This must be the week to buy a travel Web site. TripAdvisor has acquired SmarterTravel, according to Expedia, TripAdvisor’s parent company. Terms weren’t disclosed.
The announcement comes on the heels of yesterday’s news that Internet Brands will buy FlyerTalk.
TripAdvisor bills itself as the largest travel community in the world, and claims to have more than 5 million reviews and opinions that cover more than 220,000 hotels and attractions. SmarterTravel is an online consumer community “dedicated to helping people save time and money,” according to the company. It publishes weekly e-mail newsletters with last-minute travel promotions.
It is unclear if SmarterTravel will be folded into TripAdvisor or if the site will continue to operate as a standalone entity. Nor is it immediately known what will happen with BookingBuddy and MyBusinessTravel, two sites also operated by SmarterTravel.
Expedia spokeswoman Katie Deines told me it’s “premature to talk about the integration” of the companies. Emails to SmarterTravel and TripAdvisor had not been returned at the time of this posting.
This is the second travel-Web 2.0 acquisition in a week, which is significant on many levels. I think if we see a few more like it, customer advocates like me will probably begin to ask questions about how these deals will benefit travelers.
I’m not sure if anyone knows the answer.
Update: I just received an email from TripAdvisor’s spokesman, Brooke Ferencsik: “We’re not disclosing terms of the deal and at this point there will be no integration and no material changes to the operation of Smarter Living.”
Update #2: Just heard back from Dan Saul, SmarterTravel’s president, in response to my note congratulating him on the transaction. He said “thanks.” Well, I really mean it, Dan. Best of luck to you.
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