spotlight, hoteliers can:

• Anticipate future demand by utilising the massive scale of Tripadvisor, combined. with other important travel data such as flights, alternative accommodation and others.
• Maximize RevPAR by taking precise action based on expected demand for future stay dates.

ITA Insight chief executive Sean Fitzpatrick said: “OTA Insight and Tripadvisor are both industry leaders in data intelligence with a shared culture of disruptive innovation.

“Our partnership with Tripadvisor will provide hoteliers with access to unique traveller demand insights to navigate challenging market conditions and find new revenue opportunities.”

Reputation Pro has been developed to help hoteliers get more out of Tripadvisor’s review platform to drive up trust and increase travellers’ confidence to book.

Reputation Pro enables hoteliers to: 

• Use the Tripadvisor brand to accelerate their collection of high quality reviews via email, text message and mobile app;
• Receive real-time review notifications so they never miss a new review;
• Respond to reviews across multiple platforms – including TripAdvisor, Google and Facebook – from one dashboard;
• Access review insights, including sentiment analysis, to identify specific aspects of the guest experience that are driving positive or negative feedback