TripAdvisor is to shut down the KeepMeBooked reservation and marketing platform it obtained as part of the recent HouseTrip acquisition.
HouseTrip was bought for an undisclosed fee in late-April this year, in a bid to bolster its growing vacation rental business.
Part of that deal was to take on the KeepMeBooked service which HouseTrip acquired in 2012 from its founder and CEO Bruce Greig, who stayed on with the business until December 2013.
KeepMeBooked was originally launched in 2010 (TLabs here) with a platform for guesthouse owners and independent hotels to manage their reservations.
Following the HouseTrip deal, KeepMeBooked shifted focus slightly to also include a platform for vacation rental owners to help distribute content into third party channels.
These channels included the mothership HouseTrip but the system was deliberately kept neutral so that owners could also gain exposure on sites such as Airbnb, Expedia, Booking.com and HomeAway.
TripAdvisor has now decided to close the KeepMeBooked service and all agreements will end in June this year.
An official adds:
"After a thorough evaluation of the KeepMeBooked product, we’ve determined it is not core to our business needs and we’ve made the decision to close it down.
"We’ll continue to work closely with KeepMeBooked customers to ensure the easiest possible transition over the coming weeks."