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How TripAdvisor Changed Travel

theguardian.com

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Re: How TripAdvisor Changed Travel

#31

Post by chrisaycock »

chadash wrote: post #5

I'm fed up with TripAdvisor, Yelp and similar review sites. Too many of the negative reviews are off topic and they bring down the overall ratings (similar issue for positive reviews as well... people tend to rate things they love or hate, but not things in the middle). For example, Amazon is loaded with one-star reviews from people complaining that they received counterfeit items. This has nothing to do with the pro…

> That's why I find the aggregated professional movie reviews on Rotten Tomatoes more helpful than the crowd-sourced reviews on IMDB.

That's exactly the analogy I thought of when I first saw TripExpert:

https://www.tripexpert.com

They aggregate professional reviews for hotels, restaurants, and things-to-do. The list, however, does skew heavily towards Michelin-star establishments, so it's not the site to find excellent hole-in-the-wall places.

Re: How TripAdvisor Changed Travel

#32

Post by passivepinetree »

r00fus wrote: post #16
4ad wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree that Tripadvisor is useless for restaurants, but how do you find/book hotels? In general hotels are more expensive when booked directly and not through an aggregator, however, how do you even find them without sites like Tripadvisor?

Uhh.. Google Maps? Kayak/Travelocity/Expedia/Orbitz/etc/etc? If I'm staying near a business client or family I ask them. If they don't know I search. Then I see what's available on the booking sites. Tripadvisor only ever came into the picture if I was visiting a resort area where I didn't know anyone.

(Disclaimer: I work in the travel industry.)

What you want to do is search on these sites and then book at the actual business's sites. Even if the fares are different, it's worth it.

Ever had to try to get a flight/hotel/car changed or cancelled through Expedia or a similar site? Whatever savings you get from aggregator sites aren't worth it.

Re: How TripAdvisor Changed Travel

#33

Post by meritt »

r00fus wrote: post #16
4ad wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree that Tripadvisor is useless for restaurants, but how do you find/book hotels? In general hotels are more expensive when booked directly and not through an aggregator, however, how do you even find them without sites like Tripadvisor?

Uhh.. Google Maps? Kayak/Travelocity/Expedia/Orbitz/etc/etc? If I'm staying near a business client or family I ask them. If they don't know I search. Then I see what's available on the booking sites. Tripadvisor only ever came into the picture if I was visiting a resort area where I didn't know anyone.

> Kayak/Travelocity/Expedia/Orbitz/etc/etc

These are basically the same. They are all usually one of two companies:

    Booking Holdings
    
    * Booking.com
    * Agoda.com
    * Priceline.com
    * Kayak.com
    
    Expedia Group
    
    * Expedia.com
    * Orbitz.com
    * Travelocity.com
    * Wotif.com
    * Cheaptickets.com
    * Hotels.com (+ Venere, HotelClub)
    * egencia.com
    * Hotwire.com
    * Homeaway.com
    * VRBO.com
    * Remainder of Homeaway Network (~5 more sites)
    
    Independent-ish
    
    * TripAdvisor (former Expedia spinoff)
    * Trivago (former Expedia spinoff)
    * Hipmunk (Conde Nast/Reddit)
    * Ctrip.com (China)
    * Despegar.com (Brazil)
    * MakeMyTrip.com (India)
    * GetARoom.com
    * Google Hotels/Flights

Re: How TripAdvisor Changed Travel

#34

Post by lifeisstillgood »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #25
4ad wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree that Tripadvisor is useless for restaurants, but how do you find/book hotels? In general hotels are more expensive when booked directly and not through an aggregator, however, how do you even find them without sites like Tripadvisor?

The big US chains are always cheaper directly (Marriott/Hilton/IHG/Wyndham/Choice). Use roomkey.com and you can search them all at once. This is because the brands own room key so they don't pay commission so pass on some of the savings to you. You can also contact a hotel directly and say you're thinking about reserving on so and so website (aka travel agent), and if you reserve directly, they might give you a disco…

I find there is a problem here - hotel chains "sell" some of their room-nights (#) to the third party channels. I think it works like options - but it means I phone the hotel to book a room i can see is available on all these third party sites (including trip advisor) but the hotel cannot sell that room-night to me because the channel has first dibs.

which seems like the hotel is cutting off its own nose

(#) notnsure of the industry term but you get the idea

Re: How TripAdvisor Changed Travel

#35

Post by lhl »

4ad wrote: post #10
Panoramix wrote: post #4

I do a lot of traveling. My experience improved dramatically when I stopped using TripAdvisor and similar apps. I just go with the flow. Talk to real people. Like a bunch of American tourists (insert any country here) would know what, say, authentic Thai food is supposed to taste like. It all comes down to a bunch of -at best- uninformed people ranking stuff, at worst fake reviewers, bots and scammers. Why would I wa…

I agree that Tripadvisor is useless for restaurants, but how do you find/book hotels? In general hotels are more expensive when booked directly and not through an aggregator, however, how do you even find them without sites like Tripadvisor?

