Wednesday, July 04, 2007
20+ Million Travelers Sharing Stories
(and your real-time customer barometer)
Brian Payea
Trade Relations Manager

Recommendations from Consumers
Generate Highest Levels of Trust
\"Indicate your overall level of trust in the following forms of advertising\"
Recommendations from consumers
Brand Web sites
Email I signed up for
Consumer opinions posted online
Newspaper
Magazine
TV
Radio
Brand sponsorships
Search engine ads
Ads before movies
Product placements
Online banner ads
Trust \"somewhat\" Trust \"completely\"
Text ads on mobile phones
0 20 40 60 80 100
Base: 470 responses recruited from PlanetFeedback.com members.
Source: Forrester Research Inc. and Intelliseek.
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www.tripadvisor.com

Rise of the new travel sites:
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www.tripadvisor.com

Social networks matter more – especially in important decisions
The Internet’s Role in Making an Important Decision
What specific role did the internet play in the event for which the internet
played an important or crucial role?
For respondents who said the internet played a crucial or important role in buying a car, making
a major investment, getting additional career training, choosing a school for self or child, or
helping someone with a major illness or health condition.
Help you find advice and support from other
34%
people
Help you find information or compare
30%
options
Help you find professional or expert
28%
services
Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project March 2005 Survey. The margin of error ±5% for the 560 respondents to this question.
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www.tripadvisor.com

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www.tripadvisor.com

Consumers Turn to Other Consumers for Guidance and Advice
● Among leisure hotel bookers, 64% read comments
and reviews written by other guests
● Just 38% use professionally written reviews
Base: US online leisure travelers and (for hotel reviews) US online hotel/motel guests who researched/booked hotels online
Source: Source: Forrester’s NACTAS Q1 2006 Ultimate Consumer Panel Online Travel Study
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www.tripadvisor.com

Risk to brand? Average Score is 3.74
45%
40.63%
40%
Percentage of All Ratings
35%
30%
26.85%
25%
20%
15%
11.71%
10.42% 10.39%
10%
5%
0%
1 2 3 4 5
Rating
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www.tripadvisor.com

“Hi- Just got my first computer in January of this year, and
discovered the vast world of ‘net travel’ info. My wife and I just
returned from a 22 day trip cross country. We spent hours on your
site, especially reading hotel user reviews. Thanks for this great
service you provide. It helped us greatly as we made plans in
areas we had not visited before. When we got home, I spent an
evening on your site submitting user reviews on most of our hotels
from the trip. It was my small way of \"giving back\" to this online
travel community. Thanks again”
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www.tripadvisor.com

InterContinental Presidente Los Cabos Resort
● Traveler rating:
● \"Resort? More Like Being Shipwrecked!!!\"
– 20 September 2006, TripAdvisor Member, San Francisco, Calif.
● This TripAdvisor Member:
– Liked: Nothing!!
– Disliked: Everything!! Especially, no air conditioning!!
– Tips/Secrets: Don't waste your money going here! Horrible Experience!
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www.tripadvisor.com

Demonstrate your Customer Service
“I actively participate in the TripAdvisor Forum and respond to the
TripAdvisor Travelers Reviews.
We understand the value that \"guest perception\" has on the guest
experience, and therefore, through active participation/response in both
channels we have been able to improve the guest experience through
demonstrating our true concern for customer service and comfort, even
prior to a potential/future guest arrival.”
Michael Oney
General Manager
Presidente InterContinental All Inclusive Resort Los Cabos
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www.tripadvisor.com

They May Not Even Know Your Name, But You Can Still Be Found
●Search for wonders of New England on Google
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www.tripadvisor.com

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www.tripadvisor.com

New Features All the Time...
goLists
Inside
Maps
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www.tripadvisor.com

Know who’s talking about you and where
● Search engines
● Blogs
– Technorati
– Blogdigger
– Google blog search
● Once you’ve found them, subscribe
– Automatically alerted
– Nip it in the bud
– RSS
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www.tripadvisor.com

Summary:
● Find places where your customers are talking – and listen
● The Democracy of the Web provides a level playing field
– The cost/value equation is unique to every destination – regardless of size
– Small destinations and properties can take share by trying harder
– High profile destinations need to live up to brand promises with every visitor,
every day.
● Start your relationship with your potential visitor during the evaluation
stage.
– Be in the consideration set when people are making cost/value decisions.
– Adjacency to unbiased content supports your site’s credibility.
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www.tripadvisor.com

Destinations luring tourists with emotive branding ads, and
reaping rewards
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www.tripadvisor.com

Think of it as online dating.
Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match…
Your online reputation helps you attract the RIGHT visitors
● You don’t want EVERYONE visiting your destination, hotel, or attraction
● TripAdvisor helps you and your best customers find each other
● TripAdvisor helps you and your worst customers avoid each other
● Travelers are looking for THEMSELVES in others’ reviews
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www.tripadvisor.com

Summary
● Be found
● Know where your customers are talking, and what they’re saying
– RSS is now
– Search engines
– Alerts
– Blogs
● Be part of the discussion
● Create new content – go lists, guidebooks, etc.
● Travelers trust each other
– Help them find one another and the information they need to make great travel
decisions, and they’ll trust you more too.
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www.tripadvisor.com