Accor, the world's sixth-largest hotel group by number of rooms, said that it has begun to participate in TripAdvisor's recently launched instant booking tool.
Adding Accor (and its brands like Ibis and Sofitel) is a victory for TripAdvisor. The only hotel group of comparable size that is also participating is Choice, the world's fifth largest hotel group.
Japan's Okura also said it has also agreed to make its rooms available through the instant booking service, which enables travelers to book directly with a hotel's reservation system without leaving the TripAdvisor review site or mobile app.
While small, Okura is important because it is the first Asian hotel group to sign up.
Only U.S.-based travelers who have logged in to TripAdvisor are able to see the smattering of instant booking results, until the program is expanded globally.
As of today, most of the hotel listings for Accor and Okura were not yet displayed with an instant booking option.
Accor and Okura hopes to benefit by enjoying instant booking's commission-per-stay model, which differs from metasearch's cost-per-click model.
Slow uptake
TripAdvisor has been working hard to bring other major brands on board.
One of its targets is IHG, the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms.
IHG is already offering the InterContinental San Francisco via TripAdvisor's metasearch tool as well as various Holiday Inns in Europe.
It's not much of a technical leap to go from there to turning on instant booking.
Still missing are other large hotel groups, including Hilton, Marriott, and Wyndham.
Smaller companies are also being courted. NH, the Spanish-based hotel group, is expected to announce a partnership with TripAdvisor's instant booking as well, according to a source.
NH has long been willing to work closely with TripAdvisor. Many of its hotels already appear in TripAdvisor's metasearch product, meaning it is routinely bidding in a cost-per-click model for a "top three" position in rates.
NH also presents TripAdvisor's user reviews on its own websites without any filtering--something that's still not widespread practice in the industry.
Cutting out the OTAs
The Accor deal is good news for TripAdvisor prior to its quarterly earnings report, due Wednesday -- when investors will be looking for evidence of instant booking's performance.
The announcement also shows that Accor is aggressively interested in boosting its direct distribution, especially via mobile devices. Said Romain Roulleau, the company's senior vice president, e-commerce:
"The move will definitely feed our ambition to lead in digital hospitality."
BACKGROUNDER: What TripAdvisor’s instant booking means for hotels
Accor Hotels: How it’s adapting to mobile