'A Hidden Gem!' or 'Lame!!!'? Online Travel Reviewers to Watch Out For - By Daniel Edward Craig

Ouch. The comment was a reference to my James Bond namesake and my secondary career as a mystery novelist, but nonetheless I was baffled by it, having no recollection of any guest encounter that would have provoked a public cry for my dismissal. Since the review was anonymous, we had no way of contacting the guest to find out what went wrong. Because it was a personal attack that offered little useful information, we asked TripAdvisor to remove it. But they refused, and it remains there today. Sometimes we hoteliers have to set aside our professionalism and say, 'Whatever'.

In my last post I wrote about online travel reviews from a hotelier's perspective. This time I take off my hotelier's hat to poke some fun at online reviews from a traveler's perspective.

When planning trips, I always check out amateur reviews for a refreshing, grassroots alternative to the salesy propaganda on hotel websites. Yet as these sites grow in popularity the process has become increasingly time-consuming and confusing. The playing field is now so cluttered, the reviews so contradictory and polarized, it's hard to know who to believe anymore.

And whereas the vast majority of reviews are benevolent and seemingly authentic, a few reviewer types have emerged whose advice should be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism. In the spirit of parody, here are a few to watch out for.

The Self-Appointed Expert. This reviewer has posted scores of reviews, yet quite possibly has never left his computer room. An aspiring travel memoirist, he writes lengthy, flowery missives colored with acid-tongued remarks like, 'To call this a fleabag hotel would be an insult to fleas and bags everywhere.' Although he positions himself as a martyr to the travel community, he wouldn't object if a hotel offered him a free stay in exchange for a glowing review.

The Patron Saint of Hotels. This reviewer is so over-the-top in her praise either she's never had a vacation before or she's been into the sacred wine. She rates all services as excellent, including those the hotel doesn't offer, and uses exalted phrases like 'A hidden gem!', 'Glorious!' and 'I thought I'd died and gone to heaven!' Because she insists on seeing the good in everyone, she often finds herself making excuses on behalf of a hotel, such as, 'My niece fell down the elevator shaft, but I'm sure they've gotten that fixed.'

The Up-trader. Having scoured the internet for deals until he scored a five-star hotel at a two-star rate, this bargain-hunter now expects all other services to be equally discounted. He expresses moral outrage over charges for breakfast, telephone and the mini-bar, accusing the hotel of gouging. His comments are revealing: '$28 for parking!?! That's how much I usually pay for a room! Rip OFF!'

The Down-trader. This high-flying business traveler used to spend lavishly on luxury hotels until the economic crisis forced a drastic reduction in her expense account. Now obliged to stay in budget properties, she lives in denial, complaining bitterly about the lack of a day spa, fur boutique and gourmet restaurant at her roadside motel.

The Uncle Bob. Like that dull relative who subjects you to endless vacation photos and anecdotes, this reviewer goes on and on but never manages to say anything helpful or interesting. 'My room had a bed and a desk and a chair. Oh, and a painting of a landscape. Molly at the front desk-or was it Maggie? Well, whoever it was, gosh darn was she swell when we needed directions to the local IHOP...' Next.

The Extortionist. After a series of mishaps, all of which were his own fault, this traveler tried every trick in the book to weasel a comp stay from the hotel, and now resorts to posting a blistering online review. He rates everything as terrible, including things that were perfectly fine. His reviews read like ransom notes, with bad spelling and grammar, excess punctuation, and random capital letters: 'This hOtel SUKCED!! RobeRto the Duty manger?%? was LaiMe...!!!!!'

The Shill. This reviewer writes in a style that sounds suspiciously like the hotel's promo material, with phrases only marketing people use, like 'nestled in the heart of vibrant old-town' and 'well-appointed furnishings with dreamy Celestial Comfort(TM) beds'. Her review contrasts sharply with the other, not-so-generous reviews and is typically a one-off. Although she signs off with a cutesy pseudonym like 'TravlinGrrrl', she's undoubtedly the hotel's director of marketing.

The Forensic Examiner. This CSI enthusiast treats hotel rooms like a crime scene, posting reviews with gory photographic evidence of carpet stains, bathroom mold and bedbug bites. Even when his review is glowing, his photos make the room look cheap and squalid, particularly when personal items and family members are in the background.

The Corporate Saboteur. This reviewer is a hotel owner writing a nasty, bogus review of a competitor hotel in hopes of boosting his own property's ratings. Telltale signs include anonymity and remarks like, 'I finally checked outta that dump and went to the ABC HOTEL. Twenty bucks cheaper and free donuts! I'll never stay anywhere else!'