I've been traveling for the past few years (40+ countries) and overall I'd say Booking.com works very well and has much better-controlled reviews (be sure to actually read them for details). AirBnB can work well and is my preferred style, although a lot of place have been cracking down on them lately.

Re: How TripAdvisor Changed Travel

#36

Post by cesidio »

I hope that many reviews help having a better idea of the place before going, but I don't trust them too much, for they can be not authentic, or driven by personal feelings. I rely more on qualified reviews like lonely planet guides, 8 out of 10 times they work well for me, and the remaining times are just average, nothing too bad.

Re: How TripAdvisor Changed Travel

#37

Post by stephengillie »

Panoramix wrote: post #4

I do a lot of traveling. My experience improved dramatically when I stopped using TripAdvisor and similar apps. I just go with the flow. Talk to real people. Like a bunch of American tourists (insert any country here) would know what, say, authentic Thai food is supposed to taste like. It all comes down to a bunch of -at best- uninformed people ranking stuff, at worst fake reviewers, bots and scammers. Why would I wa…

The trick which hasn't failed me yet is to look at exclusively 1-star reviews. I've been using Google Maps, and I'm assuming this trick will work with other services also. First, look at the ratio of 1-star to other reviews - do the 1-star reviews create a "hockey stick"? What's the ratio of 1-star to 2-star? 1-star to all reviews?

Second, see what people are complaining about, for example, these 2 1-star reviews reveal vastly different experiences:

Cafe: Horrible staff and horrible food. The owners wife argues with the customers, over charges and makes sure to let you know shes overworked and exhausted. We paid over a 100 dollars on lunch for 4 people. One of those orders was on a childs menu. The resturant is very neat looking and has the potential to be successful. They need a new cook and new staff. Its clear everyone hates their jobs.

Pub: We picked this place based on the high reviews. I specifically wanted to dine here for the crab cakes. I'm fairly certain there wasn't crab in them since they where mostly batter. The flavor was lacking and the aoli was gross. I didn't say anything and should have. I just left and I'm still hungry. Price is extremely high too. Needs new menu.

These restaurants are within 5 miles of each other. As the second review was entirely about the food, it's safe to say there were no service, billing, parking, or other issues - especially since other reviews back this up. And food ratings frequently reflect preference - maybe I would enjoy the crab cakes. So the second establishment would get my business.

But yes, there's no source quite like the opinion of a local, directly from their mouth. Even better than the above system is to find a bar/pub/coffee shop/etc where the locals go, and ask them how things are going in the area.

Re: How TripAdvisor Changed Travel

#38

Post by whitepoplar »

Tips that have improved my travel experience:

1) Don't go to a "destination" city. Don't go to a city that derives too much of its income from tourism.

2) Trip length: not too long, not too short.

3) Make a loose itinerary, but rip it up occasionally.

4) Bring a phone, but no laptop. Don't use TripAdvisor/Yelp/etc. Ask around. Walk around. Have strange conversations. Don't be afraid to stay in non-traditional lodging.

5) Invest in a place before you go: learn some of the language, read a great book from the place, etc. This will make it much more interesting and memorable.

6) Don't go on trips just because your friends posted about their "amazing" vacations and you feel like you have to go, too. Travel sucks if the excitement doesn't come from within.

7) If you're on a limited budget, don't go to expensive cities and scrimp. It's no fun. Go to cheaper cities and splurge. Or have a blast and go camping with your friends a short drive away.

8) Get fit and dress nicely. Whether you like it or not, this is how people judge you. It's easier to be a good-looking guy/gal in a new place.

Happy travels! :-)

Re: How TripAdvisor Changed Travel

#39

Post by adrr »

CodeSheikh wrote: post #6

Any good alternatives to TripAdvisor? What about: - Conde Nast [www.condenast.com] - TripSavvy [www.tripsavvy.com]

I use wikitravel and buy books from publishers like lonely planet. If I rent a car, i always try to find some smart-phone app that can do narration based on location. A lot of these apps are done by a local person/company and provide information on what their favorite places are.

Re: How TripAdvisor Changed Travel

#40

Post by ctchocula »

lifeisstillgood wrote: post #34
lotsofpulp wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The big US chains are always cheaper directly (Marriott/Hilton/IHG/Wyndham/Choice). Use roomkey.com and you can search them all at once. This is because the brands own room key so they don't pay commission so pass on some of the savings to you. You can also contact a hotel directly and say you're thinking about reserving on so and so website (aka travel agent), and if you reserve directly, they might give you a disco…

I find there is a problem here - hotel chains "sell" some of their room-nights (#) to the third party channels. I think it works like options - but it means I phone the hotel to book a room i can see is available on all these third party sites (including trip advisor) but the hotel cannot sell that room-night to me because the channel has first dibs. which seems like the hotel is cutting off its own nose (#) notnsure…

I think the idea is they get an acturay to estimate how many rooms will be empty at some future date, and sell the room-nights they estimate they couldn't fill anyways to 3rd party channels. This way, they at least recoup some money on empty rooms and why Priceline can offer rooms that are much lower than what booking directly at the hotel costs.
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