Congratulations to the 2011 TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Hotel Awards winners...

This week we unveiled the world’s and Britain’s best hotels, as decided by millions of TripAdvisor travellers, in the ninth annual TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Hotel awards.  The awards honour TripAdvisor travellers’ favourite hotels across a range of categories

British properties fared well in the awards – nearly 30 UK hotels were recognised across four categories, with one British property winning a ‘World’s Best’ accolade – The Old Manse in Scotland, was crowned the number B&B in the world.

The awards highlighted a number of key points about the British hotel industry.

The good:

Best of Britain 

For the second consecutive year, Rudding Park in Harrogate has earned the accolade of Britain’s best hotel.  TripAdvisor travellers regularly declare their love for the property, with one lauding the “impeccable service” while another calls it “practically perfect in every way”. The second best hotel in Britain this year is The Old Rectory in Exmoor, Devon and third place goes to Boskerris Hotel in St. Ives, Cornwall

South West Joy

The South West is another clear winner in the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Hotel awards, claiming five of the top 10 UK hotels. Devon in particular should be very proud, with seven of Britain’s 25 best hotels located in the county.

B&B domination

The good old Bed & Breakfast is a UK institution and rightfully so: the Travellers’ Choice Awards revealed that six of the world’s ten best B&Bs are located in the UK.  The Old Manse in Invermoriston took top honours, while Saltcote Place in Rye, East Sussex; Riverside Hotel in the Lake District; Number One B&B in Deal, Kent; and The Twenty One in Brighton all contributed to the UK’s near domination in this global category.

The not-so-good:

Bank-breaking Britain

As VAT rises, train fares soar and the budget cuts take hold, budget-conscious travellers will be disappointed to hear that not a single British hotel made it into this year’s European ‘Bargain Hotels’ list, which was highly populated with Eastern European hotels. 

London left behind

With the 2012 Olympics on the horizon, the world’s eyes will soon be on London – a city conspicuous in its absence from the UK’s top 25 hotels.  This is the second consecutive year in which the capital failed to produce finalists in the top 25 UK hotels list. With only 18 months to go, it’s likely London’s hospitality industry will be working hard to make sure London performs as a world-class tourism destination next year.

What’s missing?

As well as a bargain hotels, Britain failed to produce finalists in a number of key areas, namely the categories of romance, luxury and relaxation/spa.  Britain has a long way to catch up with the likes of Prague, a city which had finalists in almost every European category and is home to both the best bargain and luxury hotels on the continent. 

For the full 2011 TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Hotel Awards results, see here http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/TravelersChoice 

TripAdvisor adds airline ratings

TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, today announced the launch of airline ratings on TripAdvisor Flights.  The new feature allows travellers to give and receive candid feedback on their flying experiences through the new airline ratings tool.

TripAdvisor Flights now features the following eight airline rating categories that can be rated by travellers on a scale of one to five:

·         Baggage Handling

·         Check-in Experience

·         In-Flight Amenities

·         In-Flight Service

·         Punctuality

·         Reasonableness of Fees

·         Seat Comfort

·         Value

The new tool also shows the percentage of travellers who would recommend a particular airline, making comparisons between carriers quick and easy.  Travellers can also filter search results by minimum rating, as well as add airline ratings as their own, as long as they are signed in as a TripAdvisor member.

“For more than a decade, TripAdvisor has been the leader in enabling travellers to access and share trusted advice on hotels, restaurants, attractions and holiday rentals,” said Bryan Saltzburg, general manager of TripAdvisor Flights. “With the launch of airline ratings, the millions of travellers who use TripAdvisor Flights every month will now be able to get useful feedback on how airlines stack up against each other in terms of fees, value for the money, service, punctuality, baggage handling and a number of other factors to help ensure they have the best flight possible.”

For more information on the airline ratings tool, as well as details on our new baggage fee too, see http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/tripadvisor/42940/

Tripadvisor launches free ipad app for further empower travellers on the go

New App Features Innovative Map-Based Browsing Experience

TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, has announced the launch of its new application for the iPad, available today in Apple’s App Store. The free application allows travellers on the go to search for popular hotels, restaurants and attractions, as well as find the cheapest flights, from their iPad. The application is available in 18 languages and 26 countries around the world, giving travellers a truly localised experience on TripAdvisor.

