3. Tripadvisor and the travel industry
Once upon a time in order to travel, people were going to the travel agency. They would flip through the catalogue and choose a fully planned travel package, that they can afford. On the agreed day they would come to the airport and be taken away to a resort of their choice. During their stay they would have a pre-planned guided tour and be taken to the restaurants and shops that the tour agency has selected (or have a commission with in place).
And as it always goes, with internet advent, travel sites started popping up like mushrooms after the rain. Travel blogs, review websites and magazines full of beautiful holiday pictures and advice to a traveller.
There is even a possibility to see everything prior to actually arriving to the destination. Couple of hours on google images and street view and you have a feeling like you have already seen it all.
Once you actually arrive to the footsteps of Big Ben you find it more attractive on google images.
But judgements aside, I would like to discuss
How TripAdvisor has affected the tourism industry?
Some statistics first.
TripAdvisor nowadays converts more than 300 million unique visitors monthly.
4 400 000 businesses are registered in 145 000 destinations, and 190 000 000 reviews and opinions are listed on the website (I guess the number might have already changed since the article was written).
What is in it for the traveller?
Travellers use TripAdvisor to make knowledgeable and informed decisions, to share good experiences or to complain about bad or dishonest service.
68% of users say that reviews help them choose a restaurant or attractions and 83% of users say that reviews help them choose a hotel.
Nowadays it is harder and harder for tourist scammers to get their business going. A restaurant that treats their customer badly will very soon have angry reviews on TripAdvisor and TA users will start avoiding it.
It is easy to see a benefit for the customer - by reading reviews you can find yourself in a restaurant that you might have otherwise never found.
You might avoid a restaurant after reading that cockroaches in the soup is a normality there.
You might also drown in millions of reviews and end up going to a place with a long queue of TripAdvisor readers and end up without a dinner that night.
As a TripAdvisor user, you might indeed miss out on some of the businesses due to reviews that are left by people who care about different things than you. Some people apparently really care about stylish tiles in the bathroom, while you might not even notice it.
You might go to a place that is overly hyped with high prices and long queues while an equally nice place is located next door.
Overall if not considering minor disadvantages, traveller is greatly benefiting from the TripAdvisor.
So how does it affect the businesses?
Not only customers benefit from the TripAdvisor. Also businesses do.
Now businesses can get a direct customers feedback in an instant, that they can address to improve their services.
If a business is doing a good job, it might get high scores on the website and gain better visibility, without even spending a single euro for advertising.
It gives opportunities that have never been seen before for promotion and advertising, gaining customers and being on the top by simply doing a good and honest job.
So how did TripAdvisor affect the travel related services?
Oxford economics has linked improved hospitality standards to reviews on TripAdvisor.
And it is not surprising.
For example, some time ago restaurants on the beach resort would not go out of their way to please a tourist (who will come and who will go home in a week, and a new tourist would come anyway providing a constant influx of customers). Now with the TripAdvisor that is no longer the case and any restaurant in any location cares more about their customers experience.
By statistics 54% of users would not book a hotel without a review. Also customers are more likely to book, if management responds to reviews on TripAdvisor.
Prices are also affected by TripAdvisor rating. As per research, businesses raise their prices as their rating increases.
Overall TripAdvisor helps businesses to get discovered, but in turn forces them to do more for their customer than just posting beautiful pictures and clever marketing slogans.
So....
TripAdvisor is a helpful tool for travellers, it is a great tool for the businesses to advertise and be transparent.
Above all TripAdvisor affects the level of services worldwide and it is always nice to be met by a friendly hostess or a waitress and dine in a nice restaurant.
Even with all these advantages I still sometimes give a chance to an exploration. Sometimes it is great to just pop into a place on the way without stressfully checking the reviews and just enjoying your own unbiased experience..
References:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/TripAdvisorInsights/n2761/tripadvisor-network-effect-and-benefits-total-engagement
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/lists/TripAdvisor-in-numbers/
And as it always goes, with internet advent, travel sites started popping up like mushrooms after the rain. Travel blogs, review websites and magazines full of beautiful holiday pictures and advice to a traveller.
There is even a possibility to see everything prior to actually arriving to the destination. Couple of hours on google images and street view and you have a feeling like you have already seen it all.
Once you actually arrive to the footsteps of Big Ben you find it more attractive on google images.
But judgements aside, I would like to discuss
How TripAdvisor has affected the tourism industry?
Some statistics first.
TripAdvisor nowadays converts more than 300 million unique visitors monthly.
4 400 000 businesses are registered in 145 000 destinations, and 190 000 000 reviews and opinions are listed on the website (I guess the number might have already changed since the article was written).
What is in it for the traveller?
Travellers use TripAdvisor to make knowledgeable and informed decisions, to share good experiences or to complain about bad or dishonest service.
68% of users say that reviews help them choose a restaurant or attractions and 83% of users say that reviews help them choose a hotel.
Nowadays it is harder and harder for tourist scammers to get their business going. A restaurant that treats their customer badly will very soon have angry reviews on TripAdvisor and TA users will start avoiding it.
It is easy to see a benefit for the customer - by reading reviews you can find yourself in a restaurant that you might have otherwise never found.
You might avoid a restaurant after reading that cockroaches in the soup is a normality there.
You might also drown in millions of reviews and end up going to a place with a long queue of TripAdvisor readers and end up without a dinner that night.
As a TripAdvisor user, you might indeed miss out on some of the businesses due to reviews that are left by people who care about different things than you. Some people apparently really care about stylish tiles in the bathroom, while you might not even notice it.
You might go to a place that is overly hyped with high prices and long queues while an equally nice place is located next door.
Overall if not considering minor disadvantages, traveller is greatly benefiting from the TripAdvisor.
So how does it affect the businesses?
Not only customers benefit from the TripAdvisor. Also businesses do.
Now businesses can get a direct customers feedback in an instant, that they can address to improve their services.
If a business is doing a good job, it might get high scores on the website and gain better visibility, without even spending a single euro for advertising.
It gives opportunities that have never been seen before for promotion and advertising, gaining customers and being on the top by simply doing a good and honest job.
So how did TripAdvisor affect the travel related services?
Oxford economics has linked improved hospitality standards to reviews on TripAdvisor.
And it is not surprising.
For example, some time ago restaurants on the beach resort would not go out of their way to please a tourist (who will come and who will go home in a week, and a new tourist would come anyway providing a constant influx of customers). Now with the TripAdvisor that is no longer the case and any restaurant in any location cares more about their customers experience.
By statistics 54% of users would not book a hotel without a review. Also customers are more likely to book, if management responds to reviews on TripAdvisor.
Prices are also affected by TripAdvisor rating. As per research, businesses raise their prices as their rating increases.
Overall TripAdvisor helps businesses to get discovered, but in turn forces them to do more for their customer than just posting beautiful pictures and clever marketing slogans.
So....
TripAdvisor is a helpful tool for travellers, it is a great tool for the businesses to advertise and be transparent.
Above all TripAdvisor affects the level of services worldwide and it is always nice to be met by a friendly hostess or a waitress and dine in a nice restaurant.
Even with all these advantages I still sometimes give a chance to an exploration. Sometimes it is great to just pop into a place on the way without stressfully checking the reviews and just enjoying your own unbiased experience..
References:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/TripAdvisorInsights/n2761/tripadvisor-network-effect-and-benefits-total-engagement
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/lists/TripAdvisor-in-numbers/
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/tripadvisor-affects-tourism-of-entire-countries-2015-3
http://global-goose.com/how-tripadvisor-changed-the-travel-industry/
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/TripAdvisorInsights/n2687/key-findings-global-economic-contribution-tripadvisor-study
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