TripAdvisor 2012 Annual Report Download - page 16

and comprehensive destination, lodging, restaurant and attraction feedback and information. We were founded
with the goal of providing an online resource based on user-generated content to prospective travelers. By using
the power of the Internet to create transparency in the travel planning process with a comprehensive online
resource for travel information, we have democratized the travel research and planning process. For any
customer with access to the Internet, whether through their desktop, smartphone or tablet devices, we provide the
ability and information to plan and have the perfect trip.
In order to achieve our goals, we leverage our key assets—a robust community of users, rich user-generated
content, technology and a commitment to continuous innovation and global reach as follows:
•Robust Community of Users. TripAdvisor-branded sites offer benefits to our many constituents, the
totality of which combines to create a vibrant community. By providing an interactive forum to share
travel experiences, we allow the voice of our large, highly engaged community of travelers to influence
travel purchase decision-making during the trip-planning phase. To ease planning, we enable
consumers to research pricing and availability from third-party travel booking sites. To facilitate better
travel experiences for consumers and to create a feedback loop between the hospitality industry and
individual travelers, we allow hospitality management representatives to respond to reviews of their
properties on our website. We believe that the robust feedback loop created on TripAdvisor-branded
websites and the volume of reviews generated on TripAdvisor-branded websites provides a sustainable
advantage over competitors. We believe that we have the largest breadth of content in our markets, and
that, because of this breadth, travelers gravitate to TripAdvisor-branded websites to research their
travel plans. After completing their trip, consumers can return to our websites to write reviews to give
back to the community that helped them plan their trip. Through this cycle, more content is generated,
which drives community, traffic, loyalty and higher search engine rankings, all of which leads to
further content creation.
•Rich User-Generated Content. We believe that the best travel content comes from the wisdom and
insight of a robust community of travelers. We leverage user-generated content to power travel
planning by allowing members to create reviews and share opinions on hundreds of thousands of
accommodations, destinations, attractions and restaurants. As evidenced by the growth of our business,
this type of travel planning has been embraced by travelers. For example, in July 2006, we hosted more
than 5 million user reviews and opinions with respect to approximately 220,000 hotels and attractions.
Currently, TripAdvisor-branded websites provide consumers with over 75 million user reviews and
opinions with respect to more than 670,000 hotels and accommodations and over 1.2 million
restaurants and attractions in more than 120,000 destinations throughout the world. On average, our
users are currently adding more than 60 pieces of content every minute. To promote an enthusiastic
reviewer community, we have launched several programs to recognize reviewer contributions,
including site badges, helpful vote recognition, and other community-focused features, all of which
highlight the active and helpful reviews and opinions available throughout the TripAdvisor community.
•Technology and Innovation. We focus heavily on speed-to-market and product innovation in order to
create a richer experience for travelers, and our team deploys weekly engineering releases with new
products and features. Some recent examples of this product innovation include our recent
development of a hotel metasearch product, which makes it even easier for users to research and plan
their perfect trip on TripAdvisor; Facebook integration including Facebook Connect and Open Graph,
which allows travelers to see their friend’s travel experiences on TripAdvisor and share their own
content with their friend network; and friend-of-a-friend review highlighting, which expands the
number of friend-connected reviews a user will see; hotel “style” buttons, which make it easier for
users to find the right hotel for their particular travel needs. We are also continuing to invest heavily in
the rapidly growing mobile channel, releasing 60 new mobile city guides this past year to bring
coverage up to 80 of the most popular cities globally; adding menus to restaurant pages and bookable
tickets to attractions pages; releasing hotel pricing and availability improvements; and integrating
Facebook login into our industry-leading mobile websites as well as tablet and smartphone applications
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