Would you trust the opinion of a complete stranger, and often an anonymous one, to help you plan an important purchase? Apparently, when it comes to vacations, a lot of people do, if the continued rise in popularity and usage of web sites that offer user-generated content (UGC – an important acronym in the Web 2.0 world), especially reviews, ratings and recommendations, is any indication.

Let’s face it – people like to hear from people with similar interests and experiences to help guide them in all sorts of ways – whether it’s advice on the purchase of a car, a recommendation on good place to eat, or opinions on things like concerts and movies. In the past, we have relied on ‘professional’ opinion leaders (expert writers, food critics, entertainment reviewers etc.) to help us make decisions like these. But the rise of the internet, and particularly social media, has changed the face of who we rely on. The World Wide Web is a free-ranging array of arm chair reviewers, throwing out opinions from every direction and creating Top Ten lists like there’s no tomorrow.

And, as most hoteliers and restaurant owners know, travel and tourism is one area that is a sweet spot for this type of influence (by the way, it’s not surprising that Microsoft, which battles rival Google in the search engine wars, has re-launched its search engine – under the name Bing – with a decided emphasis on travel and tourism as a focus. Interestingly, the software giant calls it a ‘decision engine’ which presumably makes it more helpful than a regular search engine. Phew, now I don’t even have to think about where I’ll go – Microsoft will tell me).

Anonymous reviews score highest in survey of travel influences

How influential are travelers’ reviews? A recent survey commissioned by media agency Total Media revealed that reviews written by strangers on independent websites -- along with search results on Google and word of mouth advice from family and colleagues -- are more influential than brochures, advertising, media reviews and advice from travel agents when it comes to booking vacations.

The survey of 1,375 consumers found a quarter now use online reviews by strangers to determine their travel plans. The results also found that almost 50 per cent of travelers over the age of 45 are using websites to recommend or warn fellow travelers by posting a review of their travel experiences online. So it is not a phenomenon of the Facebook and Twitter generation by any means.

The survey’s organizer said it best: “The impartial online opinion of travelers who have firsthand experience of a destination is second only now to what you hear from friends, family and work colleagues”.
 
That should come as no surprise to most TCI tourism businesses who must deal with the influence and power of the grand daddy of all UGC travel sites – Trip Advisor.

TripAdvisor: The grand daddy of them all

TripAdvisor is in many ways one of the original social media web sites. Long before Facebook and YouTube, people came together on TripAdvisor to share experiences, images, recommendations and opinions. Today, TripAdvisor has 32 million unique monthly visitors, 15 million members, and more than 30 million reviews and opinions on over one million properties. It boldly calls itself the “world’s largest travel community,” a claim that’s difficult to contest.

For some reason, Turks & Caicos is one of the more popular and most posted-upon areas on TripAdvisor’s vast array of destination content. In particular, the TCI and Providenciales Forum Areas, which are akin to an on-line chat room where people can post a question and anyone can chime in with an opinion, are extremely active. The Turks and Caicos Forum, for example, is the fourth most popular of the nearly 30 Caribbean islands that have forums (trailing only Cuba, the DR and Jamaica), despite the fact that we are one of the smallest destinations in the region. Maybe TCI visitors are just uber web savvy. But the cynical among us think it might have to do with the large percentage of properties that have individual owners (i.e. condos), which influences the volume of opinions on TCI, since there are more people here with ‘skin in the game’ compared to other destinations where more traditional hotels dominate.

Which points out the fact that the accessibility, freedom and ubiquity of the Internet is also one of the biggest risks of using these types of advice sources – who can you actually trust on line? Unlike established newspapers, magazines, travel guides and television outlets, which carry with them some degree of independent credibility and filtering (as well as a certain barrier to entry that prohibits just anyone from being published), the internet is wide open to anyone who can get on line and post an opinion, with virtually no accountability or recourse if facts are incorrect or misleading.

TripAdvisor in particular (which, full disclosure, is owned by Expedia, the leading on-line travel agency (OTA), although they insist the travel booking service and the community information sharing service have a ‘church-and-state’ separatist relationship…hmmmm) has been subject to a variety of attacks by critics who question the authenticity of some of its reviews, and how its comes up with its mysterious rankings of hotels, restaurants and other attractions. Part of this may be sour grapes by businesses that have been hammered by what can be a make-or-break review, forum post, or slide in rankings (How’d you like to end up on their 10 Dirtiest Hotels list? Ugh). But there is no doubt that with the reach and popularity of TripAdvisor, it represents an important and influential battle ground for tourism marketing.

All of which begs the question, if you are in the business: How do I work with, and even influence the reviews, rankings and general commentary about me that is happening on line. Well, you’ll have to tune in next week when we did a little deeper into the myths and realities of TripAdvisor and other travel review web sites that can shape the world’s perception of your business.

Almost 70 per cent of consumers use the internet to book their holidays, compared to 23 per cent by phone and just 8 per cent chose travel agents, according to the survey.

Price was cited as the main reason for using the internet along with information and convenience.

The report found Expedia was the leading online destination for consumers planning longer trips over 5 nights (25 per cent), followed by TripAdvisor and Lastminute.com (22 per cent). Lastminute.com however was regarded as first choice for short trips.