TripAdvisor Takes Majority Position in FlipKey, Strong Player in Vacation Rental Market

    NEWTON, Mass., Aug. 20 /EMWNews/ -- TripAdvisor(R), the world's

largest travel community, today announced it has purchased a majority stake

in FlipKey(TM), http://www.flipkey.com, a leading vacation rental review

site. Terms of the investment will not be disclosed.



    "Vacation rentals is the hot emerging category in travel and FlipKey

has a great foundation and a smart business approach," said Steve Kaufer,

founder and CEO of TripAdvisor. "We believe we can help FlipKey become the

leader in the space and, in turn, FlipKey content will satisfy a growing

need for TripAdvisor users."



    "TripAdvisor is 'it' in the world of user-generated travel reviews, so

we are thrilled to have the support of the TripAdvisor Media Network," said

TJ Mahony, FlipKey founder and CEO. "We're honored to have been chosen as

the vacation rental provider to the world's largest travel community and

look forward to working with TripAdvisor to build our business."



    Boston-based FlipKey.com launched in March 2008 and is led by TJ

Mahony, CEO, Jeremiah Gall, COO, and Carl Query, CTO. FlipKey features

50,000 vacation homes, representing all 50 U.S. states. In addition to

amassing vacation rental listings and consumer reviews of the featured

properties, FlipKey has an exclusive relationship with Instant Software,

the leading property management software company, to provide a guest review

platform for its clients. FlipKey content is expected to be integrated with

TripAdvisor.

    About TripAdvisor Media Network



    TripAdvisor(R) Media Network, operated by TripAdvisor, LLC, attracts

nearly 32 million monthly visitors* across 12 popular travel brands,

TripAdvisor(R), http://www.airfarewatchdog.com, http://www.bookingbuddy.com,

http://www.cruisecritic.com, http://www.holidaywatchdog.com, http://www.independenttraveler.com,

http://www.onetime.com, http://www.seatguru.com, http://www.smartertravel.com,

http://www.travel-library.com, http://www.travelpod.com and http://www.virtualtourist.com.

TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the

world, with 24 million monthly visitors*, six million registered members

and 15 million reviews and opinions. Featuring real advice from real

travelers, TripAdvisor-branded sites cover 300,000+ hotels and attractions

and operate in the U.S. (http://www.tripadvisor.com), the U.K.

(http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk), Ireland (http://www.tripadvisor.ie), France

(http://www.tripadvisor.fr), Germany (http://www.tripadvisor.de), Italy

(http://www.tripadvisor.it), and Spain (http://www.tripadvisor.es).

TripAdvisor(R) Media Network provides travel suppliers with graphical

advertising opportunities and a cost-per-click marketing platform.

Collectively, the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Network have won

hundreds of awards and accolades from press and industry worldwide.

TripAdvisor and the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Network are

operating companies of Expedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE).



    TripAdvisor is a registered trademark of TripAdvisor LLC in the U.S.

and/or other countries. FlipKey is a trademark of FlipKey, Inc.



    *Source: comScore Media Metrix, May 2008