Scour the internet and you'll find many takes on where online review sites, like TripAdvisor, fit into the hotelier's world. This piece, which was written last summer, carefully considers the perspective of the consumer in establishing strategy for dealing with this brave new world we all find ourselves in.
The article talks about "official content" (produced by a hotel) vs. "unofficial content" (reviews, ratings, etc. that show up on the Web) and the importance of hoteliers not blurring the line between the two for potential customers. The key takeaway is that hotel operators should not rely on the review sites to generate testimonials that are linked to their own web sites.
Give it a read. It's an interesting perspective and has provoked more discussion around here about the continually evolving process of consumers sifting through available information to make travel decisions. One point of differentiation we make with the author of the article is the suggestion that "a Guest Satisfaction Survey should already exist on the hotel website". Of course, our recommendation is for a controlled guest satisfaction surveying process instead. More to come on this.
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