{"id":681,"date":"2017-10-10T22:09:49","date_gmt":"2017-10-10T22:09:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/?p=681"},"modified":"2017-10-10T22:09:49","modified_gmt":"2017-10-10T22:09:49","slug":"beyond-tripadvisor-online-review-sites-every-hotel-needs-radar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/beyond-tripadvisor-online-review-sites-every-hotel-needs-radar\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond TripAdvisor: the online review sites every hotel needs on their radar"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the digital age, online reviews have become an important digital currency for hotels\u2014the more you have, the stronger your online position. Savvy online travelers frequently make their decisions based on the recommendations of others, and\u00a095% of people say they read reviews before making a booking<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of all the review sites out there, TripAdvisor is still widely regarded as number one. But things are changing. A number of review sites are now stepping up their prominence in the hotel space. The power of social media is also creating a shift in the way travelers seek out suggestions and tips to inform their booking decision.<\/p>\n

In short, being on TripAdvisor alone simply isn\u2019t enough. In the following post, we review the three other major review sites that all hotels should have on their radar and explain the unique benefits each of them offers.<\/p>\n

Yelp reviews<\/h2>\n

With\u00a0135 million reviews<\/a>\u00a0and counting, Yelp is a platform with serious influence. And with some recent enhancements in business services, it\u2019s now become a platform that\u2019s easier to gain prominence on.<\/p>\n

Businesses have always been able to pay for a featured listing at the top of Yelp\u2019s search page, but this used to involve dealing with Yelp directly\u2014hotel marketing managers would have to maintain the relationship with a Yelp account rep. But now, Yelp has started allowing digital marketing agencies to become official \u201cpartners.\u201d In this role, official partners act as go-betweens, dealing with Yelp on behalf of the business.<\/p>\n

The major benefit for hotels? By working with a Yelp official partner agency, you can take advantage of discounted rates for advertising on the platform, as well as reduced enhanced Yelp profile costs.<\/p>\n

On top of this financial incentive, a digital marketing agency can manage a hotel\u2019s PPC bidding, helping them to reach the top of Yelp\u2019s search results page. The process on Yelp works in a similar way to Google\u2019s own cost-per-click bidding model.<\/p>\n

As an official partner, the marketing agency can also collect invaluable data from Yelp such as expected ad impressions and the average CPC. All of this can prove invaluable to help increase the success of a marketing campaign.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also worth pointing out that 78% of all hotel-related searches on Yelp are non-brand related (e.g. \u201chotels in Boston,\u201d instead of the hotel name itself). This means that paying for a premium position for searches can get your hotel in front of guests who don\u2019t know who you are.<\/p>\n

\"Yelp<\/a><\/p>\n

In comparison, bidding for non-branded search terms on Google and sites such as TripAdvisor is fierce, and OTAs generally end up coming out on top. So while Yelp may not be the most popular hotel review site out there, it certainly offers a far less competitive space to build awareness.<\/p>\n

\n

As an official Yelp partner agency, Travel Tripper can now help hotels to manage their Yelp advertising. New clients can take advantage of a $200 ad credit and reduced listing fees. For more information, contact us for a\u00a0free marketing consultation<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Google hotel reviews<\/h2>\n

When Google first started offering reviews, they weren\u2019t all that popular. The number of reviews available was sparse and often anonymous, providing a pretty limited resource for travelers looking to find and compare options.<\/p>\n

Today, it\u2019s a whole different story.\u00a0Google makes $12+ billion per year on advertising from the travel industry alone<\/a>, and hotel search has become a huge part of its business model. When people turn to a search engine during a hotel search,\u00a081% prefer to use Google<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a move likely to bolster this dominance in travel, Google has announced the launch of a new\u00a0graphical interface<\/a>\u00a0for hotel search and reviews. This revamped design presents reviews in a cleaner, easy-to-compare format using bold graphics and a flexible array of filters.<\/p>\n

