Traveler-Based Review Sites Getting More Personal

By Laura Bly

In the world of online travel, word of mouse is king.

About a third of American travelers who research trips via the Web read reviews written by fellow travelers, according to Forrester Research. Of those who book hotels online, a third have changed plans based on other travelers’ comments. A new survey by online market researchers Compete, Inc., shows that 56% of respondents consider “consumer-generated content” to be credible, vs. 36% who trust descriptions created by a hotel or other travel supplier.

In response, a slew of travel sites are introducing or expanding consumer reviews and exchanges, from online agencies such as Priceline.com (which recently added Zagat hotel ratings to its own customer reviews) to the Florida tourism office’s VisitFlorida.com, which plans to launch tourist-generated blogs and videos this fall. Even Andrew Harper, whose opinionated Hideaway Report newsletter caters to wealthy, discerning travelers, is considering posting subscriber reviews on his website later this year.

Now, with a social networking feature that launches today, major player TripAdvisor is addressing a key concern about mass-market review sites: How to trust a praise or a pan when you don’t know the author’s credentials and tastes?

TripAdvisor’s new “traveler network” tool lets members access their own e-mail address books from Outlook, Yahoo, Google and other accounts through the Trip-Advisor site, which identifies any contacts who are fellow TripAdvisor members. Then, members can invite contacts to join their network to offer advice on future trips and pinpoint places they’ve visited on Google-powered maps.

“We’re calling it a LinkedIn for travelers,” says TripAdvisor’s Christine Petersen, referring to the popular business-oriented social networking site. “You’re more likely to have confidence you’re making the right decision if you know the source. We’re turning our value proposition on its head and focusing on the people behind the reviews.”

TripAdvisor’s new feature is just the latest example of networking for the carry-on crowd, joining such travel-specific social networking sites as Gusto.com, Yahoo Trip Planner and Boo.com.

On the horizon: VibeAgent.com, a still-in-beta hotel search and booking site that lets members create a network of friends and groups based on similar interests, companies, destinations or other factors.

Tapping travel advice from trusted, like-minded travelers rather than from an anonymous screen name makes sense, says Daniel Craig, general manager of Vancouver’s Opus Hotel.

“There are so many extreme reviews it’s hard to know whether to believe the high praise or the scathing remarks, and often they’re made by amateurs or people who didn’t do their homework before booking,” he says. “Anything that lends more authenticity to reviews and reviewers will help.”

No company has been more successful at exploiting the wisdom of the crowd than Expedia-owned TripAdvisor, a travel site that claims more than 20 million monthly visitors, 6 million members and 10 million consumer reviews of hotels, attractions and restaurants across the globe.

Over the past few months, TripAdvisor has acquired such popular travel sites as Smartertravel.com, IndependentTraveler.com, CruiseCritic.com and SeatGuru.com. Many hoteliers monitor TripAdvisor daily for feedback about their properties, and more than 300 hotels are even posting unedited TripAdvisor comments on their own sites through a new TripAdvisor program that provides automatic feeds of the 10 most recent consumer reviews.

But as travelers provide more personal details to sites that share that information with partners, privacy concerns are heightened as well, notes Henry Harteveldt of Forrester Research.

“What happens if a third-party company has a database breach?” he says. “If that information is not used in a responsible way, there absolutely could be a backlash.”

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