What's
Trip Advisor for? Is Trip Advisor simply a benign review
site? Is it too big for it's boots now?
The
conversation went something like this.
"We're
thinking of booking, but I've read about the insects. Will there be
insects?"
Biting my
tongue I resisted, "It's Italy, it's August, 36 degrees as we
speak, we live on forested hills. You don't need a crystal ball..."
opting instead for, "insects, good or bad in your book?"
"Can't
stand creepy crawlies. On Trip Advisor it says there are lots of
insects."
And do you
know what? It does in fact say this on Trip Advisor - but in one of
the most glowing reviews we've received from a wildlife enthusiast
who loved to photograph butterflies, moths and beetles. One gleans
what one gleans from any review I suppose.
 |
| Tenuta Savorgnano: Mattia Marzotto |
Trip
Advisor has been on my mind a lot lately for one reason or another.
Guests all mention it. It's review season and sometimes it feels as
if a Trip Advisor email lands in the inbox hourly. Our reviews are
universally good so there's nothing to complain about there. It's the
other emails urging me to become a star reviewer by writing just one
more review. Or asking me to apply for window stickers to announce to
the hordes that happen to be passing our mountain hideaway that we
have a Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence. Mmm. Or sending me
code to put a Trip Advisor logo on the website, blog or embedded in
emails. The owls eyes are everywhere. Almost every restaurant, shop,
B&B and hotel I pass! What next? A Trip Advisor logo tattooed on
my forehead? And now it's linked to Facebook, so I'm informed
whenever one of my contacts updates their Trip Advisor travel map or
writes a review!
Some emails
'update' me on places I've merely perused on Trip Advisor. Their
algorithms are set so that if I click on other reviews by guests
who've reviewed us, they update me on that place everytime it gets a
new review! Confession time. I occasionally check out the competion
or places run by folks I know. My curiosity unearthed an intersting
fact. Unfair negative reviews are common. How do I know they are
unfair? Because they breach the Trip Advisor guidelines for
reviewers. Reviews that actually state the reviewer never stayed.
Reviews that compare one establishment unfavourably with another in
it's locality and poor assessments based on factors proprietors have
no control over such as the weather.
For
example, one review of a Yorkshire B&B was based on a enquiry
phonecall by someone who called again to actually book but had been
pipped at the post by subsequent caller. (How often we get enquiries
from people who say they want to book but don't follow through. How
long should one hold dates for people who simply don't respond?) It
accused the proprietor of lying in order to accept a more lucrative
booking! Another review of a place on the Italian Island of Ischia
rated it two out of five because it rained during the stay! These are
clearly unfair and yet Trip Advisor allows them to stand.
I spoke to
the Yorkshire owner who told me she'd given up trying to get Trip
Advisor to acknowledge that this deliberate attempt to damage
business and cast aspersions on the owners integrity, was unfair
within it's own guidelines, and remove it. For big businesses with
large guest numbers the odd unfair review is easily masked by more
favourable ones. The result for smaller establishments can be
devastating. Little places like us are only as good as the last
review.
The average
punter doesn't know this. Once the first reviewer has dobbed you in,
so to speak, Trip Advisor then asks you to claim your listing and pay
for the privilege of being able to respond to reviews – more than
£400 a year! What choice does an owner have? You either pay or lose
the ability to manage your own reputation on the forum that's rapidly
becoming the only game in town.
So what do
we get for our money apart from the right to reply? Well not much
really apart from a million ways to create more publicity for Trip
Advisor... badges, posters, certificates, stickers – not sure if
there's a T-Shirt yet! There are mugs. In more ways than one! We do
get to put extra information about our place on our listing but it's
obscure and not obvious where to find it. What you do get when you
alight on our listing - a bit of a cheek when they're charging us –
is assailed by adverts for other inns around us with price
comparisons! Often these are linked to other booking engines like
Booking.com or Expedia. These natuarally favour the big guys since
they're commission based and won't even touch you unless your volume
of trade is enough to make them a bob or two.
 |
| Jonnie Falafel contemplates Trip Advisor |
Trip
Advisor owns other sites too. Check for the ubiquitous owls eyes at
the bottom of web pages. These are often booking engines where places
like us also pay for listings. No conflict of interest there then! I
can see the day coming when Trip Advisor has all ends of the travel
and leisure industry sewn up good and proper. And we provide the
free content egged on by status rewards like Pavlov's dogs.
Our
reviewers have all been so kind. I appreciate the efforts people have
gone to and reviews have helped establish us. But it can so easily
work the other way. Like lots of people I used to think of Trip
Advisor only as review site a source of information. But you have to
raise a sceptical voice when it's becoming so dominant. What's Trip
Advisor for? It's to profit Trip Advisor of course.
For more information on the views expressed here see Trip Advisor Watch You can post reviews on other sites. For us sites like Happy Cow or Veggie Places are relevant.