For instance, users will be able to filter reviews by demographics including \u201cFamilies\u201d and \u201cCouples,\u201d and attributes such as \u201cRooms\u201d and \u201cLocation.\u201d This comparative tool will help travelers more easily identify the specific strengths and weaknesses of a hotel. In turn, hotels will be able to better see where improvements need to be made to enhance their reputation.<\/p>\n

\"Google<\/a><\/p>\n

A carousel of third-party review sites will also let users easily see feedback from different OTAs all in one place\u2014saving them the hassle of trawling through each site independently. In particular, this feature will make it all the more important for hotels to garner quality guest reviews on every site they\u2019re listed on.<\/p>\n

This latest innovation is yet another sign of Google\u2019s growing ambitions in the travel space. As such, maintaining strong visibility and having great reviews on Google (and the sites they aggregate) should be considered essential.<\/p>\n

Facebook reviews and recommendations<\/h2>\n

Not to be outdone by Google, Facebook has also invested heavily to boost its own presence in travel. It\u00a0recently launched a new City Guides app<\/a>\u00a0that helps travelers find new hotels, restaurants, activities and tours based on recommendations from friends. A \u201cplaces the locals go\u201d feature provides additional tips and suggestions from an insider\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n

Facebook has also started allowing users to leave comments and traditional star reviews (one-five) on the hotel page. Importantly, each review is accompanied by the user\u2019s name and profile picture \u2014 adding a greater sense of credibility to their comments.<\/p>\n

When an individual posts a hotel photo and tags the location in their post, the app will also show a pop-up asking, \u201cAre you recommending (place)?\u201d with the option to provide a simple yes or no answer. For hotels, this integration will make building great relationships and\u00a0encouraging positive guest feedback<\/a>\u00a0all the more important.<\/p>\n

\"Recommending<\/p>\n

This new update from Facebook also represents a major break from traditional review sites, built instead around the power of social recommendations. It\u2019s a smart move. After all, a simple recommendation from a friend or family member naturally carries more weight than feedback from an anonymous reviewer.<\/p>\n

In addition, Facebook has been experimenting with recommendations in its user notifications. When a person visits a new destination, they receive a notification with a message like, \u201cYou\u2019re near 3 highly rated restaurants you might like. See them on a map.\u201d It\u2019s another clever touch based around delivering personalized suggestions.<\/p>\n

\"Facebook<\/p>\n

Based on Facebook\u2019s track record of investment, it\u2019s likely this particular update will be rolled out into the travel industry. If that happens, we could potentially start seeing it appearing for hotel recommendations as travelers start their planning process.<\/p>\n

Thinking beyond TripAdvisor<\/h2>\n

Hotels are well aware of TripAdvisor\u2019s value and influence. But it\u2019s no longer enough to just have a presence on this one site alone. With an expanding number of online review sites to choose from, a broader and more comprehensive strategy is needed.<\/p>\n

Yelp, Google, and Facebook each have their own huge audiences and unique benefits that hotel marketers can exploit. In particular, Google and Facebook are making it easier for travelers to compare and recommend hotels with innovative tools and visually engaging interfaces.<\/p>\n

As the travel review space continues to evolve, hotels will need to start thinking beyond just TripAdvisor and look to nurture great reviews across the web.<\/p>\n

Original Article Appears Here:\u00a0http:\/\/www.traveltripper.com\/blog\/beyond-tripadvisor-the-online-review-sites-every-hotel-needs-on-their-radar\/ <\/a>Republished with permission.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the digital age, online reviews have become an important digital currency for hotels\u2014the more you have, the stronger your online position. Savvy online travelers frequently make their decisions based on the recommendations of others, and\u00a095% of people say they read reviews before making a booking. Of all the review sites out there, TripAdvisor is still widely regarded as number one. But things are changing. A number of review sites are now stepping up their prominence in the hotel space. The power of social media is also creating a shift in the way travelers seek out suggestions and tips to inform their booking decision. InRead More →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1094,"featured_media":682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mbp_gutenberg_autopost":false},"categories":[7,15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1094"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=681"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":684,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681\/revisions\/684"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}