NEEDHAM, Mass - Feb. 26, 2004 -- TripAdvisor, the leading travel research site, announced today the results of a year-long study of the most popular hotels on the web for 2003. Using its Hotel Popularity Index, TripAdvisor's "Best Hotels On The Web - 2003" award ranks the top hotel in major cities worldwide, based on the quantity and quality of information found on the web for more than 100,000 hotels in over 14,000 cities.

Unlike other hotel awards that are based solely on editorial opinions or user surveys, TripAdvisor's award utilizes the wealth of information available on the web, including articles, user reviews, guidebooks and net comments written about a hotel property. The greater the amount of positive information published on the web about a hotel, the higher the hotel's ranking.

Reviews Can Make a Difference

In addition to online newspaper articles and guidebooks, the winners of the Best Hotels On The Web - 2003 award generated dozens of favorable user reviews posted on www.tripadvisor.com. These reviews remarked on a variety of themes, including service, friendliness of staff, overall cleanliness, comfort and size of rooms, convenient locations, beautiful pools and great dining experiences.

Below is a sampling of the top hotel recipient for the following cities worldwide:

Best Hotels On The Web - 2003 - Hotels by major city:
 

Methodology

During 2003, TripAdvisor's search technology continuously scoured the web for articles, reviews and opinions published on various travel topics including hotel properties. Based on the quantity (i.e., number of articles, reviews and opinions published on the web) and quality (i.e., whether the content was favorable or negative towards a hotel) of content found on the web, TripAdvisor assigned a "web popularity" score for over 100,000 hotels worldwide. TripAdvisor then ranked the hotels in that city based on their web popularity score.

About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor, Inc. provides a comprehensive travel search engine and directory that helps consumers research their travel plans via the web. TripAdvisor.com is the 7th most popular travel website worldwide, according to comScore Networks.