Travel
Tripadvisor Review : Over a billion reviews & contributions for Hotels
Table of Contents
About Tripadvisor
Tripadvisor, one of the largest travel sites, assists 463 million travelers each month to make their every journey most memorable. People worldwide use the Tripadvisor website and application to read over 859 million customer reviews, opinions, and reviews of 8.6 million hotels, restaurants experiences, flights, and cruises.
If you’re planning to take an excursion, travelers like you visit the Tripadvisor webiste to find low prices on cruises, hotels, and flights. They even book popular tours and activities and reserve tables at top eateries. Tripadvisor is the ultimate travel companion that is accessible in 29 markets and 28 languages.
The affiliates and subsidiaries of Tripadvisor, Inc. own and manage a range of businesses and websites, including the following brands of travel media: Tripadvisor LLC is not a tour operator or booking agent. We do not charge service fees for users who use our site. Our partners (airlines, travel agencies, and booking agencies) who offer prices for airfare, tours, and vacation packages through Tripadvisor must include all charges in their prices.
For example, on September 11, 2001, Security fees for international departure and entry fees and taxes, including federal excise tax and various other handlings, service and other fees and surcharges. If you make a booking through any of our partner airlines, visit their website for a complete list of fees applicable following the U.S. Department of Transportation. Prices for air travel are usually quoted per individual in USD unless stated otherwise.
Tripadvisor LLC calculates an average cost for each hotel to facilitate your travel. This is calculated based on the prices of rooms available from one of our partners for booking. For attractions and tours, The price shown is typically the lowest for adults per person.
If you are interested in any travel packages or offers listed, Tripadvisor LLC doesn’t guarantee prices or rates. Additionally, the prices at hotels are updated every night and are displayed in the currency you prefer using the current conversion rates. Since these conversion rates are estimates, you should check the booking site to confirm the exact amount and currency.
Overview of Tripadvisor
TripAdvisor, as well as many other accommodation/hospitality review sites, are often embraced by users. For companies, however, it can cause problems in their lives when they don’t know how to handle reviews and other comments on their business.
A prime instance of a company that isn’t a fan of review sites and has a weak policy for handling them included one of them, the Broadway Hotel located in Blackpool, UK. The hotel was in the news after it fined an individual who posted an unflattering review on TripAdvisor.
The guests branded it a “rotten stinking slum” and discovered later they had been assessed PS100 for their card. The small print on Broadway Hotel’s booking form read: “For every bad review left on any website, the group organizer will be charged a maximum PS100 per review.” The Blackpool council claimed it convinced the hotel to end the policy and pay the couple.
Charging customers PS100 for an unfavorable review is not the right way. However, the situation highlights hoteliers’ anxiety in the face of negative online reviews.
- Owners and hospitality management are constantly being threatened with bad reviews on TripAdvisor by customers demanding discounts.
- TripAdvisor can be seen as a positive factor since when a B&B gets a positive review, it can help boost the business. However, some issues are associated with it, including the fact that it’s susceptible to abuse, both by the owner and from the guests who leave fake reviews.
Use the tools in place to report any malicious/negative reviews.
TripAdvisor can investigate reviews that appear to be malicious, unfairly negative, and from potential friends of the business or even competitors. There are times when TripAdvisor responds to this feedback; however, it is best to take all possible avenues to ensure that the review gets at least reviewed by moderators. Here are two examples to look at how to submit the review:
- Click the ‘Report’ button next to the review that you’d like to have seen by the moderators.
- Choose the right category that describes the review and how you’d prefer to be viewed by moderators.
If you are concerned that the report to TripAdvisor is not being considered, you may contact TripAdvisor directly, but most of the time, you’ll need to follow similar channels you would with the review button. Therefore, it is recommended to follow the next four points listed below.
Take a deep breath, and consider whether the reviewer is doing their best to be fair. Choose a rational response that re-sells the company.
