TripAdvisor has been making a push for verified hotel reviews and plans on adding verified reviews from vacation-rental guests, as well.
The vacation-rental reviews, slated to go live around June, would come from Switzerland-based Interhome, which offers professionally managed vacation homes and implemented an agreement with TripAdvisor a couple of weeks ago.
The TripAdvisor-Interhome guest review model differs from the way TripAdvisor units Holiday Lettings in the UK and FlipKey in the US currently handle reviews from vacation rental guests.
For FlipKey and Holiday Lettings, which were acquired in 2008 and 2010, respectively, anyone can submit a review, although it won't get posted until the homeowner confirms that the review writer actually stayed at the property.
In contrast, guests who stay at Interhome's professionally managed properties receive an email and link after their stay and then can write verified reviews, which will be co-branded and appear on both TripAdvisor and Interhome sites.
Interhome guests are informed when writing reviews that their email addresses will be sent to TripAdvisor as part of the review submission and collection process.
For some, at least, of the Interhome properties listed on TripAdvisor sites, users check for availability online, but must phone for reservations. Interhome is responsible for the fulfillment.
The review arrangement between Interhome and TripAdvisor punctuates how TripAdvisor would like to add more verified reviews to its collection of 60 million reviews and ratings, although it isn't about to abandon unverified reviews. (Review writers on TripAdvisor, however, must pledge that they stayed at the property being reviewed.)
These developments occur as TripAdvisor points to heightened interest about vacation rentals in North America for 2012.
In a survey of more than 1,200 TripAdvisor users, 46% indicated they plan to book a vacation rental this year while 40% said they stayed in a vacation rental in 2011, TripAdvisor says.