by Todd Lucier on July 14, 2010
TripAdvisor is now the largest travel website in the world with 35,382,000 unique visitors. The next largest travel website in the world is former number one and parent company of TripAdvisor, online travel agent – Expedia with over 33 million uniques.
Since four in five travelers read reviews on social media and the vast majority (95%!!) of travelers who’ve read them said such reviews were influential on the decision making process (PhoCusWright 2009), isn’t it time to reconsider earning travel reviews on TripAdvisor from your guests.
Here’s a quick review on how to do TripAdvisor well, with a comment from TripAdvisor head honcho Steve Kaufer confirming the strategies.
ps. it doesn’t require tourism industry to purchase business listings from TA.
by Todd Lucier on May 10, 2010
TripAdvisor is a few months into their “pay to display” contact information with enhanced business listings and the tactic (at least early in it’s implimentation) has to be recognized as a failure.
For those in the industry who can’t afford to pay for displaying contact information (the service starts at $600/yr for properties with less than 10 rooms) the news that most have opted to not sign up is good.
Just 13% of accommodation businesses have listed with TripAdvisor, despite numerous invitations by email from the company to sign up.
With so much business being derived from TripAdvisor, TripAdvisor must have thought the enhanced listings would have been an easy sell to hoteliers when we first heard about the service this past November.
Offered to early subscribers at 50% off and still being flogged to hoteliers at 30% off, it is hard to believe that those who (like me) scoffed at the idea of paying to display contact information, will pony up even more cash for the opportunity. After all, other tourism businesses like restaurants get a free ride – what’s with hotels having to pay? It is hard to believe that as TripAdvisor moves to a pay full price model for the service that more hotels will be inclined to get on board.
As for the early adopters who got the steep discount on signing up, do you feel you are getting value from your enhanced business listing?
