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Changes and Opportunities in Online Travel
What are Travel Peer
Reviews ?
 Reviews, ratings and rankings for airlines,
  hotels, tours, restaurants and other travel
  services that are written by non-professionals
 Common features include:
     Reviews segmented by categories (e.g. trip type
      and budget)
     Reviews ranked by popularity and price
     Reviewer’s profile, date of stay, type of trip, the
      number of reviews he/she has written
     Trip planning and online booking
Where To Find Travel Peer
Reviews
Peer Review Web • TripAdvisor
      Sites     • Skytrax

    General       • Epinions
merchandise sites

  Online travel     • Travelocity
   agencies         • Expedia

 Travel guidebook   • Frommers
       sites        • Lonely Planet
Social Media Trends
      Reasons that U.S. Executives Use Social Media
                        (July 2009)


        Brand-building
           Networking
    Customer Service
Project Documentation
Competitive Monitoring
   Sales Prospecting
            Research
                Other

                         0%     20%    40%     60%    80%   100%

                              Source: www.emarketer.com
Comparison of Peer Reviews and
Professional Reviews
Peer Reviews                          Professional Reviews
Written by unpaid amateurs            Written by paid professional writers

Time-specific and condition-specific General focus
focus
Online only                           Online and print

Based on individual users’ criteria   Based on a standard set of criteria

May cover a wider range of hotels     May cover only well-known hotels
and service providers                 and service providers
Loose controls                        Strict controls
Quality Control Methods for Peer
Reviews
 Keep only the most recent reviews online
 Employ human editors to read and approve
  user-submitted reviews
 Depend on the user community to flag
  inappropriate comments
 Allow hoteliers and other service providers to
  respond to reviews
Impact of Peer Reviews
On Travelers                   On Service Providers

 Influences purchasing           Provides a direct channel
  decisions                        to consumers
 Affects consumer                Need to monitor what
  perception and trust             consumers are saying
 Empowers consumers               about them online
 Offers collaboration tools      Need to respond quickly
  such as trip itineraries         specially when negative
                                   comments are posted
Conclusions
• Better online experience for travel planners
• Broader range of sales and marketing
  opportunities for travel suppliers
• More empowered consumers, better informed
  businesses
References
 The pros and cons of peer reviews
 Let Your Fellow Travelers Be Your Guide
 Travel 2.0: Social networking takes a
  useful turn
 9 Social Networking Sites You Can’t
  Afford to Miss

More Related Content

Lab1 - Peer Reviews and Social Networking in the Travel Industry

  • 1. Changes and Opportunities in Online Travel
  • 2. What are Travel Peer Reviews ?  Reviews, ratings and rankings for airlines, hotels, tours, restaurants and other travel services that are written by non-professionals  Common features include:  Reviews segmented by categories (e.g. trip type and budget)  Reviews ranked by popularity and price  Reviewer’s profile, date of stay, type of trip, the number of reviews he/she has written  Trip planning and online booking
  • 3. Where To Find Travel Peer Reviews Peer Review Web • TripAdvisor Sites • Skytrax General • Epinions merchandise sites Online travel • Travelocity agencies • Expedia Travel guidebook • Frommers sites • Lonely Planet
  • 4. Social Media Trends Reasons that U.S. Executives Use Social Media (July 2009) Brand-building Networking Customer Service Project Documentation Competitive Monitoring Sales Prospecting Research Other 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Source: www.emarketer.com
  • 5. Comparison of Peer Reviews and Professional Reviews Peer Reviews Professional Reviews Written by unpaid amateurs Written by paid professional writers Time-specific and condition-specific General focus focus Online only Online and print Based on individual users’ criteria Based on a standard set of criteria May cover a wider range of hotels May cover only well-known hotels and service providers and service providers Loose controls Strict controls
  • 6. Quality Control Methods for Peer Reviews  Keep only the most recent reviews online  Employ human editors to read and approve user-submitted reviews  Depend on the user community to flag inappropriate comments  Allow hoteliers and other service providers to respond to reviews
  • 7. Impact of Peer Reviews On Travelers On Service Providers  Influences purchasing  Provides a direct channel decisions to consumers  Affects consumer  Need to monitor what perception and trust consumers are saying  Empowers consumers about them online  Offers collaboration tools  Need to respond quickly such as trip itineraries specially when negative comments are posted
  • 8. Conclusions • Better online experience for travel planners • Broader range of sales and marketing opportunities for travel suppliers • More empowered consumers, better informed businesses
  • 9. References  The pros and cons of peer reviews  Let Your Fellow Travelers Be Your Guide  Travel 2.0: Social networking takes a useful turn  9 Social Networking Sites You Can’t Afford to Miss