In an effort to deliver “more relevant and meaningful guidance” to both the hospitality businesses and travelers it serves, Tripadvisor has launched new business listing functionality to make its platform more inclusive of the diverse communities using its influential website and app.
Businesses in the U.S. and Canada who have claimed their free listings now have the ability to voluntarily select from several attributes that help better represent their ownership and brand, inclusive of being:
- Asian-owned
- Black-owned
- Disability-owned
- Hispanic/Latinx-owned
- Indigenous-owned
- LGBTQIA+-owned
- Veteran-owned
- Woman-owned
Tripadvisor’s offer of the self-identification tool was rooted in insights shared by accommodation providers and restaurants that overwhelmingly indicate that businesses on its platform will use the new functionality. Specifically:
- Nearly four in 10 (39%) of all business owners surveyed stated that the ability to showcase identity attributes on their Tripadvisor business listing page is important.
- 39% total respondents in the U.S. and Canada also said they would take advantage of the functionality to showcase identity attributes on their business listing page if Tripadvisor enabled it.
- Of the respondents that indicated that an identity attribute was important to their business, likelihood to use this new functionality is very high, notably including:
- 80% of LGBTQ+ owned businesses
- 77% of Black-owned businesses
- 63% of Hispanic/Latinx-owned and Indigenous-owned businesses
Following an initial testing period on the platform, hundreds of businesses have already added an identity attribute to their Tripadvisor profile, prompting thousands of travelers and diners to discover them.
“Representation is extremely important to the millions of businesses listed on our platform—and to the hundreds of millions of travelers and diners they serve,” said Kanika Soni, chief commercial officer, Tripadvisor. “Enabling hotels and restaurants to celebrate their diversity is yet another way we deliver helpful guidance to those eager to support these businesses when visiting Tripadvisor.”
