More visibility for villages in TripAdvisor search results

We’ve recently changed the way we list some small villages – like parishes, hamlets, or wards – on TripAdvisor. In cases where a small village is commonly recognized as belonging to a larger municipality with a distinct name, the businesses in that small village may appear in search results for both (a) the small village and (b) the larger municipality.

For example, the Storybook Inn is located in Skyforest, California. Skyforest is a small community within the larger, commonly searched municipality of Lake Arrowhead. So, when a TripAdvisor traveler searches for the destination “Lake Arrowhead”, Storybook Inn will display as the “#1 of 2 hotels in Skyforest” and the “#1 of 14 hotels in Lake Arrowhead.” The Storybook Inn will show up in searches for both “Skyforest” and “Lake Arrowhead.” 

For owners, this means greater visibility in search results and more visibility for your business. For travelers, it means more accommodation, restaurant, and attraction options when planning a trip.

If your business is located in a small town or village that belongs to a larger, better known city or municipality, you may contact TripAdvisor through your Management Center to request that we update your location to reflect this. You must provide TripAdvisor with proof of location: a copy of your business license or tax bill, or a link to a page on your local tourist board’s website that recognizes your smaller location as part of the larger location. Our Editors will review any proof of location submitted. TripAdvisor cannot guarantee that all requested changes will be made.

See the full guide for more details on these recent changes.

Your TripAdvisor property page gets a makeover

 The property page on TripAdvisor is a very important one:  it’s where travelers go to get the details they need in order to make their booking decisions.  So when travelers told us that this page was so full of information that it was often hard to find the most important parts, we made some changes.  We’re happy to introduce a new, streamlined property page that puts your critical information front and center. 

Forum roundup: Managing your account Q&A

We’ve addressed some of the questions that commonly come up in the Business forums around managing your account on TripAdvisor.

I’ve just discovered there are two listings for my property with slightly different names. How can I have them combined and all my reviews put under one listing?

 If your property has been listed on TripAdvisor more than once, you can request to have the listings merged and all the reviews from the duplicate listing transferred across.

Start attracting more guests today

Getting listed on TripAdvisor is completely free and gives your business exposure to the 45 million travellers who visit our sites every month to plan their holidays.

But don’t stop there, if you want to stand out from your competitors there is more you can do to enhance your listing and give it the best possible chance of catching the eye of potential customers.

How is your average rate on TripAdvisor calculated?

Hoteliers often ask us: how is the average rate that appears on their listing calculated, and how can they change it?  That figure comes from one of two sources, depending on whether or not properties have contracts with booking partners such as Priceline, hotels.com, Thomas Cook, Venere, and others.

‘Things to Do’ page gets a facelift

In response to requests from the TripAdvisor community we recently changed our ‘Things to Do’ section of the site to make it easier for travelers to find the activities that interest them.

‘Things to do’ has been separated out into four tabs: Attractions, Tours, Nightlife and Shopping so for example, where in the past a business may have been ranked 23rd of all attractions,  it should now be ranked higher up in its specific category. In destinations with fewer than 20 “Things to Do” listings we have left them as they were.

The new categories are organised as follows:

Attractions (in a fixed location)

• Landmarks/ Historic sites.
• Entertainment and Amusement
• Museums , zoos and aquariums
• Spa
• Education sites and libraries
• Golf courses & Ski Areas
• Parks, gardens and nature
• Casinos
• Theater, art and performances
• Amusement/ theme parks/ arcades
• Religious Sites
• Factories, wineries, and breweries
• Geographic areas, like beaches, canyons, lakes

Tours & Water Sports

Nightlife

• Bars/Discos
• Theater, art and performances
• Casinos
• Comedy Clubs

Shopping

• Antique Shops
• Specialty Shops
• Art Galleries
• Factory Outlets
• Malls
• Street/Flea Markets

If you find a listing that is in the wrong place, please let us know at: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ContactUs?topic=how_to_alert_us_when_a_listing_is_incorrect