Michelin Guide partners with review giant TripAdvisor
Restaurants featured in the Michelin Guide will now have their ratings and accolades displayed on the hospitality review platform TripAdvisor, and will be bookable through reservation arm, TheFork (LaFourchette).
The partnership comes as the famous originally-French “red guide” prepares to celebrate its 120th birthday in 2020.
The move has been described as “an internationally-strategic content & licensing partnership” and will “combine the gastronomic selection expertise of the Michelin Guide with the power of TripAdvisor’s audience & TheFork’s advanced booking service”, a statement said.
More than 14,000 restaurants listed in the Michelin Guide will now have their accolades displayed on the TripAdvisor websites and apps - including the prestigious Michelin stars (one to three), and the Bib Gourmands (“Bib Gourmands” are awards given to restaurants in recognition of very good food, priced at a maximum of €33-37 for three courses).
Of these, 4,000 European restaurants will be available for online reservation through the TheFork app, and on Michelin’s own digital platform.
(Photo: The MICHELIN Guide / @MichelinGuideUK / Twitter)
The aim is to add the expertise of the Michelin Guide - and the trust that diners place in its judgement - to the online review platform, and to increase the number of online table bookings.
Scott Clark, member of the Michelin Group Executive Committee, said: "This strategic partnership between Michelin and TripAdvisor will offer unprecedented visibility to the establishments listed in the Michelin Guide selections around the world.
"By combining the Michelin Guide’s unique restaurant curation and selection criteria, with TripAdvisor’s comprehensive travel planning platform, we will be able to make the Michelin Guide’s selections accessible to a much larger number of diners around the world."
Bertrand Jelensperger, senior vice president,TripAdvisor Restaurants and CEO, TheFork, said: "This agreement allows us to continue expanding our business geographically, while offering an even more valuable service to restaurants and diners alike.
"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."
The agreement with TripAdvisor booking platform TheFork/LaFourchette will also see the company take over Michelin's existing online booking platform, Bookatable. This will see TheFork becoming the European leader in online restaurant bookings, as it launches in five new countries: the UK, Germany, Austria, Finland, and Norway.
