Skift Take

Yelp's adding tours and activities' bookings highlights the mainstreaming of the sector but the way Yelp is doing this is modest and not a game-changer. Yelp hasn't acquired a tours and activities provider and isn't putting a lot of resources into in-app bookings, both of which rival TripAdvisor has done.

Yelp, which added hotel bookings through Hipmunk in October, is branching out anew and  is offering tours and activities via Vimbly.

When Yelp users are on a tours and activities business page that has a partnership with Vimbly, they will see a “Book Now” button on desktop or “Book an Appointment” button on mobile and can book the activity instantly without leaving Yelp.

Yelp already added winery tour reservations via CellarPass last October and now intends to offer activities from more than 5,000 vendors through Vimbly, a New York-based tours and activities provider.

For example, Yelp users can book a Vimbly-powered West Village Food and History Tour and an NYC Pizza Beer and History Tour in New York without leaving Yelp.com.

Users visit Yelp predominantly to read reviews of restaurants and local businesses but the company is gradually turning itself, through partnerships, into a booking site in order to make it less dependent on advertising.

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Tags: local, tours and activities, yelp

Photo credit: Yelp users can now book a selection of tours right on Yelp.com or within Yelp's apps through a new partnership with New York-based Vimbly. Yelp

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