The new TripAdvisor iPad app features a cool and innovative map-based browsing experience that allows travellers to see traveller reviews for hotels, restaurants and attractions and quickly get the lay of the land in their travel destinations. If travellers want to scope out points of interest at their destination of interest, they can simply move the map with the slide of a finger. The app also supports one-click map-based searches, making it easy to find hot spots in different parts of town.

In addition to its map-based functionality, the TripAdvisor iPad app includes a number of other helpful features for travellers on the go, including:

·         TripAdvisor’s more than 40 million reviews and opinions for hotels, restaurants, and attractions. Travellers can even add their own reviews while their experiences are fresh

·         Ability to find cheap flights using the award-winning TripAdvisor Flights search engine and compare airline fees using its Fees Estimator

·         “Near Me Now” functionality, so travellers can determine what hotels, restaurants and attractions are nearby

·         Access to the TripAdvisor forums, where users can ask questions of their fellow travellers and receive helpful feedback

·         Full-screen traveller photos of hotels, restaurants, attractions and destinations

“With millions of travellers using TripAdvisor Mobile on a monthly basis, it’s clear that they are finding trusted travel advice that’s indispensible while they’re on the go,” said Mike Putnam, director of mobile product at TripAdvisor. “Our new iPad app offers travellers another engaging and fun way to make the most of their trips, whether they want to find the best nearby restaurants and attractions or check out the latest flight prices.”

Budget-friendly Bulgaria reigns supreme as savvy skiers look to save

New research from TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site*, reveals that British travellers are taking a more economical approach to their skiing holidays this winter. Rather than sacrifice a snow holiday altogether savvy Brits are opting for the less traditional, yet more affordable Bulgaria with searches to some Bulgarian resorts up as much as 80% from last year.

Searches on TripAdvisor.co.uk to the budget-friendly Bulgarian ski resorts of Pamporovo, Borovets and Bansko have increased* by 80%, 61% and 44% respectively from last year. While the recent TripAdvisor Travel Trends survey showed that the entire travel industry will be more buoyant generally over the next 12 months, the more affordable Bulgarian destinations are seeing significantly more interest than many traditionally popular snow resorts such as Zermatt, Courchevel and Chamonix which have seen year-on-year increases of just 8%, 30% and 39% respectively. Only the classic resorts of Meribel and Val D’Isere have seen interest at the same level as Bulgaria, with year-on-year increases of 61% and 43% respectively.

TripAdvisor spokesperson, Emma O’Boyle, comments: “Ski holidays are often seen as an expensive luxury but this need not be the case as Brits become more savvy and less snobby about their resort. Less well-known European ski resorts, such as those in Bulgaria, can deliver significant cost-savings on a number of levels, from better currency exchange rates to cheaper accommodation and lift passes.”

*Based on a year-on-year comparison of searches carried out between 1^st November and 30^th November 2009 and the same dates in 2010

TripAdvisor poll reveals VAT increase to severely impact inbound and domestic tourism

January’s VAT rise could significantly impact inbound tourism according to a new TripAdvisor poll.  The tax, which will rise from 17.5% to 20% on 4^th January 2011, and will affect not only shopping costs but also accommodation, tourist attractions and even car hire prices, will make travelling to Britain “too expensive”, according to nearly a quarter (24%)* of European respondents.

The TripAdvisor research, which polled over 3,200* people across Europe, revealed that a quarter believe the VAT increase will make British holidays unaffordable, while a further quarter (26%) are still undecided as to whether the tax hike will deter them from holidaying in Britain next year.  A large number of Brits may also snub the UK – 24%of Britons claim the VAT rise could make domestic holidays in 2011 too expensive.

Emma O’Boyle, spokesperson for TripAdvisor, comments, “The UK is one of Europe’s most popular holiday destinations, with London in particular regarded as a world-class shopping hub. With a quarter of both continental European and British travellers anxious about a UK holiday because of the VAT increase, we may see some excellent travel deals in 2011 as the British tourism industry works hard to be seen as an attractive and competitive holiday option.”