Jay Karen, the president and CEO of the 2000-member Professional Association of Innkeepers International, acknowledges that there are mixed feelings among bed & breakfast owners over the fees for TripAdvisor’s new Business Listings, but he thinks owners should “throw $300 [the promotional rate] at this.”

For the first time, beginning Jan. 4, innkeepers and hotels can list their URLs, phone numbers and e-mails for a flat monthly fee within their property displays on TripAdvisor so consumers can navigate directly to the properties’ websites.

Karen, who has lobbied TripAdvisor since November 2008 for direct listings, thinks TripAdvisor may take in $1.5 million in the U.S. from the program in the first year if 3,000 of the roughly 16,000 U.S. B&Bs sign on at an average fee of $500. And, since the program is global, the revenue stream likely will be much larger for TripAdvisor.