Travel review sites continue to grow as a force to guide users in their vacation and business choices. And some of those sites are running to create more of a one-stop-shop grocery shopping option, providing not only reservations, but also ancillary products like restaurants and attractions.
Only a portion of Consumer Trends’ pattern said they had used travel review sites in the past year, and nearly all said they had at least some influence on their potential travel choices. In recent years, the proportion of respondents who feel those sites have “a lot” of influence on their potential travel options has risen, from 21% in 2013 to 27% last year, and to 37% this year.
The survey also found that the credibility of review sites has improved over the past year, with 45% of those who have used those sites rating them as “good” in terms of accurate and useful advice. That’s a 10% improvement over last year.
Phocuswright’s research validates the survey and finds that more than one in 3 online shoppers visited an online review page like TripAdvisor in 2014, an increase of seven percentage points since 2013. The company said reviews posted through ers are now the most widely used online. Feature in shopping, beating professional reviews, photography, video, interactive maps and social media information.
In addition, 56% of online shoppers read ads before making at least a portion of their recreational reservations, Phocuswright said.
While TripAdvisor may be synonymous with traveller reviews, according to Phocuswright, it’s not the only exhibit in town.
“At this point, travelers expect to receive reviews of their purchases,” said Marcello Gasdia, director of customer research at Phocuswright.
“Credibility is also important. The strategy used through OTAs when they found out they had to do something to deal with review sites is to claim they have quality reviews because reviewers want to be shown that they have visited a hotel or a destination. “
In fact, according to Booking. com, a Priceline company, the number of reviews on it continues to rise. (Currently, only other people who have booked and stayed at a hotel can write reviews on Booking. com. )
“We have more than 50 million original, verified and recent visitor reviews, with an average of more than 100,000 new reviews added every day,” a Booking. com spokeswoman said. “That’s an average of over 70 reviews consistent with the unit. “
While e-booking sites like Booking. com upload reviews, review sites upload reservations. TripAdvisor introduced an instant electronic booking platform in May 2014 that allows users to compare costs and book hotels through hotels and OTA partners without leaving TripAdvisor.
In June of this year, TripAdvisor added Marriott’s portfolio of hotels to its platform, and had already added Accor, Choice and major brands.
Booking. com said his studies have shown that those who interact more in reviews make more bookings over the course of a year. And this tendency is even more potent among those who take credit for their complaints than those who write them anonymously. In a survey conducted in 16 markets, Booking. com found that the opinion of online reviewers ranks third, after price and location, as the factor that most influences a booking agent’s decision, with a higher rating than reviews from a close circle of family and friends.
The importance of complaints regarding friends and family, especially among the wealthy, is reinforced through MMGY’s annual Global Portrait of American Travelers. It turns out that the richer the traveler, the more likely they are to accept it as true with Reviews. According to the survey, “travelers rich in third-party reviews are more than friends and family,” and that number has increased significantly.
“One of the reasons other wealthy people rely on criticism,” said Steve Cohen, vice president of data at MMGY Global, is that “they’re for reports your friends don’t have. They are for other people who look like them. “
Recognizing this, American Express Travel partnered with TripAdvisor so cardholders can see reviews from other cardholders because “they need to see what other people like them think,” according to Claire Bennett, executive vice president of American Express Travel.
The wave of exams without symptoms of slowing down.
“The most important thing in reviews now is reviews about things that are a must for the travel experience,” Gasdia said. “You’ll see review sites diversify into places to eat, activities, and more. This was accelerated by the acquisition of Open Table through Priceline,” a place to eat review site.
Like Priceline, TripAdvisor is adding off-site options, getting Thefork (restaurants) and Viator (attractions) to expand booking options.
Despite the growing influence of review sites, analysts see a position for agents as reviewers.
“Travel agents need to be the most productive reviewers of all,” Gasdia said, “because they can have firsthand knowledge. This is reliable information. “
Cohen agreed. ” The resurgence of agent use across millennials is based on agents having been there and travelers coming to them for that knowledge,” he said. “They use exam sites to validate the agent’s ideas. “
CORRECTION: A comment that Booking. com has “over 50 million recent, verified and original guest reviews” has been updated to correct attribution: This was said by a Booking. com spokeswoman, not a TripAdvisor spokesperson.