Take that Google, it looks as if Microsoft Bing might be about to fight back. Well, in the US at least.
Microsoft has signed a deal with TripAdvisor which will see the reviews giant's metasearch tool integrated into Bing hotel search results.
The partnership means US users will be able to see hotel availability, compare prices (with live pricing information) and view traveller ratings from Bing's results page.
TripAdvisor says the move is a first in terms of providing traveller reviews and ratings as well as live pricing within a search tool. It also says it makes it easy for people to go from thinking about travel to actually booking something within seconds.
A statement from the company says that with hotel prices varying by as much as 25%, the deal will help users make a far more informed decision.
TripAdvisor went live with its hotel metasearch tool in June after testing it from January this year with early indications from the company showing positive earning gains as a result.
In October, TripAdvisor unleashed its TripConnect tool enabling all hotels and B&Bs to participate in metasearch pricing display, an option previously only open to the big online travel agencies, hotel chains and aggregators.
All participants have to be Business Listings customers as well as be able to provide online booking via a TripAdvisor certified booking engine.
A further deal with Microsoft sees TripAdvisor integrating Bing Smart Search within its new Windows 8 mobile application. The move will see pop-up functionality with relevant results enabling users to go directly to the app as well as weblinks.
This means that TripAdvisor will show up as a result in relevant travel searches. In addition, searches carried out in Windows 8.1 will display hotel rating and reviews content from within the TripAdvisor app quickly informing users what is available if they open the app.
Additional functionality in the app includes:
- Dynamic maps which adds accommodation, attractions or restaurants in real-time.
- The ability to see everything surrounding a specific point of interest.
- New city pages to explore all the best things to do.
In other TripAdvisor news, the company has
partnered with Pinterest to introduce Place Pins. The sharing service provides users who pin things from TripAdvisor to have location information pulled in by Pinterest on things pinned.
There will also be the option to display the pins on a map alongside the user's Pinterest board.