Michelin sells Bookatable in TripAdvisor partnership deal
The deal will see the 14,000 restaurants listed on Bookatable join the 67,000 already available on TripAdvisor’s booking service TheFork.
All restaurants listed by the Michelin Guide worldwide will now be branded with their Star, Bib Gourmand or Plate rating on the TripAdvisor website.
Michelin says the tie-up will lead to ‘significantly improved accessibility’ and ‘increase the visibility of the chefs and restaurants’ featured in its guides.
In exchange all TheFork restaurant partners will be bookable on the Michelin Guide digital platforms and through its app.
“This agreement allows us to continue expanding our business geographically, while offering an even more valuable service to restaurants and diners alike,” said Bertrand Jelensperger, senior vice president at TripAdvisor Restaurants and CEO of TheFork.
“We’ll soon make Michelin-selected bookable restaurants more visible on our platforms to better serve our users and drive the right customers to each restaurant.”
Michelin expansion
Michelin bought Bookatable in 2016 as part of a drive to develop its travel assistance services. In the past two years it has also acquired the Tablet hotel booking site and is now the sole owner of influential American wine guide Robert Parker Wine Advocate.
TheFork and TripAdvisor offer a huge pool of potential customers, with the pair claiming to receive around 490m visits to their websites each month.
According to a recent study conducted by Strategy&, a member of the PwC network, the companies together influenced nearly $8 billion in revenue in 2018 across France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, US and UK, representing over 320m meals in restaurants.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
