TripAdvisor has expanded Facebook integration in order to let travellers view reviews from friends of Facebook friends. The company says the move makes planning more social for its community.

The “Friend of a Friend” feature highlights trusted reviews and opinions from friends of Facebook friends.  This feature increases the probability of an even greater personalised TripAdvisor experience by highlighting opinions from a larger network of travellers that know the people you trust.

According to TripAdvisor, travellers are now 10 times more likely to see personalised travel advice on TripAdvisor.

When researching a hotel, restaurant, or attraction, users will see their friends’ reviews first, followed by reviews of their friends’ friends. They can use the TripAdvisor private message service to ask anyone in this network for further advice. Reviews from the greater TripAdvisor community will also be displayed below friends’ reviews so travellers can continue to benefit from the wisdom of the crowds.

“Travel advice from friends is incredibly useful, but your inner circle may not have all the answers on a particular hotel or destination you are researching,” said Adam Medros, vice president of global product for TripAdvisor.  

The company mentioned that everyday Facebook-connected people write one out of four reviews submitted on TripAdvisor. Each of these travellers has an average of 190 people in their friend network. With access to friends of friends, the average network can soar considerably, making social travel planning exponentially more useful.

Privacy

Travellers can adjust their privacy settings within their Account Settings on Facebook to limit what their Facebook friends can see on TripAdvisor. Travellers who do not want access to their friends’ travel advice, or don’t want their friends to see their own reviews, can opt out.

This feature is now available on TripAdvisor sites worldwide with the exception of China and Egypt.