TripAdvisor will offer Wi-Fi services to restaurants to help their marketing efforts

​By Mitra Sorrells

TripAdvisor is offering a Wi-Fi subscription service for restaurants to help them collect more reviews and build their email marketing databases.

Any of the site’s more than four million restaurants can now sign up for TripAdvisor Wi-Fi Plus, enabling them to offer free Wi-Fi to their diners through a branded network.

To access the service, diners provide either their email or a social media credential. After leaving the restaurant, the system sends the guest a reminder to leave a review, and the restaurant can also maintain communication, for example to send individual messages or automated campaigns.

When asked if TripAdvisor may extend this offering to additional categories, such as tour and activity suppliers, Evan Becker, head of key accounts for restaurants, says, “The agreement that we have set up with our vendor today, a company called Captini, is not exclusive to our restaurants product line.

"There are certainly future opportunities for us to expand this to other business units, but at the moment we are currently just focused on restaurants.”

​Restaurants comprise about half of TripAdvisor’s listings, which also cover accommodations, airlines, experiences and cruises.

In the United States, pricing for TripAdvisor Wi-Fi Plus ranges from $69 per month with a two-year plan to $89 per month on a month-to-month basis. Pricing varies in other countries.