TripAdvisor for Business division integrated within wider company

TripAdvisor has integrated its lucrative TripAdvisor for Business arm into its main business having operated as a separate entity for five years.

TripAdvisor has integrated its lucrative TripAdvisor for Business arm into its main business having operated as a separate entity for five years.

TripAdvisor for Business was the review site’s division that reached out to business to business clients, allowing hotels to claims their own business listing on the site.

It was established to give TripAdvisor a focus on the hospitality industry, but the firm now says this is no longer necessary.

TripAdvisor for Business was run by Marc Charon, who has left the role to become an advisor to founder Steve Kaufer.

Confirming this move a TripAdvisor spokesman said Cahron wanted to continue building organisations and while the firm wants to keep him in a “meaningful” role it didn’t have one of that nature at this time.

“Marc has agreed to be a special advisor to the chief executive on a temporary basis while he considers his next opportunity,” he said.

A statement on the integration of TripAdvisor for Business said:

“We have made an internal change at TripAdvisor and aligning the entire company’s goals around meeting the needs of the hospitality and tourism industry in an even greater way.

“We have integrated the whole of the TripAdvisor for Business division into the broader TripAdvisor business.

TripAdvisor for Business was created in 2010 to help us engage with our key stakeholders, the hospitality industry, in a new and focused way.

“As TripAdvisor expanded, we realised that we needed a division focused on the needs of the travel and hospitality sectors.

“Since working with the travel and hospitality sectors has become a much bigger focus for our entire organisation, we believe it is no longer necessary to have one dedicated business unit focused solely on hospitality business owners.

“This change enables us to be even more successful at delivering and developing products and tools to all of our industry partners to help them leverage TripAdvisor.

“TripAdvisor will continue to offer dedicated resources and services for our business partners, including our extensive suite of B2B tools accessible to hospitality business owners via the management centre, our revenue driving products for accommodation businesses or our review collection and content syndication solutions for travel brands.”