Did TripAdvisor just launch sponsored placements?

Jerusalem, Israel - March 25, 2015: A trip advisor sticker on a restaurant window in Jerusalem, Israel. TripAdvisor is the most trusted travel website provide with over 200 million traveler reviews on destinations and business.

There’s a new way to get a top listing on TripAdvisor, and it’s causing a stir in the hotel world.

Earlier this week, the travel review site rolled out Sponsored Placements, which allows hotels to buy a spot at the top of TripAdvisor’s page for that city, reports Hotel Management.

Previously, the only way to climb to the top was to have stellar reviews, available rooms and competitive rates.

A similar system was introduced for restaurants last year and the review site has hinted the sponsored places will expand beyond hotels and restaurants soon.

According to Skift, more than 10,000 property owners in 5,500 markets have run campaigns since TripAdvisor began its sponsored ads in beta around three months ago.

“I think this is going to be really good financially for the company as another revenue stream over the next several years in restaurants and hotels, and hopefully some other categories, too,” CEO Stephen Kaufer told Skift.

Kaufer acknowledged the previous way to get to the top was through “your service, and have happy guests, which is still the backbone of the company now”

“But someone who has an amazing property on page two — maybe they’re number 25 in Paris — can now be discovered on that first page, nice and visible,” he told Skift. 

Hotels can choose from three monthly cost-per-click budget options, which allows owners to set their max spend threshold and they will only be charged for the clicks their ad receives.

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