December 31, 2007

It's Time For Hotels To Offer Traveler-Written Reviews On Their Web Sites

by Sarah Rotman Epps

with Henry H. Harteveldt, Scott Wright

Executive Summary (This is a document excerpt)

Forrester's hotel clients frequently ask whether they should offer traveler-written reviews on their Web sites or whether travelers prefer brand-agnostic third-party sites for this type of content. While third-party review sites like TripAdvisor attract a sizable audience, travelers feel some ambivalence about their credibility. To this end, hotels can offer something that most third-party sites don't: validation that the reviewer actually stayed in the hotel. Still, concern about negative reviews and the ensuing pushback from property owners and franchisees make hosting reviews look like a minefield for hotel eBusiness executives. eBusiness executives should keep their primary goal in mind: Give travelers the content and tools they need to distinguish the right hotel for their needs for a particular trip so that they can complete their booking on your Web site. Reviews are one element that influences a traveler's booking decision, but they're not the only — or even the primary — influencer. Hotel Web sites need a robust offering of content and tools that may include, but should not be limited to, traveler-written reviews.

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