84 million reviewers lend opinions to travel site
“Sometimes you just want to play shuffleboard and have a beer,” he said.
In the Hungry Owl, the kitchen staff prepares a global-cuisine-ofthe-day. There is also a grill station, 30-foot salad bar and gas-fired pizza station, a nod to the company’s origins. Snack hubs provide all-day fixes of cereal, chips and coffee.
In the more traditional workspaces, I saw pods of employees glued to their computers and hunched over laptops. One worker typed with a dog on his chest. No loud voices (or barks) broke the deep concentration.
Every floor is named after a continent ( Europe) or region (the Americas). The furnishings, artwork and even the decorative plants all capture the flavour of the destination. In the “South Pacific,” for example, an arrow points to the “dunny,” Australian slang for toilet. In “Africa,” Gabree and I passed Mauritius.
“One day,” he said wistfully, “I’ll get there.”
He was not referring to the conference room.
Adam Medros remembers when there were only 35 employees. When Zoe, the company’s third hire, used to order sandwiches for the whole staff. When the site had less than a million reviews.
The executive’s early memories date from 2004, the year he joined the company and three years after the first guest submission — a fourbubble review of Captain’s House Inn in Chatham, Mass. — appeared on the site. (Originally, the founders had envisioned a compilation of links to professional reviews.) That solo review seems so quaint now: The site added nearly as many reviews and opinions last month as it did in all of 2010.
For Medros, one of TripAdvisor’s greatest contributions to travel planning is lifting the opaque curtain on reviews of hotels, restaurants and attractions.
“It’s not just a collection of reviews. It’s the unbiased nature of the reviews and the idea of transparency” that is appealing, he said. “As a reviewer, your profile is on the page for others to evaluate.”
Last year, the company introduced a points system that helps users better know the commenters.
Members earn points through written submissions, photos, videos, forums and ratings. Brad Reynolds (user name: BradJill), for example, is the site’s most prolific reviewer. The Level 6 contributor has earned more than 2.1 million points and 106 badges in such categories as Hotel Expert, Helpful Reviewer and Top Contributor.
CREDIBILITY
Because anyone can post, the personal information adds a layer of credibility to a platform susceptible to fraud. Overly gushy or vindictive comments ring alarms that a business has orchestrated its own good press or sullied a competitor’s reputation. Firms also approach property owners and offer to write glowing remarks for a fee.
For security reasons, Medros said, he couldn’t describe the company’s anti-fraud detection program in detail, but said they use 50 or so filters and algorithms to pick up on “behaviour that looks different.” He compared the process to a biologist singling out mutations among normal cells. A team of inspectors investigates the claim, and if their suspicions are verified, TripAdvisor may affix a red badge to the hotel’s listing, a scarlet letter that could scare away business.
Medros says fraud appears in only a tiny fraction of reviews. “The owners know it doesn’t pay,” he said, “and the scale and community deters it.”
Over the past few years, TripAd- visor has been stretching its wings beyond reviews. Travellers can now compare prices from different booking services and reserve a hotel room without leaving the site. The company is expanding its attraction and restaurant categories and introducing app features, such as Near Me Now, that advise on the fly.
Another focus: personalization. With Just for You, TripAdvisor offers hotel suggestions based on the user’s predilections and research on the site. The more you share, the sharper the recommendations.
RESPONSE TO REVIEWS
Nearly every workday, David Bueno starts his morning by reading the latest batch of TripAdvisor reviews. The manager at the Jefferson, the upscale Washington hotel, and his marketing manager tackle the comments one by one.
“It does take a lot of time,” he admitted, “but the guests take their time to post reviews.”
The pair try to respond within 24 hours. If the comment is positive, they can post a reply lickety-split. If the review mentions a flaw or dissatisfaction, however, his staff will run through several steps before responding.
They will confirm that the reviewer was indeed a guest and will investigate the problem so they can provide a proper explanation, if not a solution.
For example, a visitor mentioned erratic newspaper delivery service, a poor Wi-Fi connection and the bottled sparkling water that continued to appear in his room even after he informed the staff of his distaste for the beverage. Bueno wrote that he would follow up with the responsible departments and that the hotel was working on improving Internet service. He signed off with his email address.
THE REVIEWERS
When Neil Epstein writes reviews, he focuses on the positive. He has praised the serene setting at the Cadet Hotel in Miami Beach, the attentive staff at the Inns at El Rancho Merlita in Flagstaff, Ariz., and the coq au vin at La Taverne Provencale in the French Riviera.
However, he broke his rosy streak in September after a disappointing experience at the Chateau de Berne in Provence. His headline — “Total deception” — captured his ire.
“I don’t write about every property,” he said, “just if they are exceptionally good or dreadful and not worthy.”
TripAdvisor has more than 84 million reviewers, and their critiquing styles vary wildly. Balanced and tempered. Highly observant and specific. Overly enthusiastic. Nitpicking and negative. Yet despite the disparate voices, the contributors share a similar purpose: giving back to the TripAdvisor community.
“I never feel like my trips are 100 per cent complete until I’ve submitted my reviews,” said Jennifer Horn, who has posted more than 120 times. “I feel like I owe other contributors, since they’ve provided so much valuable info to me.”
All reviewers start their TripAdvisor careers as readers. When looking for accommodations, most devise culling strategies. They might focus on the top-ranked listings in that city, or search by property type or number of stars. When scanning reviews, they note patterns and look for a consensus, sampling the best and worst and several in-between.
“If there are 100 reviews and 25 say their room was dirty,” said Denise Mills, who has written about 15 critiques, “then chances are the hotel is not careful about cleanliness.”
“TripAdvisor eliminates the time gap,” said Reynolds, the site’s most prolific reviewer, with 3,743 posts since 2009. “It’s real-time information.”
When the readers switch roles, they apply lessons they’ve learned to their own critiques. Mills cares the most about cleanliness, location and service. Sara Downes, a contributor since 2005, prefers a more detailed portrait of a place.
“I describe any aspects that added to or detracted from my enjoyment of the hotel,” she said. “For a hotel with nice decor, I would write, ‘The large lobby was decorated with a rustic, hunting lodge theme which fit well with the surroundings.’ That’s what I want to read, so that is what I write.”
After subpar experiences, seasoned contributors explain the problem rather than broadly dismiss the place.
“If it is below average, I want to know, what were the deficiencies?” Reynolds said. “I want to help people understand why it wouldn’t be a better score.”
In a two-bubble review of Singapore’s Soluxe Inn, he noted such offences as a sewage smell, a small room and a broken safe but ends with a hint of optimism: “Considering Soluxe Inn has only recently opened, it is our hope that they make the necessary adjustments so that this can be a better option for TA members visiting Singapore in the future.”
“Giving back to TripAdvisor is a natural thing,” he said from his home in Hong Kong. “It’s part of my daily routine.”
At the moment, his habit is one to three reviews a day.