How I’m Working with TripAdvisor

Over the past several months, I’ve been helping out TripAdvisor with a handful of cool projects. I’ve been really pleased with the work and have had a lot of fun, but I’ve been way too busy with it and all sorts of other stuff to give it even a brief mention here on my blog or elsewhere across the web. With TripAdvisor’s undeniable influence back in the news, though, I thought now might a good time to say a few words about what I’ve been up to.

Well before the opportunity to work with this brand, I was a regular visitor to the site. Like so many people I know, TripAdvisor is often my first outlet of information I reach for when planning practically any trip out of town as well as most special occasions closer to home. And like everybody else, I take the reviews I read on the site with a grain of salt, sifting through cranky rants and effluent raves for the jewel of collective insight. I’ve come to rely on TripAdvisor as an indispensable resource more often than not pointing me in the right direction and helping me spend my money more wisely than I probably would have otherwise.

Since the summer, I have been contributing guides and itineraries to the site. I got the gig via Tripbod with whom I’ve been a freelance guide for years. When TripAdvisor acquired Tripbod earlier this year I wasn’t sure what would happen with respect to little ole me. I’m pleased to report the result has been more ways for me to share my love of London and travel with a growing number of folks around the world. Moreover, it’s meant a great deal to me having the TripBod gang share some of their fortune (and workload) with me during this transition.

The content I’ve been creating for TripAdvisor has been largely about London, such as how to spend three days there or where to find the best food. But I’ve written things about Istanbul and a few other favourite destinations as well.

Apparently the Istanbul bits have proven something of a hit. My 3 Days in Istanbul guide and other pieces about the city by me and colleague Maddie S are seeing higher average times than all other destinations. There’s a “helpful vote” which allows readers to say whether the guides are helpful or not. Apparently, the Istanbul guides are topping the leader board by a large margin. Last I heard, the 3 Days guide had 100% helpful votes.

As a writer, it can often feel like I’m creating in a vacuum. Even when stats are good and comments, retweets, etc are plentiful, it’s hard to know if I actually am making any impact by throwing my ideas out there for whomever to read. So it’s been especially gratifying to receive such positive feedback about my work for this huge and globally known brand.

I’m involved with a few other items in the TripAdvisor pipeline too. I just can’t talk about them yet but will certainly share what I can with you as soon as possible. Cheers!