This was published 9 years ago
TripAdvisor releases a how-to guide for travel reviews
By Kylie McLaughlin
Stuck knowing what to write in your review? Credit: iStock
The world's biggest user-generated travel review site has unveiled a new online travel review guide for users containing 10 core review-writing tips.
The TripAdvisor Guide to Writing Helpful Reviews is aimed at instructing those hot-headed users who spit their entertaining, yet not terribly useful, reviews out in a state of fury; or at the other end of the spectrum, people who write overly-glowing reviews for every place they visit.
TripAdvisor surveyed over 100,000 members of its travel community as well as hospitality business owners for their advice and tips for writing reviews. The idea was to build a guide that serves as a useful resource for both users who come to the site and the businesses who are listed on the site.
The guide contains tips on what users might be looking for in a review, using examples such as "the fitness centre only had one bike" or "if only I'd packed earplugs because there's a lot of street noise".
TripAdvisor has become an influential tool for businesses and travellers. More than half of the users surveyed said they would not make a booking decision without reading reviews across the site first.
On the flipside, 70 per cent of hospitality businesses surveyed have taken steps to improve their quality of service following negative reviews left by travellers.
Survey results revealed that most businesses check their reviews often, and in most cases, whenever a new review comes through.
But for a review to have a real impact on a business, those surveyed said it needed to provide context, have balance and be well-written.
Reviews that were most useful to a business contain specific details about the property ('there was no hairdryer'), were about a recent stay, and related personal and unique experiences.
The least helpful reviews contained extreme opinions or phrasing, either positive or negative, without further justification or explanation ("the room was really awesome!").
Reviews that were written more than three months after the experience were not constructive. Neither was the use of personal feelings, without explanation.
The guides also included tips on how management should respond to user reviews on the site.
1. Rate and summarise the experience.
2. Cover the five Ws (who, what, why, when and where).
3. Highlight the relevant facts. How was the service?
4. Add a helpful tip. What do others need to know to have a better experience?
5. Provide details. Provide a balanced view sharing the pros and cons.
6. Good grammar goes a long way.
7. A photo is worth a thousand words.
8. Think about your tone. Even if you are angry or upset, don't turn your review into a rant. Consider how your words will come across before you submit your review.
9. Review as soon as you can. One-third of people surveyed say they'd rather read about a recent experience.
10. Don't list every little flaw.
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