TripAdvisor is opening up what could be a significant new revenue stream: giving restaurants the same additional services on listings as it does for hotels.
The launch of TripAdvisor Premium For Restaurants is designed to give the 4.2 million (and growing) restaurants currently featured on the site some extra ways of improving their visibility on the site.
A subscription to the service will include the ability to highlight favourite reviews, a dashboard of data and trends, customer support and a tool called "storyboard", essentially a carousel of photos and reviews of a restaurant.
Listings for restaurants, as with hotels, remain free for a standard listing.
Bertrand Jelensperger, senior vice president for TripAdvisor Restaurant, says:
"For the first time, 4.2 million restaurants on TripAdvisor can have more creative control and improved customer insights to maximise the value of their listing on our sites and apps.
"We have listened to our partners and we intend to deliver a series of innovative tools that help businesses take full advantage of the world’s largest community of travellers (and diners) here at TripAdvisor."
Hotels have not been left out of the attention given to additional services, with the launch of Business Advantage coming on the same day.
Properties can also identify and position favourite reviews of the hotel, select specific photos to be featured on their main page, include a cover photo and access to new analytics service.
Paid-for Business Listings first appeared for hotels in 2010, giving properties the chance - initially for a $600 per year fee - to include a web address, telephone number and email contact details.
An official says restaurants will be able to pay either on a monthly or annual basis. Hotels have an annual subscription.
For restaurants, the subscription cost is calculated based on the yearly sum of daily active users who view a restaurants page.
If a user views a restaurants page, menu, photos or other items, they are counted towards a daily active user. The yearly total of these daily active users will determine the price the restaurant pays.
Robin Ingle, senior vice president for global sales, claims research has shown that "proactive management of a business’s presence on TripAdvisor, combined with frequent interaction with the data and insights we provide to our subscriber partners in the Management Centre, deepens engagement and drives increased revenue for a business".
"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."