At the recent Hotelier Middle East Great GM Debate in September, I found myself on stage with a few other hospitality professionals discussing online reputation management during a 45-minute panel discussion. Unsurprisingly, TripAdvisor was mentioned frequently and yet, to my utter astonishment, there wasn’t a single question about the internet’s best-known hotel review platform.
Frankly, I was flabbergasted! I have been in many debates and discussions involving TripAdvisor, and they have frequently generated numerous questions, passionate comments, and have sometimes descended into mayhem. Not so at this event. There was but silence and polite applause. It can’t have been the panelists, because we shone, were insightful and occasionally witty.
Perhaps we, the region’s hospitality movers and shakers, are over our fascination with TripAdvisor? If so, I’d like to breathe a sigh of relief and quietly mutter “Finally!”
| Advertisement |
Unlike others, I have long held the belief that obsessing about your TripAdvisor scores is unproductive in this day and age. Yes, the platform is very important and influential, but by focusing your hotel’s online reputation efforts solely on TripAdvisor, you’re missing out on other equally important review sources and the enraging trend of social and crowd-sourced hotel and restaurant reviews.
With the heated debates about TripAdvisor removed, we’re suddenly given the opportunity to look at the review platform more calmly and talk about how we can maximise its usefulness and minimise the impact of negative reviews.
Interestingly enough, TripAdvisor has made a number of changes benefiting business over the last few months. Have you had the opportunity to use TripAdvisor’s new Q&A facility yet? It lets potential guests ask you questions on your TripAdvisor profile and lets you reply to them publicly. It hasn’t really taken off yet, but it looks like a great new information channel for guests and a good opportunity for hotels to engage guests before their arrival.
TripAdvisor also recently tapped into the growing popularity of Uber — the well known online taxi service, by integrating Uber into its mobile app in the US and Italy (with more countries expected to follow). Did I mention that TripAdvisor’s mobile app now also lets you book hotels online? This was previously only possible on the desktop version.
TripAdvisor also recently acquired Viator, a website and mobile app that lets you book excursions and curated travel experiences. Interestingly, Viator, unlike TripAdvisor, claims to only display “verified” reviews for all the experiences, trips, and excursions bookable on its website. A sign of things to come at TripAdvisor? Who knows…
I still think that TripAdvisor will face stiff competition from Facebook and Google in the coming months, but clearly the service isn’t down and out just yet. It still has over 50 million users and the potential to seriously impact your property’s online reputation.
So take a step back, ditch the emotions, and take a fresh look at how to integrate TripAdvisor into your hotel or restaurant’s daily operations
Whatever you do: Keep it social!
Martin Kubler is owner, director and chief cook and bottle washer of Iconsulthotels FZE, an ultra-boutique hospitality consultancy in Dubai.
Email: info@iconsulthotels.com or visit facebook.com/iconsulthotels
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
