Gary wrote this in
Online Marketing Strategies
on 02-Mar-2011
- 11/11/11 at 11.11.11
- Google+ “It’s already good for rankings”
- Whoo hooo, Pebble Mailer editor just got a facelift...
- How wide should E-news and EDM's really be?
- Get more from your mobile traffic
- Beautiful one day - Promoted the next
- Why Trip Advisor is getting a bad review
- Your Website's New Year's Resolutions
- Why Permission Marketing Is the Future of Online Advertising
- The Queensland Floods and the power of Social Marketing
From the Blog
11/11/11 at 11.11.11
amazing to have all one's in date and time, we stopped for a second. More
From the Blog
Google+ “It’s already good for rankings”
Google+ hasn’t even been around 6 months yet, and it’s considered a major player in the social media realm. It regularly draws comparisons to both Facebook and Twitter. But, Google+ does have one thing going for it that currently Facebook and Twitter doesn’t: it’s good for rankings… in Google. Imagine that. More
From the Blog
Whoo hooo, Pebble Mailer editor just got a facelift...
Many new features have been added to the the Pebble Mailer system by our awesome partners in Sydney. As online email marketing becomes a part of our daily lives, this now makes things even easier for us all. Read on for more info and to watch the video. More
From the Blog
How wide should E-news and EDM's really be?
You’ve probably noticed that the majority of email newsletters you receive these days are designed with a fixed width as opposed to a fluid layout. More
From the Blog
Get more from your mobile traffic
With more and more users accessing the web from mobile devices, can you be sure you are capitalising on this new traffic source? More
From the Blog
Beautiful one day - Promoted the next
Tourism Queensland promotion blitz steps up its game. More
From the Blog
Why Trip Advisor is getting a bad review
TripAdvisor.com is the foremost travel advisory website pushing transparency on to the hotel industry. But as TripAdvisor’s 2011 Dirtiest Hotels are announced, it leads us to ask, "Are the reviews really as good as we think?" More
From the Blog
Your Website's New Year's Resolutions
We're all now well into the swing of things for 2011. So why not think about your New Year's resolutions for your business? Here's 5 things you can do for 2011 to improve your online performance. More
From the Blog
Why Permission Marketing Is the Future of Online Advertising
The concept of “Permission Marketing” isn’t new; in fact, Seth Godin’s 1999 book about “turning strangers into friends and friends into customers” seems remarkably prescient in today’s age of “Friending,” “Liking,” and “Following.” More
From the Blog
The Queensland Floods and the power of Social Marketing
See how social marketing has made the Queensland Floods one of the most accessed news item world wide. More
Why Trip Advisor is getting a bad review
TripAdvisor.com is the foremost travel advisory website pushing transparency on to the hotel industry. But as TripAdvisor’s 2011 Dirtiest Hotels are announced, it leads us to ask, "Are the reviews really as good as we think?"
Since its inception in 2000, TripAdvisor has been the foremost travel review website used by millions around the globe. It has given consumers a voice, and potential guests an educated choice when making decisions on where to stay, when previously it has been an industry of book and hope for the best.
Ten years later their services have improved and their products have expanded and we are now starting to see in-page TripAdvisor reviews more and more on hotel and resort websites. Combined with their integration into 3rd party booking sites like Expedia and their automated linking into social media tools like Facebook, (for which I still don't remember giving permission), it is becoming a goliath of a web force.
But is this really adding value to your business?
If you think about it, TripAdvisor is servicing consumers and their interests are not really hotel orientated, regardless of what tales the sales team will spin when getting you to put their links on your website.
TripAdvisor promotes over 45 million unbiased traveller reviews & opinions, which is great for guests because it keeps hotels honest and on their toes. The level of transparency forces the industry to not sweep things under the main foyer’s alpaca rug and provide a better quality of service.
It has been proven however, that western society is more likely to complain of a bad experience than praise a good one. And every hotel has dealt with their share of guests who like to make mountains out of molehills. It’s even more so online because of the sense of anonymity. So the web makes it easy to let off some steam with complete absence of personal responsibility. Which is now a common theme in today's online society and social networks.
What’s even more unfortunate for hotels is that anyone can make a review. Even competitors. Regardless of TripAdvisor's stern policies of checks and balances and removal of fraudulent reviews, the damage has already been done. Fake reviews are becoming a big problem for TripAdvisor who could be facing legal action for complaints against dishonest reviews.
If this does go to court if will create a media frenzy and set a precedent for a long line of disgruntled hoteliers burnt by TripAdvisor's blunt honesty.
As TripAdvisor’s 2011 Dirtiest Hotels are announced, TripAdvisor are making it harder and harder for hotels to slacken off. When a hotel is limited by budgets and blasted by scathing (sometimes unfair) reviews I’m sure we’ll see more and more hotels put out of the job.
It's your business, so why let someone else dictate your level of excellence? Having internal guest reviews on your own website allows you control of what you promote, instead of a 3rd party who you have no control over. But, be a little transparent and also post a few negative reviews every now and then - with a response from management about how this guest’s poor experience was resolved.
It will show you're honest and also that you’re taking an interest in providing a better service for your guests.
