TripAdvisor is the home to 435 million reviews and opinions, 150 million + unique monthly restaurant visitors and 4.1 million restaurants listed around the world. Although they love customers to have their own opinion on a fair and review basis, TripAdvisor also love to build relationships with restaurants too and this has become more prominent from their new features that they have introduced.

The global restaurant industry is becoming more involved with the digital world and TripAdvisor clearly has noticed this as it is making a big move to further monetise its 4.1 million restaurant listings by launching a subscription service with added features that are beneficial for dining establishments. TripAdvisor has launched a new subscription service, ‘Premium for Restaurants’, which gives operators access to a range of new analytical and review management tools.

These all include the ability to highlight ‘favourite’ reviews and pin them to the top of their page, access to analytics that deliver aggregated performance, customer and competitor data and priority phone support from TripAdvisor staff. It also seems that TripAdvisor is beginning to situate more into the boundaries of a Social Media platform.

Robin Ingle, the TripAdvisor senior vice-president of global sales, has released a statement regarding the new subscription service, where he said: “Providing a business with the opportunity to improve its content and customise its presence on TripAdvisor helps partners better understand and engage with their customers.” This is going to make TripAdvisor even more important to businesses, as you will have more of an access to growing your competitive advantage.

Read on to see the new features...

Storyboard

The new storyboard feature will allow you to shape how your restaurant is presented on TripAdvisor by creating an attention-grabbing Storyboard. At the very top of your page, you can change your static photo into a dynamic visual presentation, which will help showcase your business in its best light on TripAdvisor.

Credit: TripAdvisor

Favourite Review

When your visitors come to your TripAdvisor page, you can now make sure that they have a great reason to become customers as you can now pin the best reviews to the top of your page. Your Favourite Review will appear as the second review on your property page, with a tag marking it as “Restaurant’s Favourite Review.”

Credit: TripAdvisor

Data and Insights

With the new Data and Insights feature, you will get exclusive access to advanced analytics that deliver actionable data insights into your performance, your customers and your competitors. As a Premium subscriber, you’ll have 24/7 access to the full suite of Performance Dashboard analytics in your Management Centre. You’ll see daily updates to key performance metrics, including:

•Page views & photo views

•Search hits on TripAdvisor

•How often users see your Favourite Review

•Your performance vs. customized competitor sets

Priority Phone Support

Within the subscription service, you will also have access to a TripAdvisor member of staff. You will have live access to expert support on TripAdvisor — and get the help you need when you need it, so you can stay focused on running your restaurant.

Call or email for quick answers to questions or for help optimising your TripAdvisor page, including:

•Updating your listing details, including your phone number, restaurant hours, primary listing photos and more.

•Setting up a Favourite Review and responding to customer feedback.

•Changing your restaurant category, your listed address or the placement of your map pin.

Overall, TripAdvisor’s newly introduced subscription service is going to be increasingly beneficial for restaurant owners. In particular, it will be great for those who own small businesses, who don’t necessarily have the marketing budget. If you would like to read more about the Premium Feature, read here.

As we are discussing TripAdvisor, we would also like to congratulate our client The Old Inn Holt on recently receiving a Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor for 2016.