FlipKey is an online vacation rental marketplace. It is a subsidiary of

TripAdvisor Tripadvisor is an American company that operates online travel agency, travel agencies, comparison shopping websites, and mobile apps with user-generated content. Its namesake brand, Tripadvisor.com, operates in 40 countries and 20 languages, and ...

. In 2016 the company listed more than 300,000 properties in 179 countries. Its headquarters is in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, United States. Although rental owners are verified by the company's staff before being added to the FlipKey website, the site relies heavily on traveler reviews of rental properties. FlipKey also publishes ratings for travel-related items such as food blogs and in the United States it provides ratings of national historic sites. Citing complaints that FlipKey would not guarantee functional amenities in its rental sites, in 2016

Better Business Bureau The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is an American private, 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization founded in 1912. BBB's self-described mission is to focus on advancing marketplace trust, consisting of 92 independently incorporated local BBB organizati ...

gave the company an F rating.

History

FlipKey was founded in 2007 as a house-swapping and vacation rental listing website. The company was acquired by travel website,

, in 2008. That year FlipKey was included in

Travel and Leisure Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel c ...

's list of top travel websites. At first Flipkey sold subscriptions to homeowners, operating from offices on Lincoln Street in Boston."First look: TripAdvisor's new Boston office near North Station"
''Boston Globe: BetaBoston'', by Scott Kirsner January 9, 2014 After 2013, FlipKey changed its sales model, giving property owners the option of paying a percentage commission for each property rented. In 2014, FlipKey moved its offices to Causeway Street in Boston, which was also expected to house another Tripadvisor subsidiary, Smarter Travel. That year Flipkey created a virtual tour of Boston for its website, to promote its property listings there. In 2015, FlipKey updated its technology platform, resulting in complaints from some large property managers that they were being overcharged. In 2017, the city of Coral Gables, Florida, sued FlipKey, claiming that the company had ignored city statutes prohibiting commercial activity in residential areas."Coral Gables sues FlipKey over illegal short-term rentals"
''The Real Deal'', By Francisco Alvarado , May 17, 2017

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.flipkey.com Tripadvisor American companies established in 2007 Hospitality companies established in 2007 Real estate companies established in 2007 Internet properties established in 2007 Hospitality companies of the United States Online marketplaces of the United States Vacation rental Companies based in Boston

History

See also

References

External links