As a rule I bypass extreme reviews -- unless there are a lot, in which case I take heed. I also skip reviews with the word 'lame', the online word of choice for people with a chip their shoulder. I find the hotel's overall ranking to be helpful, but it doesn't always tell the real story. Pull up your home city on TripAdvisor. Do you agree with the top five hotels? There's always at least one that raises an eyebrow.

Recognizing that not every reviewer has the interests of fellow travelers in mind, Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline restrict reviews to customers only, whereas anyone can post a review on TripAdvisor, Yelp, Yahoo and Travelocity. TripAdvisor has been known to post a warning to travelers if it questions the authenticity of reviews, but this practice has attracted a flurry of criticism in the blogosphere.

There's no question, online reviews are a great resource, providing insight, humor and tried-and-true tips from the field. Yet travelers shouldn't forget to consult the experts in print and online guidebooks, newspapers and magazines. If I find a lump on my throat, I'm heading to a doctor for treatment, not to some online quack who claims to be able to show me how to remove the lump from home.

We can all help increase the reliability of reviews by posting our own after our trips. Just remember to stick to the facts, play fair, and go easy on the punctuation. And try not to get too personal. It might not always seem evident, but hotel managers have feelings too.

That's not strategy. That's hoping social media will go away. It won't.

On the other side of the spectrum are hotels that have leapt into social networking on all fours. They're issuing Twitter updates every thirteen seconds and recruiting Facebook fans by the busload. But their messages carry the meaning and life expectancy of an air bubble, and their 'fans' are not brand advocates but deal-seekers who signed up hoping for something for free.

Social networking is not a contest to recruit the most followers. It is not a race to send out the most messages. It is less about talking than about listening. It's about engaging consumers in meaningful dialogue and recruiting brand advocates who will do the talking for you. These simple truths apply to every social media platform, from Twitter to Facebook to blogs to user review sites like TripAdvisor, Yelp and Expedia.

By now, most hotels have allocated funds for social networking. How best to spend this money? Given that participation in most platforms is free, the greatest expense is the time required to develop and maintain an effective program.

The first step is to establish your hotel's social media strategy. For most hotels, it should be simple: to utilize online networking tools to build a positive reputation and generate revenue. You need to determine the resources to dedicate, the distribution of responsibilities, the timeline, the tools to employ, and the standards regarding vocabulary, tone, imagery and responsiveness.

The next step is execution. Who will manage day-to-day activities? Your hotel's internet marketing company/search engine optimizer may seem like a natural fit given its expertise, but if it's located off-property, especially in a different city, it's a drawback.

Effective social networking requires the hotel to have an authentic, compelling voice that evokes its personality and brand. To engage in meaningful, real-time dialogue, the owner of this voice must have a finger on the pulse of the hotel's operations. Moreover, a system that requires hotel staff to feed information to an offsite company that in turn re-crafts and distributes it is inherently inefficient.

The same goes for the hotel's ad agency, PR company, social media strategist and corporate office. These entities have a role in strategy and implementation and should have an ongoing involvement, but the ultimate goal should be to bring social networking activities in-house.

It's a big job. A comprehensive social media program involves monitoring and conversing with entire online communities on a variety of platforms, disseminating and responding to feedback and using it to enhance the guest experience, blogging, and sourcing and distributing text, photo, video and mobile content. This role requires outstanding communication skills, technical proficiency, resourcefulness, strategic thinking, some serious multitasking, and a solid understanding of marketing and guest service.

Can your hotel justify a dedicated social media position? Consider how dramatically consumer decision-making has changed. Increasingly, travelers-independent and group, corporate and leisure-are consulting the opinions of others through social media platforms. Many are bypassing reservations and sales departments to book online. Have the resources of your hotel adequately shifted to reflect this new reality? It may be time to retire a reservations or sales position and replace it with a social media manager.

Yes, 'moving at a measured pace' is prudent, but social media is moving at a breakneck speed and too much dawdling will leave your hotel in the dust. It's time to take advantage of the enormous potential of social media. Your hotel's online reputation is at stake.


Daniel Edward Craig is a hotel consultant and the author of the hotel-based Five-Star Mystery series. He is the former vice president and general manager of Opus Hotels in Vancouver and Montreal and its current blogger-at-large. For more info visit www.danieledwardcraig.com or email dec@danieledwardcraig.com.

Reader Comments:

Be the first to leave a comment for this article