Felita Figueredo (right) discusses the pros of TripAdvisor in a panel session on social media marketing at the recent Caterer Conference
TripAdvisor can be used as a useful tool for receiving constructive criticism and alerting managers to weaknesses in operations, UAE F&B frontrunners have told Caterer magazine.
Speaking at the 2012 Caterer Middle East Conference: Food and Business, chefs and restaurant managers talked positively about the user-generated review site, which has been much-criticised in the past for acting as a public platform to air personal vendettas.
It seems the recent decision to scrap a controversial ratings system, where users were able to score hotels and restaurants out of five without writing a review to justify the mark, could have helped raise its profile as a tool for supporting the industry.
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Marco Aveta, director of operations, Radisson Blue Hotel, Abu Dhabi Yas, said: “I don’t think you have anything to worry about if you do your business in the right way. Yes, sometimes you get not-so-positive feedback, but you are allowed to reply in a professional way, and as long as there is nothing to hide, you won’t have an issue.”
George Iacob, food and beverage manager at Hilton Fujairah Resort, said: “I put myself in the guest’s shoes: if I want to go somewhere, I ask my friends, and check TripAdvisor. Of course, I will not just take the first review. But if you take 10 comments, you can get an idea about a place.”
TripAdvisor spokesperson Emma Shaw said about our findings: “TripAdvisor is a free and powerful marketing tool. The candid information travellers share on TripAdvisor can help large and small businesses alike — in fact, for smaller properties with little or no marketing budget, TripAdvisor levels the playing field and represents a megaphone for them to showcase the benefits of their business in front of a global audience of millions.
“We also know that travellers really value feedback from businesses on TripAdvisor: according to a commissioned survey conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of TripAdvisor, 71% of travellers think seeing a management response to reviews is important.”
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