Managing Your Clients’ Trip Advisor Experience

Even though millions of consumers rely on travel agents every year to consult on and book their travel, tens of millions more research first on the internet.

Trip Advisor had 156 million visits in February 2018, and the average visitor spent three minutes on their site, viewing 7.5 pages, according to Similarweb.com. These reviews often shape travelers’ opinions before they even engage an agent. Other travelers double-check their agents’ recommendations on these sites.

While many agents say they are frustrated by review sites and feel they have to defend their recommendations against the reviews some clients see, successful agents say that they have come to accept Trip Advisor as a resource, especially the forums where travelers ask questions of the community.

“I find the forums useful but not the reviews,” said Eva Grodberg. CEO and travel specialist at Epic Experiences, in New York City. The discussions on Trip Advisor’s forums point out trends and purchase behaviors that make travel advisors better consultants, several agents said.

Check the reviews
Roberta Westwood, cruise & vacation consultant at Expedia CruiseShipCenters in Victoria, British Columbia, knows that her clients will read Trip Advisor, “so I do, too. I make sure I know what they’ll see for each hotel I recommend. If they are budget travelers, I may include a note with my quote, saying something like, ‘mixed reviews, but clean and in a safe area.’”

Beth Eibler Johnston, a destination wedding specialist who owns Beth’s Beautiful Getaways in Pinckney, Michigan, was a top 2 percent contributor at Trip Advisor before she became a travel agent. This experience helps her see both sides of the travel review site equation and she uses her previous experience to inform how she responds now when a client incorporates Trip Advisor reviews into their consultation.

“I find them useful to look through to see what people are sharing, however a few poor reviews do not necessarily mean the hotel, restaurant, or tour in question is bad. I view it as one of many tools to use when vetting out information for my clients,” Eibler Johnston said.

Tracee Williams, luxury vacation designer at Destinations in Fayetteville, Arkansas, said she uses Trip Advisor “purely as a research tool in my arsenal. We all know to take the reviews with a grain of salt, but I do factor that into my decision, whether or not it’s the right hotel for a client.

“Just by reading through the reviews, you can tell immediately if the hotel has service issues or management issues. Also, you can tell if someone is just a pain by reading their review. Some things are beyond the hotel’s responsibility. I have found some really unique and fun accommodations through Trip Advisor.”

 

Responding to reviews clients find
“I know my clients review Trip Advisor, so I tell them that you have to take everything on the site with a huge grain of salt, and as with some Olympic scores, throw out the highest and the lowest, and the reality is probably somewhere in the middle,” said Loretta Lamberth, owner of Take Time to Travel, Cartersville, Georgia. “I try to do this proactively, before they’ve had a chance to dissect every hotel I recommend.”

While Trip Advisor does not allow travel agents to advertise or hunt for clients on their site, many agents have received sales leads as a result of travelers researching their trips there.

“Before I became an agent, I was a travel blogger and was allowed to post my blog name (never specific posts) at the end of forum contributions — and it drove a lot of traffic,” said Grodberg. “Once I became an agent, they told me that wasn’t allowed. I definitely don’t get business there, but I have mentioned my St. Barts dental conference on the St. Barts forum when I can work it in.”

“About three or four times a year, I pick up a client who admits they are ‘Trip-Advisored’ and internet-researched out and mentally exhausted, with more information but less clarity then before they started,” said Lamberth.

If a client questions your expertise
Ed Cotton, a partner in the International Association of Destination Wedding Professionals (IADWP), incorporates Trip Advisor reviews into some of his travel agent training sessions at the IADWP’s various seminars. If a client challenges your expertise after reviewing travel offerings from your agency, he recommends the following:

1) Demonstrate your experience and continuing education in your various communications and marketing tools, including attendance at seminars, certificates from established associations and suppliers, and testimonials from customers and industry colleagues.

2) Alert your client that “85 percent of the negative feedback on TripAdvisor is due to people who did not use travel agents and chose the wrong resort for their vacation” or because the client wasn’t properly qualified for the property during their consult. “Someone who is used to staying at moderate, 3-star hotels may feel uncomfortable in a 5-star resort, and someone who only stays at 5-star resorts may be uncomfortable in a 3-star resort,” resulting in a low rating and bad review, Cotton said.

3) Point out that reviews are also subject to differing opinions across nationalities and cultures. Expectations for someone from one country can be very different from a resident of another, leading to a disconnect and a bad review.