TripAdvisor officially added a business traveler-focused segment to its Web site that allows business travelers to rank, rate, review and converse about business travel planning on a public forum.
[more]
The segment--sponsored by Sheraton Hotels and Resorts--covers more that 20,000 hotels in over 750 cities worldwide, TripAdvisor boasts.
The new component of the site, which has been up and running since the beginning of the week, mimics the leisure site, but adds interactive maps that display meeting locations, nearby restaurants, attractions, transportation and business services, according to TripAdvisor.
The creators of the popular site noted that they are appealing the business travel realm because a survey in 2008 found that 52 percent of respondents said they travel for business at least one to two times a year and TripAdvisor is "addressing this market demand." Previously TripAdvisor gathered business travel-focused reviews by asking travelers the purpose of their trip. Now the site has filtered out those responses and placed them on their own page.