Do you check hotel reviews before you book?
December 11, 2006
I wouldn’t consider booking a hotel now without sounding out fellow travellers first. Who would? It’s not hard, then to see why Expedia would want TripAdvisor content on board. (I have been following the saga on Travolution). TripAdvisor is invariably my first POC for checking out hotels and despite the recent and unsurprising scandal about the odd review written by management, I would still trust it over a hotel website any day. Particularly when considering one of those London hotels advertised with "palatial rooms", when everyone who has stayed there talks about banging their knees on the wall getting into bed.
Last week I was in London again and I just received an email from LateRooms asking for my review of the Mayflower Hotel. Anybody familiar with LateRooms will know they have some good prices (sometimes) but they are weak on consumer reviews. I might have obliged but the Mayflower switched me to a sister hotel at the last minute, pleading plumbing problems (though the receptionist suggested over-booking was to blame).
This happened the week before as well, this time with one of the Quality Choice hotels where I was moved to a sister hotel of questionable quality (with the choice of take it or leave it). Talking of choice, that one was booked through Hotelopia, part of the First Choice group, which handles bookings for EasyJet and BMI.
Now there’s another booking service which needs customer reviews. When I turn up an interesting deal on Hotelopia I always wander off to TripAdvisor to check what people are saying. And, sorry, Hotelopia, but there is no guarantee I will wander back. I bet I am not the only one.
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