Is user-generated content helpful to travelers? When the topic is restaurants, I think it can be. Such Web sites as Yelp.com, Chowhound.com and Roadfood.com offer solid information, posted by local foodies who know the scene, have tried many different eateries and write knowledgeably about their topic.
Web sites that concentrate on hotels are less sure-fire, for two major reasons:
1. The reviews on them may not be genuine. Some marketing folks spend their time posting bogus reviews for the hotels that hire them. The practice of “buzz marketing” has now become so widespread that TripAdvisor has recently started posting warnings on reviews it thinks may be fake. (I doubt very much they’ll be able to catch more than a small fraction of the fake reviews.)
2. Even when the reviews are real, they’re written by folks whose knowledge of the topic is necessarily limited. Very few will have visited more than one hotel in the area, so they have no basis for comparison. I can’t tell you how many reviews I’ve read touting a hotel as being “the best” in a particular area, when I know — having done extensive research as a guidebook writer — that there are other properties nearby with more amenities, or greater style for half the price.
That’s why I was heartened by the emergence of Oyster.com. Focused solely on hotels, this new Web site sends out a small army of young journalists to write reviews (they currently cover three Caribbean islands and three cities, with one more, Las Vegas, set to debut soon). The writers post numerous pictures, crawl around on the floor looking for scuff marks and cigarette burns (or at least they say they do in their posts) and most importantly, compare and contrast the properties in an informed way.
But even Oyster has its flaws, and in some respects, they’re major ones. I’ve written extensively about New York City, so I concentrated on that part of the site, and was dismayed to see only four hotels listed as being budget (i.e., under $150/night). Even more disturbing, I realized that not one of the four was truly inexpensive, and that the “average” prices listed for them were completely wrong.
Oyster’s methodology is to look at the prices every day for one month and average them. The problem is, in New York City, as well as in the majority of major destinations worldwide, prices don’t change that much within a month, but do change drastically from month to month, as the calendar shifts between high season and low season.
I could tell that the rates for the Big Apple were calculated in either January or February, the two cheapest months of the year. But all of the hotels that are listed as averaging between $115 and $150/night actually tend to cost $75 to $100 more per night the other 10 months of the year. The price averages in other categories were similarly off. And none of the hotels, B & B’s or hostels that actually do charge less than $150/night year-round were included.
The reviewers also seem to be so focused on what’s going on in the hotel that they tend to ignore a key factor in picking where to stay: location. The amenities and charms of particular neighborhoods over others are glossed over lightly on the site.
Of course, Oyster is quite new and may well fix some of these flaws. In the meantime — though it might sound self-serving to say so — I’d suggest that users try out the hotel content on guidebook sites. Written by seasoned travel journalists, many of whom update the guides yearly and thus have a deep knowledge of their topic, they currently contain as many listings as Oyster for hotels, and pair the hotel info with opinionated (but impartial) texts on nightlife, attractions, restaurants and more.
Happy hotel hunting to all!
What do you think about Oyster.com and other hotel review sites? Share your experiences with other travelers in the comments section.
Hi Pauline -
Thanks for your kind words and also your critique. We are deeply passionate about this problem and feedback helps us improve.
We agree with you that our approach to price is not where it needs to be and we we will be unveiling some major improvements shortly.
As for lower priced hotels - you are right that our New York City coverage is not yet where it needs to be. But over the next few months, we will be changing that for New York. In Miami, our coverage already includes many value oriented options.
Thanks,
Elie
CEO
Oyster Hotel Reviews
I think Oyster is a great, new innovative site! I'd love to work for those guys! :)
Now, that's a cool site. I'll be checking it out again soon.
Good to hear about Oyster. The hotel market scenario you report is sick in India. Hoteliers some times fail to honor their quotes when the demand is high. Travel Agents like my company have a bad time then. The budget hotels no nothing about reputation. And about the fake reviews you would find people in India who are willing to post reviews for just $1.
By the I wanted to share a post about weird marketing campaigns by Hoteliers I wrote sometime back.
marketborn.blogspot.com/.../weird-marketing-strategies-truth.html
I actually really like Oyster.com... they have a decent, consistent style of writing, and the reviews of the hotels that I've actually stayed at are fairly accurate.
Oyster.com real good
I look forward to seeing Oyster's improvements, Eli. Another thing to keep in mind: I think you better need to balance the cost of a hotel against its amenities. If a hotel is very affordable in a very pricey neighborhood, is clean, friendly and well-maintained I would hope that would help it get some stars, even if it didn't have an indoor pool or flat screen TV's. I think you also need to work on integrating what the price will mean to travelers into your reviews.
Thanks all for your feedback on this blog. Best, Pauline
Sometimes user-generated content can be misleading, like you said.
I use Yelp.com on a regular basis, and they seem to provide good information.
I think it's actually very rare that hotels post fake reviews to Tripadvisor. Maybe 1% are fake, and they are easy to spot. Oyster and Pauline Frommer both have vested interest in people NOT having faith in websites such as Tripadvisor. But I think most do have faith. That said, there is room for both expert reviews and regular "folks" reviews (that are often as good as the experts, it must be said) online.
Dear Sam,
The Associated Press recently did an article on how widespread the problem of fake reviews is on TripAdvisor. Bing it and you'll see. And it has no "vested interest" in seeing user generated content fail.
I think you're being a bit naive on this topic. I spend months traveling, and I can't tell you how many times I've looked at TripAdvisor to see what's posted about a hotel I've just visited, and seen totally untrue postings, put there to generate business. I've also met B&B owners and hoteliers who told me straight out they go out of their way to manufacture reviews. I've even visited hotels (incognito) and been told that if I post a good review on TripAdvisor they'll give me a free drink in the bar, or a small discount on my room. The practice of faking these reviews is waaaay more than 1% and often the folks who do them are pros, and know how to disguise who they are.
I'm not saying there isn't room for both. I'm just saying you need to take what you read on the user generated sites with a HUGE grain of salt, as we're discovering that content on those sites is problematic.
Best,
Pauline
I think in this economy you need to have a more social aspect to reviews. There are so many companies going out of business that travelers can be reading reviews on establishments that don't exist. Companies like www.everlater.com are bridging the gap using social networking with travelers and lots of them. If you can interact with groups of people to get information it is better in my opinion. Politics are lost in a crowdsourceing environment so you don't need to worry about review fraud.
I know a little of the hotels in Us but if you want to travel in south asia like Bangladesh http://www.dhakaholidays.com is the best option for travellers.
That is a cool site. I'll be checking it out again soon http://buyitnowfurniture.com