Tripadvisor gets more friendly with Facebook

Tripadvisor has started exploiting the power of the world’s largest social network Facebook with a new ‘Friend of a Friend’ recommendation feature.

Tripadvisor has started exploiting the power of the world’s largest social network Facebook with a new ‘Friend of a Friend’ recommendation feature.

Users of the review site who sign in through Facebook and agree to the relevant settings will see reviews by friends and ‘friends of friends’ first.

They can direct message in private these connected reviewers to request more information, Tripadvisor believing this provides a more personalised experience for its users.

The site estimated that the average number of friends in any given network is 190 and with Facebook users writing one in four Tripadvisor reviews each day this will make the social planning tool “exponentially more useful”.

It claims travellers using the feature will be ten times more likely to see personalised travel advice.

Adam Medros, vice president of global product at TripAdvisor, said: “Travel advice from friends is incredibly useful, but your inner circle may not have all the answers on a particular hotel or destination you are researching.

“The Friend of a Friend feature increases the probability of an even greater personalised TripAdvisor experience by highlighting opinions from a larger network of travellers that know the people you trust.”

Users can adjust privacy settings to opt out, limiting the information that is made available to friends and ‘friends of friends’.

This latest attempt to combine travel with social media has not convinced everyone however, with one commentator pointing out that “40% of travellers already flat out ignore social media”.

Friend of a Friend is became available on all Tripadvisor sites globally on Thursday, except for users in China and Egypt.