When you get the feedback you think is unfair, use it to highlight how professional your employees and management are by demonstrating an attitude of professionalism in response to the feedback. If negative feedback has been posted concerning the service, location, or staff, Respond by offering the reviewer an opportunity to interact with the company directly and demonstrating to the public that this was likely to be an incidental event.
It’s tempting, however, to be adamant in your responses; however, the person reading the message will not be on the same side as the person responding, so be sure to keep your comments in balance. Be mindful and considerate first, and not be dismissive.
A great response to a review on terrible service could be:
Hi, we do regret that you’ve experienced this with us. We’re always trying to improve the service we provide to our guests. We are extremely honoured with our excellent service, however, I’m aware that sometimes it’s possible to suffer mishaps! I’d like to bring the matter up with you directly and discuss what we can do to rectify the issue with you. Do not hesitate to reach out to our customer service team. We are looking eagerly to hearing from you.”
This response conveys to the reviewer, public, and future guests that you’re friendly, professional, and attentive to feedback. Your business will be seen as seeking to logically ensure the safety of its customers and guests.
You might or may not receive a phone call from the reviewer, as this examines the issue internally and make improvements. This action also stops the reviewer from returning and responding in a threatening chain, as you’ve provided them with the opportunity to pursue the issue with your company personally. If they return to rant, it will instantly denigrate the reviewer in the eyes of other viewers.
Monitor how often is this happening and if it is overwhelming. You may be targeted by a malicious poster/competitor.
One thing to be cautious about is not interacting with blackmailers. If a client demands discounts or writes a negative review, it may be equivalent to blackmail. TripAdvisor themselves advises against following the requirements of the customer harassing you.
A spokeswoman from TripAdvisor states, “Report the threat immediately to us with any additional information you may have about the reviewer.”
Past guests who have some sort of continual gripe with the organisation
Try to resolve any problems that arise proactively
Suppose you have confronted issues resulting from reviews posted on websites like TripAdvisor and similar. In that case, it is best to address the issue internally. A proper policy in place is vital to be successful in this particular area.
If there is a negative review left, you must do these things:
The reply to the reviewer includes an address for the organization they can speak to, who is responsible for the concern, and an appropriate procedure to address the issue. If, for example, the reviewer contacts you and they have an actual reason for the complaint, you can provide a reason for the person who is reviewing to visit your business again and observe that it’s not always the way it is.
Investigate the issue within your organization – this is a must! Always determine the reason why this situation occurred at all. Then, review and correct the issue at hand to ensure that it does not create a situation in the future.
An active online and internal policy regarding negative reviews will give your company the strength it requires to tackle any circumstance.
In conclusion, review sites like TripAdvisor are an excellent option for a properly run company to be recognized and serve as a powerful marketing tool for a business.
Ideally, you want all your guests to be completely satisfied dealing with your company service. If the circumstance shows that they aren’t, it’s recommended to establish a plan for handling the guest before leaving a review on a site. If they do end up on the review site and then leave a review, knowing how to deal with the situation from then on is crucial.
Hotels and hospitality operators often respond defensively. And their defenses, as well as the customer reviews, are published on the internet for the duration of TripAdvisor and ultimately reflect poor about the professionality of their business. Keep your cool and professional, and you’ll get through the chaos of reviews!
Watch Out For Those Restaurant Reviews
Google has an integrated system to verify the reviewer. If someone reviews through Google, it already knows everything about them. Reviewers must log in to Google for them to leave reviews. Thus, Google knows if they’ve left other reviews, if they’ve searched for your business before, and the list goes on. Google believes in “first-party data” more than it does “third-party data” coming through the Booking. Coms from around the world.
According to the Moz study of factors that influence local search rankings, “quantity of Native Google reviews” is an important aspect. Be aware that they consider:
- Reviews’ velocity (how often reviews are being posted over time)
- The reviewer’s attitude (ie-positive or negative, etc.)
- Keywords in reviews
- It is the actual score (of course)